2008/05/26 – St. Louis, MO – The average North-American spends two to three years of his or her life waiting in line. Sharp Electronics Corporation has partnered with ITC Systems to release a POS terminal aimed to shorten that wait time. Sharp’s new UP-3500 POS cash register system with ITC Systems’ software has been designed to speed up transactions for quick-serve restaurants and cafeterias by integrating the industry’s fastest magnetic card reader.

According to a survey commissioned by Visa, 82 % of respondents said that quick-serve restaurant purchases made with debit or credit cards are more convenient than cash. ITC Systems CEO Campbell Richardson notes the trend:

“Card use has increased steadily over the past five years. Consumers are using their cards for smaller, everyday payments that used to be purely cash transactions. Fast food, convenience stores, and coffee shops all show that card usage is up,” he said. “Customers are replacing cash with cards for both security and convenience reasons.”

Sharp has designed their newest POS hardware to streamline and simplify the transaction process. Orders processed with the UP-3500 are some of the fastest and most efficient in the industry.

“One of the biggest bottlenecks is at the point of sale during the payment process. When you have a cashless system that is seamless you reduce the customer wait times, costly cashier errors are greatly reduced, and time is saved balancing at the end of the day. It is a win-win situation”, adds David Samuel, Product Manager for Sharp Electronics, POS Division.

ITC Systems, www.itcsystems.com is an international company specializing in cashless Integrated Transaction Control Systems. The firm designs, develops and implements state-of-the-art cash card management systems on university campuses and in public libraries, government departments, food service environments and other closed institutional settings.  With offices in Toronto and St. Louis, and an extensive network of distributors, dealers, agents and service contractors, the organization offers the most flexible and comprehensive online and offline card systems on the market today.