SNCF and ECR deploy on-board real-time payment solution project

French’s largest rail operator, SNCF and MPoS specialist, ECR Retail Systems, have deployed a real-time mobile payment solution across SNCF’s entire fleet.

This is ‘phase one’ of a three-year project between the two companies and includes the delivery of nearly 1,500 lightweight ECR Go mobile point of sale (MPoS) handheld devices.

By the end of the project, SNCF’s catering provider, Newrest Wagons-Lits (Newrest), will be able to manage the sales and stock management process across all rail journeys. This follows the initial project scoping stage between Newrest, Hub One and ECR, where the team successfully demonstrated that they could support Newrest’s wider payment strategy, covering payments across approximately 2,353 rail journeys per month.

“Technology is impacting every aspect of modern travel, from on-board entertainment and Wi-Fi to travel updates and automated refunds, and consumers are increasingly expecting an enhanced customer experience as they travel,” said Simon Pont, CEO at ECR Retail Systems. “Safe and convenient on-board payment is the logical next frontier. The opportunity to help SNCF’s rail network take this important next step in their on-board retail strategy is a great opportunity for us to showcase the power of our technology in this setting, and help SNCF maximise the value from its customers.”

ECR’s technology offers strong capabilities for handling mobile payments via cash and card (which is designed for managing the complex nature of on-board payments within rail) and is able to support the wider requirements to better manage stock and business analytics over time.

Phase one and two

The deployment of the ECR Go devices, which run ECR’s flagship rail point of sale (PoS) solution (RailPos), during phase one of the project has enabled Newrest’s staff to carry out sales and accept cash and card payments for goods while trains are in transit, making the payments easier for passengers.

Phase two (which was awarded in 2015) will build upon this and enable Newrest to transition towards a system that automates and improves the current paper-based stock management process. When this phase is complete, the information captured can be used to enhance Newrest’s on-board retail offerings and loyalty programmes, and play a crucial role in delivering an excellent customer experience for SNCF passengers.