Drugstore dm: Can you pay without cash?

This article first appeared on RTL.de

At the drugstore dm, a change is in the offing in many branches. As reported by the “Lebensmittel Zeitung” (LZ), among others, self-checkouts are expected to be installed in around 100 branches in Germany. Customers can scan and pay for their goods themselves, which is intended to complement the classic manned checkouts. This type of payment is not entirely new – it can already be found in various supermarkets and also discounters, hardware stores and similar shops.

In the “LZ”, Stephan Seitz from the IT subsidiary dmTech explained that the approximately 100 locations should receive self-checkout devices this year – provided that the tense supply chains for electronic components from Asia allow this. The POS systems are currently being tested in nine branches and are apparently “well received” by customers. They would be used mainly by consumers who only buy a few items.

dm: Is cash payment still possible?

According to the dmTech department manager, the Dutch technology supplier Pan Oston developed the terminals together with dmTech. According to media reports, the retailer deliberately decided against a standard device because they were looking for a solution tailored to the drugstore business.

Cash payments are not possible at the new terminals. Instead, the dm self-service checkouts only accept payments with Girocards (EC cards), credit cards and soon Payback Pay. The terminals have relatively small spaces on both sides for the items to be scanned. The design of the devices is slim and does not contain any superfluous functions. dm deliberately avoided checkweighers. False alarms would too often scare customers away. The information service “Retail-Optimiser.de” had first reported on the new self-checkouts at dm.