Bunt Software and Merchant Link Extend Life of Panasonic POS System with SMPLink

SILVER SPRING, Md., July 7 /PRNewswire/ -- When Panasonic decided to stop supporting the Panasonic System Manager Pro (SMP), it left approximately 3,500 merchants and Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs) needing to scramble for an alternative point-of-sale (POS) credit interface -- potentially leading to a unnecessary and expensive investment in a new POS.  For SMP dealers and resellers, this change meant that any investment into the SMP would have been wasted.  

Merchant Link and Bunt Software have announced the development of a next generation point-of-sale payment interface called SMPLink.  Replacing the existing SMP credit interface, SMPLink provides a cost-effective solution extending the life of SMP for many years.  Merchants currently using SMP can easily install SMPLink on the Panasonic POS system and will enjoy the benefits of TransactionVault®, Merchant Link's tokenization technology that removes credit card data from the POS system, lowering the risk of data breaches and dramatically reducing PCI compliance efforts.

"By ending support for SMP, Panasonic left many merchants in a position where each restaurant would have to potentially invest tens of thousands of dollars in new systems," said Don Bunt, Software Architect, Bunt Software.  "By upgrading to SMPLink, merchants can continue experiencing the benefits of SMP, with an added tokenization solution that addresses 6 of the 12 PCI requirements.  Furthermore, SMPLink will be validated under the current PCI rules, namely the PA-DSS."

Merchants who already use Merchant Link will be able to easily upgrade to SMPLink, which is slated to launch in mid-July.  Merchant Link's TransactionVault replaces guests' credit card numbers and replaces them with unique "tokens."  Meanwhile, guests' actual credit card information is safeguarded at one of Merchant Link's secure data centers, far away from the POS.    

"With roughly one thousand restaurateurs currently using the Panasonic SMP–Merchant Link solution, we are excited to partner with Bunt Software to extend and expand our products and services," said Dan Lane, CTO, Merchant Link. "We look forward to offering TransactionVault to Panasonic SMP customers to help them reduce the cost and effort of attaining and maintaining PCI compliance, an issue that continues to grow in the restaurant industry."

For more information on SMPLink, please visit Bunt Software at www.BuntSoft.com.

About Bunt Software

Founded in 1997, Bunt Software is a software company specializing in commercial software development.  Bunt Software has decades of experience in development of point of sale software.  Software Architect, Don Bunt, created the software architecture, design and participated in the development of System Manager Pro software on contract for Panasonic.  Further information is available at www.BuntSoft.com.

About Merchant Link

Merchant Link is a leading payments gateway company, providing PCI compliance, secure solutions, data transport services and comprehensive technology to merchants, software providers and credit card processors.  Merchant Link currently supports more than 150,000 hotels, restaurants, ballparks, and other venues, and maintains connectivity to the major US payment card processors.  Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Silver Spring, Md., Merchant Link handles more than 3 billion transactions for some of the world's best-known merchants.  Merchant Link's tokenization solution, TransactionVault®, removes the risk of data compromises and reduces a merchant's efforts to attain and maintain PCI compliance.

Further information is available at www.merchantlink.com.

SOURCE Merchant Link