The solution provides commercial benefits for operators within the hospitality and travel industry sector and modernises the way bill payments are made.

The alliance has delivered an Australian-first integrated booking and EFTPOS payment and processing system for hospitality and travel industry organisations. This new platform has the ability to reduce costs, and create new revenue streams for hospitality and travel industry operators, such as currency conversion options. Australia's iconic seafood restaurant Doyle’s was the first site to go live with the system.

Doyle's Seafood Restaurants, Peter Doyle said, "Implementing this system has allowed Doyle's to reduce costs, increase revenue and offer far faster bill settlement to customers at its multiple sites."

The increased improvement in bill presentation, especially during busy dining times, means we can turn over tables faster, serve more customers and increase takings. It's delivering the benefits all round - our customers are happy, and so are we," added Mr. Doyle.

The integrated EFTPOS system provides a new range of benefits for hospitality and travel industry operators. Apart from eliminating the requirement for dedicated EFTPOS terminals, the solution can deliver additional functionality, such as dynamic currency conversion (DCC). DCC allows hospitality operators to offer foreign credit card holders the convenience of charging their payments in their home currency at the POS. This is an attractive offering to foreign travellers as it allows them to keep track of their expenditures against their card credit limits in their home currency; minimising the impact of exchange rate fluctuations between the time of sale and the time the purchase is billed.

"The alliance with MICROS-Fidelio and delivery of this solution reflects First Data's continued focus on driving competition by giving merchants access to cost-effective, highly productive electronic payment options and business-building EFTPOS systems," said Greg Nash, managing director of First Data International in Australia, New Zealand and South Asia.

"The combined strengths of MICROS-Fidelio and First Data creates a platform for the delivery of an integrated EFTPOS solution that delivers wide-ranging benefits and efficiencies to merchants in the hospitality and hotel industries," he continued.

Stefan M. Piringer, president of Micros Fidelio - Asia Pacific, added: "Partnering with First Data was the critical part of making this alliance truly work for our customers. The industry wanted a solution that enhances workflow, staff productivity and customer service."

First Data plans to integrate with the full suite of MICROS-Fidelio products to enable transaction processing initially in Australia, with a view to rolling out the solution in Asia Pacific within the next three years.