Homewares retailer Whittard has taken on a broadband enterprise network to enable it to transfer EPoS data over the Internet, once it completes its Chip and PIN migration.
The retailer has signed Star Internet to provide an ADSL-based network, backed up by ISDN where coverage is not yet available.
The system will enable Whittard to use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to support its 110 outlets. The network uses the Internet, but is as secure as a dedicated network.
Such schemes offer significant cost savings, enabling retailers to pay for a fixed-rate service, rather than national rate for a dial-up network.
Encrypted EPoS transaction data is received from each store and filtered by a checkpoint firewall, before the head office passes the data on to the relevant bank.
Authorisation responses are routed back through the same network, which is continually connected to the Internet, providing real-time processing between store and bank.
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