In response to the many calls from newsagents venting anger over their treatment by Bill Express this week, Tower Systems put an offer into the market yesterday to facilitate access to the eziPass alternative:
Newsagents angry at the removal of the $250 per month marketing subsidy by Bill Express are switching to eziPass from Tower Systems.
eziPass offers 300 electronic products including phone recharge, tourist attractions, tollway payments, movie downloads and other products. Details can be found at www.ezipass.com.au.
Access to eziPass does not require newsagents to sign a long contract. Payment for stock is made weekly and margins on some items are considerably better.
eziPass is available immediately from within the Tower Systems software, providing newsagents with a good alternative to Bill Express.
In response to overwhelming demand, Tower Systems has created a special offer, bundling Point of Sale and eziPass for newsagents not using Tower today. This special offer is available for a very limited time.
While Tower Systems is making a standalone version of eziPass available to all newsagents in mid April, many are making a move today, preferring an integrated solution.
An announcement is expected next week on a preferential banking relationship with competitive rates. Tower Systems also anticipates an announcement regarding Optus and Vodafone for its eziPass platform.
Tower Systems already serves over 1,450 newsagents nationally.
Bill Express has misread the market and, I suspect, now regrets their treatment of newsagents. They will need to act quickly to stop their retail network shrinking. In their letter to shareholders yesterday they talk about restructure. They don’t say that they expect newsagents to carry $875,000 a month of the cost of this.