VENDOR PROFILE: Scan and deliver
by Andy Holtmann
June 1, 2008
Card Scanning Solutions uses innovative technology approaches to efficiently acquire critical identification information
In this modern age, the ability to instantly identify someone — be it for
customer service or security and prevention purposes — has become critical.
Casino properties across North America are utilizing new strategies and
technologies in a continual effort to know as much as possible about their patrons.
One company helping to streamline that
process through the innovative application of technologies is Santa Monica,
Calif.-based Card Scanning Solutions. The company, founded in 1999, uses
optical based scanners and information readers to glean valuable — and critical
— information from virtually any sort of carded media such as state IDs,
military cards, passports and even some documents.
“We read carded media like driver’s licenses in a very unique way … we read the
face,” said Eyal Barsky, Card Scanning Solutions vice president of business
development. “What that gives you is access to any type of license, whether it
is based in the United States or internationally. It’s a completely different way to read IDs, and at
the moment, we’re one of the very few companies that does
this.”
What sets Card Scanning Solutions’ products
and services apart, Barsky said, is the fact that they utilize an optical
scanning process. Typical card readers glean information through reading a
magnetic stripe or 2D barcode. The problem with that method is that not every
state has those available, Barsky noted. Additionally, in some states, like Georgia, the barcode is encrypted, and the encryption
keys can be very costly to acquire. Not many card-reading companies are in a
position to acquire such tools.
Recognizing a need
Card
Scanning Solutions got its start in Israel with the idea that being able to scan and
collect necessary information from identifications would improve efficiency and
accuracy for clients. Initially, the company produced a single scanner with a
software tool built in to allow the optical scanning. Sales were coming
predominately from Israel, but the company’s four founders soon realized there
was a strong demand for the devices in other countries — especially the United
States.
It didn't take long for the company to have U.S. representation. Its first
client sought the scanning solution for six states.
“We templated those in and slowly but surely gained momentum to all 50 states,”
Barsky said, adding that his company’s system can recognize virtually any ID
from any state, instantly.
The first industries requesting the products were security and automotive. “One
of our first big clients, Reynolds and Reynolds, has an automotive
dealer-management system. You know when you go and test drive a car and you
give your information? IDs are pretty imperative. It was a requirement, and we
showed them our system, and they were pretty much sold right away. It’s still
one of our top industries,” Barsky said.
The ScanShell 600 was one of the company’s
first imaging products. Soon, potential clients were seeking imaging in the
medical fields for OCR.
“As we got more and more client requests, we added business card support, the
reading of one-dimensional barcodes, the 2D barcodes, passports,” Barsky said.
“It was just an organic growth in our company based on what the clients were
requesting.”
Until fairly recently, all of Card Scanning
Solutions’ products were based on simple scanning technology. But as needs
increased, especially with regard to how quickly identifications could be
scanned, the company began implementing newer, more effective technologies.
“Until now, we used a scanner that is a
small scanner the size of your TV remote. It passes the ID through it, and it
takes about seven to eight seconds to go through the scanner. Because of the
fact that it took a fairly long time, we came up with a new idea called
SnapShell. SnapShell is actually a three mega-pixel camera in which you put the
ID on top of it. The camera snaps the picture in two to three seconds and grabs
the image and inputs the data into pretty much any system there is out there,”
Barsky said.
The company also has readers that can scan
and store information from business cards, documents and other forms of media
that contain vital information.
“Our function is to supply the data and to
supply the image. From that point on, we have a software development kit that
several companies in the industry use. They integrate our solution into theirs.
Whatever database they’re already using, we give them the data, and they
compile it into their database. Technically, it works with any type of
database. We write our software development kit in almost any language that’s
out there and it’s very simple to integrate. We’ve been in the business for
such a long time that we’re constantly adding features and examples of how to
use it and integrate it.”
Advantages for gaming
Barsky noted that the tools
and services Card Scanning Solutions provides are a natural fit for the gaming
industry, and that client demand there has helped drive continued innovation.
The company’s strongest business model, Barsky said, is integrating with
developers and operators that have been in the industry a long
time.
“We’ve integrated with major slot
manufacturers for their player tracking systems. We’re integrated with several
applications that are in the casino cage. If you go to a few hotels in Las Vegas, you’ll see our hardware — the ScanShell 800
and 1000 — in the cage. Slowly but surely, you’re seeing a lot of people are
replacing those with our SnapShell product line.”
There
are also applicable utilizations for the products among kiosks and security and
access control areas inside casino resorts. But perhaps the best use lies with
adding advantages to player tracking.
When
a casino operator signs a patron up for its reward or players program, using
Card Scanning Solutions products allows the retrieval of not only the player’s
information, but also the ability to crop off the face of the ID. Once the
player has a card, which oftentimes doesn’t have a lot of information on it,
that player can be scanned to make sure it is actually the person to whom the
card is issued — another tool to ensure the card wasn’t stolen or that players
card scams are not being perpetrated. There are compliance issues as well in
terms of tracking how much that person is making from the government.
“For
instance in casinos it is Title 31. Now the Real ID Act has come out. There are
new provisions under the Patriot Act. All of these new regulations require not
just the information, but also an image of the ID,” Barsky said.
Ideally, Barsky said the devices could be installed at front desk and resort
registration operations.
“I think the front-desk
areas are the ultimate because if you can capture the information at the front
desk, you can automatically have the customer opt in or out of the player
tracking systems using the ID,” he said, noting that the devices can save time
and labor, as well as eliminate data entry errors that can cause confusion.
“That’s the one point where we haven’t had complete penetration, and it’s
something that I would really like to break into, moreso for our customers, to
really show the full power of what the software can do.”
Andy Holtmann
holtmanna@bnpmedia.com
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