JAPAN. Asia Payment Systems has announced a major credit card processing services agreement with the world’s leading travel retailer DFS Group.
The July installation will support the two existing DFS stores in Okinawa airport followed by the retailer’s new state-of-the-art 110,000sq ft flagship Galleria store to be opened in downtown Naha in December.
In a statement Asia Payment Systems said it had been selected “due to its ability to provide an enterprise-wide credit card processing solution that could leverage the group’s [DFS’s] international transaction volume and drive down processing costs across the organisation.”
Asia Payments said its three-tier payment platform isolates its merchants from the domestic bankcard networks and acquirers via its middleware. “The merchants connect at the middleware level, with the same interface utilized across the region. The architecture of Asia Payments’ platform is such that it supports both dial-up analog and networked digital POS terminals for all message formats, including legacy and the latest technologies.”
DFS Director of Applications Development Andrew Rigby commented: “We are impressed with the Asian focus and China presence of Asia Payments. It dovetails nicely with the recent relocation of our corporate offices into Hong Kong to have a stronger focus on the Asian markets, and particularly China.
“Technically, the Asia Payments middleware integrates with the DFS corporate vision of a single enterprise architecture via its XML message interface to our new POS solution and it ultimately enables us to have a single card processing solution across multiple countries.”
“Asia Payments is pleased to welcome DFS as a customer and we are delighted that our value as a multi-country card processing solution has been recognised by such a prestigious retailer,” said Asia Payments President & CEO Matt Mecke. “Our system is designed from the ground up to decouple the POS terminal from the payment processor. Our middleware enables us to support a wide variety of POS solutions, removing the challenging domestic integration in each of the major Asian markets and presents our merchants with a single interface for all sites.”
Asia Payments said it focuses on providing a strong middleware solution to allow its clients to avoid “the traditional bank lock-in” experienced by many retailers for credit card processing. “The ability to have a choice of financial acquirers and to aggregate vast number of transactions across multiple countries assists all customers to drive transaction costs down,” it added.
 |
Asia Payments said its three-tier payment platform isolates its merchants from the domestic bankcard networks and acquirers via its middleware |
The Okinawa downtown development is of critical importance to DFS Group. The retailer has been able to take advantage of a special dispensation for ‘domestic’ duty free shopping permitted exclusively on the island under the Special Measures Law for the Promotion and Development of Okinawa.
Construction of Japan’s first significant off-airport duty free store began last December in Omoromachi, the new city center of Naha, Okinawa island’s capital city. The DFS Galleria will be located adjacent to the Omoromachi monorail station, and cover approximately 17,000sq m of land with a total floor space of 40,000sq m. Of that, 13,000sq m will be dedicated to sales space, comprising 14 upmarket boutiques.
Crucially, the new building will not only be connected to the monorail station but will also house a car rental business. Most Japanese visitors to Okinawa hire cars for their vacations and when accessing and returning their vehicles they will have to pass through the store.
Okinawa is already a major domestic travel destination in its own right but offers the additional attraction to DFS of attracting increased numbers of Japanese in the event of any downturn in international travel caused by global events.
DFS Okinawa currently runs a highly-succesful duty free shop at Naha airport, which is already rated one of the retailer’s most successful locations.
 |
Asia Payments President & CEO Matt Mecke:. “Our system is designed from the ground up to decouple the POS terminal from the payment processor” |
About Asia Payment Systems: Asia Pay is a Nevada incorporated company with offices in Seattle, Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China. The company is developing credit card processing networks that provide clearing services to merchants, oil companies, and financial institutions in China and in related markets elsewhere in Asia.
Start-up of the DFS contract represents a major step forward for the company, which said it is continuing to identify sources of additional financing to permit the start-up of operations in the China market.
About DFS Group: DFS is the world’s leading duty free retailer by turnover. Established in 1961 and majority-owned by French luxury giant LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton since the late 1990s, DFS has more than 150 stores in 15 countries throughout Asia, North America and the Pacific Basin. The primary store formats include DFS Galleria downtown anchor stores, duty free and general merchandise airport concessions, and boutiques in leading hotels and resorts, and specialty stores.
MORE STORIES ON DFS GROUP
Travel market recovery and rejuvenated DFS set to boost LVMH first-half results – 19/07/2004
Work begins on spectacular DFS facility on Okinawa – 01/01/04
