Proximiant Unveils Tap and Go Digital Receipts

Proximiant, a self-funded company based in San Francisco, Calif., has launched tap and go digital receipts, a secure solution that allows retailers and shoppers to track purchases and earn different types of rewards in a hassle-free manner.

Featuring a phone-sized USB interface transceiver, the technology allows retailers to provide customers with access to a variety of discount programs, loyalty rewards, cash rebates and coupons without the requirement of conventional membership cards or paper receipts.

The transceiver, offered free of cost, easily plugs into a store’s computerized point-of-sale system (POS) and launches within two minutes, company officials said. Shoppers can communicate with the transceiver using their mobile phones having a Near Field Communication (NFC) chip.

“The product is a win-win for both retailers and consumers,” said Proximiant co-founder and CEO, Fang Cheng, in a statement. “Proximiant is the most efficient and secure way for retailers to extend their existing point of sale to an array of mobile loyalty and marketing programs without any IT overhead or customer signup process.”

While the solution makes shopping much more enjoyable and less of a hassle for customers, the device saves companies an overhead investment and it saves customers from the time-consuming and expensive signup process, according to Cheng.

An important component of this solution is the “Digital Receipts” mobile app, which records all their purchases at the time of sale, allowing customers to manage their personal spending, collect loyalty points, and cash back without having to go through the tedious paper receipts. This highly secure service does not require customers to share personal information.

Shoppers can access old receipts by inputting the store name or product keywords. They can access Proximiant’s Web interface for receipts on their computer when they register their Proximiant account. 

Proximiant is also offering a bridge solution for customers who don’t have NFC-enabled phones. It consists of a small tag (News - Alert) that can be carried in a wallet or put on a key chain to allow shoppers the same tap-and-go capability.

With tap and go digital receipts, Proximiant hopes to enhance the shopping experience by providing itemized receipts for easy tracking of purchases, loyalty programs and coupons, regardless how they pay.

To date, Proximiant has signed up a dozen stores in the San Francisco area. The company has conducted a small trial launch, and expects to get about 50 retailers by year’s end, mostly in the Bay area. It will roll out the service in multiple metropolitan areas by spring of 2012.

With the penetration of smartphones, mobility-centric e-commerce is on the rise around the world, TMCnet reported recently. This has forced several mobile communication companies, including mobile network operators, major telecommunications infrastructure handset manufacturers, and even Internet companies to enter to the mobile payments market.

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