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Q&A with Tim Schweitzer, vice president of Product Management for talech Terminal 

Running a business can move beyond the checkout counter. With talech, U.S. Bank combines banking, payments and software to offer clients a simpler all-in-one experience helping them manage and run their business more easily every day. In a new survey conducted by U.S. Bank, 82% of small business owners said that simplifying digital solutions would reduce stress in their day-to-day operations.    

In August, talech Terminal launched, giving small business owners reliable mobile hardware with pre-installed talech software designed to improve usability and comfort. A built-in card reader and receipt printer plus Wi-Fi and 4G connections enable all-day sales without interruptions. Watch this video to see talech Terminal in action.

U.S. Bank acquired talech in 2019, and the product evolution includes the launches of talech Mobile in 2021 and talech Register in 2022. Tim Schweitzer, vice president, Product Management for talech Terminal, answered questions about the next generation of talech solutions and what clients are saying. 

How does talech Terminal change the dynamics for small business owners on the go?   

The talech Terminal is much more than a piece of hardware; it is a simple and powerful point-of-sale system that allows business owners to accept payments anywhere, anytime, saving them time and money.  

With the previous launches of talech Mobile and talech Register, we learned what worked well for clients who run their businesses from personal phones and those who run their businesses from countertop devices.  

The talech Terminal builds upon what we learned to provide clients with a countertop experience’s richness in a form factor design that fits in their hands. They can quickly create orders with the keypad, and as their business grows, they can use features like invoices, product catalog, customer records and real-time reporting.  

How does the user interface design simplify the client experience?   

Prior to the Terminal launch, talech software was never the default on the hardware we sold. This is the very first time that talech is both the default and only software on a dedicated piece of hardware. 

With talech as the default, clients use our software to run and manage their businesses more efficiently. We can now provide full capabilities in a small, dedicated form factor with tailored experiences for hardware, software, payment processing and banking services. 

What are business owners saying about talech Terminal? Did talech use focus groups during the development process?   

Our clients tell us that they love talech Terminal. Since launch, we’ve seen tremendous growth and have processed more than 70,000 payment transactions. We held a beta testing period with a small number of focused users to gain feedback prior to our full go to market launch.  

The most heard quote is, “We love this little guy!” It works right out of the box, and there’s no need to battle a Bluetooth connection to a card reader. 

U.S. Bank acquired talech in 2019 to expand its digital expertise. How are U.S. Bank and talech bringing the best of digital banking and payments together for small businesses?

 talech is bringing banking and payments capabilities together as the first true software bridge on smart terminal devices. As clients use the software, we will have a deeper, fuller understanding of their needs so we can better serve them. That may be through a unified experience that combines their U.S. Bank account and their talech account, or proactively offering additional banking services when operating cash is needed. 

What’s ahead for the future of talech?  

We’re focused on the growth of our merchants through software-led experiences and by modernizing our hardware line-up. To do this, we will migrate our existing customer base to talech Terminal. We’re also working on a mid-sized solution with a larger screen for rich experiences, yet small enough to fit in most spaces. We will continue to enhance our software by adding capabilities such as Buy Now Pay Later, Zelle for business, QR code payments, and Pay-by-Link. This will enable merchants to grow their business and reduce friction for accepting payments. We’re excited about the future of our software and hardware solutions for clients!

Read more about talech Terminal here.