The leading food retailer S Group in particular has invested heavily in the self-service pay points, and accounts for some 130 of the registers in its stores, especially in its capital region supermarkets.
Group chief Tuomas Mulo of S Group subsidiary HOK-Elanto (Helsinki Cooperative Society Elanto) said that customers have been eager to take advantage of the self-service option.
"We’ve had very few problems. If there have been problems they usually arise when customers use the self-service registers for the first time. Because of this we have a staff member available at the registers to quickly resolve problems," Mulo explained.
No increase in shoplifting, no cheating
In the three years since the appearance of the first self-service payment point S Group officials have not observed any increase in shoplifting, nor have customers attempted to cheat when ringing up their purchases.
"We have had very positive experiences. There has been no increase in wastage or any other unwanted outcomes," Mulo added.
Other large retail chains such as Ikea and Bauhaus have also introduced the cold stations to help ring up sales.
"Already roughly 20 – 25 percent of our cashier sales are done via the self-service registers," said Bauhaus finance chief Ansu Saarela.
Security breaches in the US
Although Finland’s trials with the self-service registers have so far been problem-free, this has not been the case elsewhere. In the United States hackers executed a large-scale personal data theft by cracking into the self-service payment points of home improvement giant Home Depot and snatching the credit card information of millions of customers. Authorities warn that the same risks face retailers and consumers in Finland.
"A customer could gain access to the payment point USB port or could access it via a wireless connection and try to break in," remarked Antti Kurittu, a data security expert with the communications watchdog Ficora.
Companies that manufacture the devices, such as Fujitsu and Wincor Nixdorf, point out however, that there have been no data breaches via self-service payment points in Europe. The units are also part of protected systems that should not provide external access.
The use of advanced chipped payment cards and pin codes should also boost the security factor for consumers using the ports, officials say.
"Generally looking for vulnerabilities and abuse is such a slow process that if someone were to spend long periods at a register with a laptop, they would arouse suspicion," Kurittu noted.
