SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Equinox Payments, LLC, a leading payments solutions provider, today announced the launch of Apollo, an entirely new technology platform focused on secure payment acceptance. The platform combines state-of-the-art hardware and software to provide merchants and their customers with a reliable, secure and intuitive experience at the point of sale.
Apollo is Equinox’s first major platform initiative since the company divested from Hypercom and will be initially targeted at small- and medium-sized businesses through the company’s extensive network of processor and ISO partners. The platform is an excellent fit for those market segments because of its flexible hardware design and agnostic software platform that gives customers the freedom to access the third-party services of their choice.
“Apollo represents a critical milestone both for delivering smarter technology and as proof of our final transition from the Hypercom legacy to a strong and independent Equinox,” said Patrick Hazel, Equinox Chairman and Chief Executive. “We are extremely pleased and excited to take this major step towards fulfilling our promise to build a major payments brand.”
The Apollo family consists of three entirely new terminals: the Apollo Consumer-Facing Device (CFD), the Apollo Merchant-Facing Device (MFD) and the Apollo All-in-One (AiO). The CFD can be added to existing Equinox T4200 family devices as an upgrade to PCI 3.x, contact/contactless EMV and NFC, or in tandem with the Apollo MFD—either of which provides merchants with a comprehensive, two-piece consumer-facing solution. This deliberate flexibility is particularly important in light of the upcoming EMV migration in U.S. markets.
For those merchants whose retail environment requires a single device configuration, Equinox created the Apollo AiO which offers all of the power and functionality of the Apollo CFD—plus the addition of a self-contained printer.
And, because the Apollo CFD is EMV ready and capable of accepting new, alternative payment types including contactless/NFC, PayPal, Google, Isis and other mobile wallets and services, merchants will further benefit from the peace of mind that comes from knowing that their choice of payment hardware is future proof.
The main impetus for the development of the Apollo platform was to meet a host of specific customer needs. “Apollo was designed from the ground up by our customers,” said Chris Dismukes, Vice President, North American Client Group at Equinox. “Ultimately, we wanted to give merchants a cost-effective upgrade path that allowed them to protect the significant investment they’ve already made in Equinox Payments hardware. By offering a flexible design and future capabilities already baked in, our customers have the peace of mind that comes from knowing that their payment terminals will meet their needs for years to come.”
Equinox Payments, headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona is the second-largest provider of payment terminals and related technologies in North America. Equinox is increasingly positioned as a thoughtful and trusted resource that assists payment sector participants keep pace with rapid change. Beyond payment acceptance hardware, Equinox is now enabling cloud-based convergence between retailers, payment processors, smart data, and payment credentialing systems all within highly secure solutions. Equinox’s more than 200 employees are driving technical innovation across the payment landscape through its market-leading retail and payment processing clientele. www.equinoxpayments.com
Equinox Payments is a registered trademark of Equinox Payments, LLC. All other products or services mentioned in this document are trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks or registered service marks of their respective owners.
