EFTPOS
Other countries use different brand names for their EFTPOS systems, such as NETS in Singapore, Interlink in the United States or Link in the UK.
Initially, a number of nationwide systems were set up, such as Interlink, which were limited to participating correspondent banking relationships, not being linked to each other.
In a short time, other countries adopted the EFTPOS technology, these systems were limited to the national borders.
In Australia, in 1984 Westpac was the first major Australian bank to implement an EFTPOS system, at BP petrol stations.
The other major banks in Australia implemented EFTPOS systems during 1984, initially with petrol stations.
Prior to 1986, the Australian banks organised a widespread uniform credit card, called Bankcard, which had been in existence since 1974.
There was a dispute between the banks whether Bankcard (or credit cards in general) should be permitted into the proposed EFTPOS system.
CECS required authorisations from the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC), which was obtained in 2001 and reaffirmed in 2009.
[8] ATM and EFTPOS clearances are the made under individual bilateral arrangements between the institutions involved.
The card merely provides the means by which a customer's linked bank or other accounts can be accessed using an EFTPOS terminal or ATM.
A number of merchants permit customers using a debit card to withdraw cash as part of the EFTPOS transaction.
However, most merchants who provide the facility set a relatively low limit on cash out, generally $50, and some also charge for the service.
EFTPOS transactions involving a debit, credit or prepaid card are primarily authenticated via the entry of a personal identification number (PIN) at the point of sale.
[13][14] As a further security measure, if a user enters an incorrect PIN three times, the card may be locked out of EFTPOS and require reactivation over the phone or at a bank branch.
Merchant terminals are required to recognise and act on service codes or send all transactions for online authorisation.
To pay using this system, a customer passes the card within 4 cm of a reader at a merchant checkout.
Using this method, for transactions under a specified limit, the customer does not need to authenticate their identity by PIN entry or signature, as on a regular EFTPOS machine.
The facility is only available for cards branded with the MasterCard PayPass or Visa payWave logos, indicating that they have the system-permitted embedded chip.
[17] The name and logo for EFTPOS in Australia were originally owned by Shiyombo Makasa and were trade marks from 1986 until 1991.
The ownership was for convenience and all the banks used the name and logo (commonly called "fat-E") on their cards and advertising.
Until 1993, communications, connections and transactions between banks, ATM banks and EFTPOS devices where conducted via leased lines (a specific power assisted communication line that detects any attempt to tamper with it) but in 1993, mobile wireless EFTPOS was conceived by Dynamic Data Systems (H. Daniel Elbaum).
In 1995, Dynamic Data Systems and the banking industry worked together to implement, certify and introduce protocols and standards for cellular networks, and by 1998, the use of mobile EFTPOS began to appear in Australia.
Woolworths organised its credit card called Everyday Rewards (now Woolworths Money)[clarification needed] which initially was partnered with credit provider HSBC Bank, but changed on 26 October 2014 to Macquarie Bank.
[12] In 2010, 183 million transactions,[27] worth A$12 billion,[28] were made using Australian EFTPOS terminals per month.
In New Zealand, a trial scheme of EFTPOS began in 1984, with a terminal in a Shell petrol station connected to a bank computer.
[32] The Bank of New Zealand introduced EFTPOS in 1985, with the first merchant terminals being installed through a pilot scheme at petrol stations.
[40] NETS was officially launched on 18 January 1986, allowing millions of ATM card holders in Singapore to make transactions through the initial network of 195 terminals located in various retail outlets and by 1993, consumer spending through NETS reached S$1.14 billion.
