As Australia transitions to the inevitable cash free economy, the hospitality and retail sector has been evolving at a slower pace to most. Cash-only policies and EFTPOS minimums still riddle many local cafes to this day. These businesses have been slow to adapt to the changes in technology that will allow them to grow.

Commonwealth Bank has claimed a world first of payments, a cash register and stock management on one device by offering cloud-based cash register Kounta on its Albert mobile sales tablet.Named after Albert Einstein, the point-of-sale device was launched by Commonwealth Bank in 2012 and there are currently 25,000 in circulation. It’s basically a 7-inch wireless Android tablet that includes features such as a touch screen, a secure EMV (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) interface to accept chip and PIN cards and a receipt printer. It also features apps such as ‘Split the bill’ which allows merchants to accept multiple payments for the same bill.

Kounta is a fully online cash register and inventory management system, released in 2012. The system is connected with inventory and accounts to record the purchases for supply and accounting purposes. Kounta founder and CEO Nick Cloete said that because Kounta is cloud-based, the app can be accessed across different devices and locations. The Albert device starts at $90 a month to rent for $6000 card transaction turnover. Kounta is free for a maximum of 10 transactions a day, then ranges from $50 a month on the basic plan for one device up to $150 a month for three devices.

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