Payment Methods
Any combination of the following can be used to suit customers’ needs:
- Credit Card
- Account Card
- Stored Value card
- Token payment
- Coin payment
Credit and Debit Cards
- Includes Visa and MasterCard credit cards and debit cards and Australia Post or similar debit cards.
- Transactions are normally limited to $200.00 to comply with rules that permit card usage without using a PIN.
- Supports “Tap and Go” (near field proximity cards) and contact chip cards.
- Credit cards can be open sourced or restricted to pre-registered cards
Account Cards and Stored Value Cards
Credit cards are the general means of payment for water, often with Account Cards for tanker drivers or regular users.
Differential water pricing (tanker drivers or public use) can be set, regardless of whether payment is by account card or credit card.
When the Water Supply Authority issues a card to a customer, they enter the encoded number on the card on to the data processing portal.
Usage by that card will then activate water delivery & record consumption & charges for that customer only.
- Allows access to water dispensing with subsequent billing for water consumed, usually on a monthly basis.
- Data for invoicing can be downloaded to a customer’s IT system, allowing the customer to create “in house” accounts.
- Generic or customised cards available.
- Stored Value Cards are effectively a pre-paid account card.
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Drought Relief Cards - Account cards can be used as free or discount rate water access cards.
Card Types
MIFARE Classic protocol based ‘tap cards’ (RFID I K storage, industry standard).
Printed artwork on the card can be applied in two forms:
Standard Cards
To overcome the minimum card number requirements for laminated printing, Abberfield offer a generic card for use on any Abberfield Water Filling Station. These are stock items & can be sold in any quantity.
Each Standard card has a unique identifying number (serial number) printed on the card, corresponding to the embedded chip number, which the Tanker Filling Station (TFS) portal can use to track card transactions.
Customised Cards
Cards can be customised by overprinting of a Standard generic card with client name and perhaps an account number (an account may have multiple tanker drivers, each with different serial number account cards).
Alternatively customisation can incdlue creation of artwork to a customer’s design, (usually with customer’s logo). Abberfield offer a full design & artwork service in consultation with our customers, from concept to approved design, to printing & supply.
Token Payment
- Tokens can be supplied by Abberfield Industries for use through a purpose built coin/token validator. Standard Abberfield tokens are available or the tokens can be customised with a customer’s image.
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Gold, silver and bronze tokens validate for different amounts of water.
Coin Payment
- All coin denominations can be used, accurately checked for metal type as well as physical size.
- A display indicates the credit inserted and water taken.
- Coin and tokens payment in one validator.
Banking, Remote Metering and Reporting
Abberfield Technology offer data processing and banking facilities for Serice 2000 and 3000 machines using Credit Cards & Account Cards, including:
- Critical faults such as mains failure, loss of water pressure and machine faults can be automatically emailed to nominated recipients.
- Machine interrogation allows a study of operating conditions; battery voltage, solar output etc.
- Customer complaints can be analysed and user error identified in real time or from historic records.
- Customer usage data can be fed to Supply Authorities for issuing of monthly accounts. Tracking, reporting and invoicing is automatically processed by the Tanker Filling Station (TFS) portal.
- Control of the machine via the portal can include turning the machine on or off, payment bypass for a single transaction or until returned to payment mode and hours of sleep mode operation.
The configuration of the machine access portal can be tailored to a customer’s particular needs.
Abberfield have partnered with Card Access Services to provide banking facilities, data processing and reporting for online payments.