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Follet Higher Education, an educational service provider and omnichannel retailer, has selected GK Software SE as its cloud-based point-of-sale provider for its more than 1,000 college campus and online stores in the United States and Canada.
Follet will deploy such apps as GK Software’s OmniPOS, which supports mobile POS, self-check-out, and self-scanning; Advanced Central Services, which enables retailers to analyze and process transactions in real time; and the Transaction+ processing solution. Facility in enabling self-checkout and self-scanning were key criteria in selecting GK Software, Follet says.
Follett says deployment of the new apps is expected to create a better buying experience for college students. Some 46% of Gen Zers say a quick and easy checkout is the most important factor in a good shopping experience, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. In addition, 39% of Gen Zers cited the ability to get what they want immediately—and 27% listed quick and helpful customer service—as important elements of the purchasing experience.
“Our team evaluated a lot of great POS solution providers,” Follet chief executive Emmanuel Kolady says in a statement. “Yet for me, the real clincher was the GK team’s ability to collaborate with us and develop customized solutions to meet the unique needs of our campus partners.”
In related news, Transact Campus Inc., a provider of payments technology for college campuses, has launched Transact Sponsor Payments, a business-to-business payments portal for third-party payors to make bulk payments toward student tuition and fees.
In higher education, a financial sponsorship is an agreement by an agency, company, embassy, or other organization to pay all or a portion of a student’s tuition and fees. Sponsored payments are expected to grow rapidly in coming years, according to Transact. In 2022, 48% of employers offered undergraduate or graduate tuition assistance as a benefit, according to the Society for Human Resource Management. Transact says its platform enables payors to self-serve, view payments due, and make payments.
“Historically, university payment systems for third-party sponsor payments have been manual and time-consuming, adding complexity to collecting and reconciling tuition payments in a timely fashion,” Laura Newell-McLaughlin, an executive vice president at Transact, says in a statement. “With Transact Sponsor Payments, we’re bringing universities, sponsors and students a tool that simplifies the billing and payment process for all.”
