Ingenico, a leading worldwide provider of payment devices and services, and The Phoenix Group (TPG), the largest independent distributor of POS terminals and solutions in the U.S., today signed a new multi-year distribution agreement, enabling TPG to market and sell Ingenico's next generation Telium series point-of-sale (POS) devices to independent sales organizations (ISOs) in the United States.
In the wake of accelerated demand for innovative products capable of securely accepting traditional magstripe, emerging EMV chip-based, contactless, and NFC-based payments both companies are making a strategic investment to offer the latest Telium POS technology and solutions to ISOs.
Under the agreement, TPG will market and distribute Ingenico's complete Telium range of products including iPP220 & iPP320 PIN pads, iCT220 & iCT250 countertop terminals, and iWL220 & iWL250BL (bluetooth) wireless devices. In addition, TPG will house a swap pool of the Telium devices in an effort to provide the most comprehensive customer service and a timely response to customer service requests. As part of their repair and services, TPG will perform key injections and downloads.
"As the largest independent distributor of POS products in the country, we built our entire business on one fundamental principle -- be the most responsive and customer-centric organization in the industry," said Scott Rutledge, CEO of The Phoenix Group. "Today payment acceptance is challenging and it requires sophisticated and secure solutions. Our commitment is to provide our customers with the most innovative, cost-effective, and technologically proven POS solutions available in market today. Our partnership with Ingenico brings both the latest and most secure POS products to our customers as well as enables them to gain direct access to Ingenico's global expertise in EMV, contactless and NFC-based payment technologies. This relationship is a win for our customers across the board."
Built on the Telium 2 software platform, the entire range of Ingenico's Telium products is faster and more powerful, offers greater mobility, color screens, tactile interfaces, and multiple options of connectivity. The devices use the most advanced dual chip technology to provide the highest security and encryption solutions to meet the latest PCI PTS standards and international security algorithms including DES, TDES, RSA, DUKPT and Master/Session. The entire product range is EMV payment ready for chip cards, contactless and NFC mobile transactions.
"The new Telium range of products only reinforces Ingenico's global leadership in POS hardware and software manufacturing. It allows customers, regardless of their vertical markets, to transform a traditional point-of sale into a point-of-service by offering reinforced payment security, more options for payment, and multiple value-added applications," said Bernie Frey, senior vice president of Acquirer Sales, Ingenico, North America. "To have a great product is one thing, but to be able to market and sell it effectively requires a different set of expertise. We are very pleased that TPG has chosen to market and sell our entire Telium line of products to their extensive customer base in the U.S. With this partnership in place, we'll be able to leverage their two distribution centers, logistics and customer-service expertise in order to meet the most demanding business needs of their customers."