AJB Integrates PayPal In-store Checkout at Guitar Center Retail Chain

Offers retail shoppers a powerful new way to pay at the register

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AJB Software Design, Inc., a leader in integrated payment solutions, today announced that it has integrated PayPal into the point-of-sale system at Guitar Center®, the world’s largest music gear retailer with over 235 retail outlets throughout the United States. AJB’s Retail Transactions Switch (RTS) provides the framework for processing PayPal in-store transactions, allowing consumers to make simple, fast and secure PayPal payments. PayPal is currently available in all Guitar Center locations.

“Bringing PayPal’s legendary simplicity, security and speed to Guitar Center’s customers is another example of how we can successfully work with AJB to provide retailers with innovative payments solutions anytime, anywhere and any way they want”

AJB’s Retail Transaction Switch (RTS) is a robust, multi-purpose transaction switch that scales to meet the performance demanded by North America’s largest and most well-known retailers. The RTS switch provides real-time processing and authorization of PayPal transactions at Guitar Center. Once a shopper uses their mobile phone, plus PayPal PIN or PayPal payment card and PIN, the transaction instantly gets routed to RTS for authorization and then back to PayPal and RTS for confirmation.

“As PayPal expands its presence to offline retailers, we are pleased to offer Guitar Center this innovative payment methodology,” said Pat Polillo, vice president of Sales at AJB. “For over 18 years, AJB has focused on making it easy for our merchant customers to add new and emerging forms of payments into their existing payment infrastructure. Providing PayPal integration is another example of how we offer our customers flexibility and simplicity when adapting to new payment trends.”

“We chose to continue to work with AJB to bring the new PayPal payment option to our store locations because of their proven track record and ease of integration with their RTS solution,” said Jeff Steinmetz, vice president of Store Systems, at Guitar Center. “AJB has been a valued partner and solution provider to Guitar Center for a number of years, and they did a fantastic job of delivering the required feature function to support the use of PayPal in our stores.” Frank Hamlin, EVP of Marketing at Guitar Center added that, “Combining the benefits of online payment with a secure and convenient retail checkout and state-of-the art customer relevance, PayPal’s solution with AJB’s integration assistance will go a long way in serving the multi-channel shopping needs of the Guitar Center customer.”

How PayPal in-store checkout works:

• Make sure your PayPal account is registered for in-store checkout.
• Select PayPal when you’re at the register, then enter your mobile number + PIN or simply swipe your PayPal payment card to pay.
• Store coupons and offers are automatically applied when you pay. Plus, the merchant never collects your financial info.

“Bringing PayPal’s legendary simplicity, security and speed to Guitar Center’s customers is another example of how we can successfully work with AJB to provide retailers with innovative payments solutions anytime, anywhere and any way they want,” said Kareem Al-Bassam, PayPal’s director of Financial Innovations. “In just a few months, we were able to easily integrate PayPal into Guitar Center’s current payment infrastructure without having to make any significant changes to their existing system.”

About AJB Software Design, Inc.

AJB is a leading provider of payment integration software solutions. Twenty percent of North America’s Top 100 retailers and 10 percent of the top global retailers by sales volume, rely on AJB products and services. Founded in 1994, AJB has over 140 global clients, and its software makes it easy to connect the components required for real-time payment processing. AJB enables retailers to quickly comply with new standards and payment types, including mobile, EMV and other emerging forms of payment. In addition, it allows banks and POS vendors to easily integrate their products with retailers, petroleum and convenience stores. AJB simplifies integration with existing systems; solutions are scalable, multi-channel and platform independent. For more information, visit www.ajbsoftware.com.

About Guitar Center

Guitar Center is the leading United States retailer of guitars, amplifiers, percussion instruments, keyboards and pro-audio and recording equipment. Our retail store subsidiary presently operates over 235 Guitar Center stores across the United States. In addition, the Music & Arts division of our retail store subsidiary operates over 100 stores specializing in band and orchestra instruments for sale and rental, serving teachers, band directors, college professors and students. We also are the largest direct response retailer of musical instruments in the United States through our wholly owned subsidiary, Musician's Friend, Inc., and its catalogs and owned or operated websites.