alphyra Delivers Mobile Phone E-Top Up Solution for Waitrose, Food Shops of the John Lewis Partnersh

22 August, 2005 – Waitrose has invested in a nationwide upgrade of its mobile phone prepayment processing systems with the help of alphyra PAYzone, the UK’s number one branded network for payment and collections. E-Top up has increased by 50% following installation of the new solution, and Waitrose customers are benefiting from increased convenience and flexibility.

Hypercom terminals have been rolled out across 167 branches and 14 petrol filling stations. With over 260 payment terminals in operation, Waitrose is able to offer prepay customers on all seven major UK networks the option to top-up their mobile airtime quickly, securely and conveniently in all their stores.

Waitrose’s decision to move to the e-top up solution provided by alphyra has brought operational as well as financial advantages for the group. Electronic processing has led to a decrease in theft and wastage –risks which were prevalent with paper based vouchers.

Customers are now benefiting from an enhanced service as e-top ups are available in a wider choice of denominations and can be issued quickly and conveniently whenever they are required.

Andy Fraser, Project Manager, EPoS Development at Waitrose, said: "This project has been very successful and has brought advantages to our customers in terms of increased choice, convenience and flexibility. Rollout went very smoothly - alphyra delivered the technology within a short time span, and have provided an excellent level of support.

"We have witnessed a 50% increase in top up sales since roll-out and have benefited from additional sales of 3G e-vouchers. The terminals allow us to offer customers the full range of mobile phone top-ups and we are planning to increase the number of terminals in most branches which will allow us to offer the service from more payment points."

Rupert Lowery, Managing Director of alphyra UK said: "We are delighted to be partnering Waitrose on what has been a very successful roll-out. E-top ups have increased dramatically as a result, and we look forward to working closely with Waitrose to further develop payment processing facilities in all its stores.

"PAYzone terminals and kiosks provide an integrated payment solution, offering a whole host of services including utility payments, international calling cards, local authority payment schemes and EFT, giving consumers the option to complete multiple transactions quickly and conveniently in one location."

With over 120,000 points of sale across 19 European countries and a growing estate of 24,000 retailers in the UK – nearly double that if its nearest rival - alphyra PAYzone is the UK’s and Europe’s number one provider of electronic payment systems.


About alphyra and PAYzone
PAYzone is the UK’s number one branded network for payment and collections. PAYzone is powered by alphyra UK, part of Europe’s largest independent solution provider for the processing of electronic products and services. The PAYzone network’s convenience and long opening hours attracts mobile operators, utility companies, content providers and merchants as well as millions of consumers, and delivers increased revenues for retail partners. alphyra (UK) is based in Northwich, Cheshire with offices in Dalgety Bay, Scotland.