When new regulations are in place, the challenge is to comply without reducing value and without missing the focus to the core business. It is thus important to rely on solutions that can meet all the requirements, are cost effective and can be implemented on time with the minimum impact and stress to the organisation. 

January 1st has marked the beginning of the 2^nd phase of ZATCA eInvoicing mandate for retailers in Saudi Arabia with more than 4bn of SAR revenue required to comply.  

After investing for the past few months to build a solution that can meet the demanding requirements of ZATCA and enable retailers to comply, we are excited to welcome the first users of the PHILOBROKER ZATCA eInvoicing solution.  

Some of these are existing users of PHILOSHOPIC solutions while others are using our solutions for the first time. Common to all is that they trusted our team’s professionalism and worked closely together to meet the objectives. The journey for compliance is though not static. The ZATCA requirements and platform are still under finetuning thus we remain committed to work closely with our partners and users on an ongoing basis. At the same time, we are looking forward to welcome more users in Q3 when a new wave of retailers will be requested to start their compliance journey.  

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PHILOSHOPIC contributes to the efforts of the local authorities to improve public transportation aiming at reduced traffic jams and environmental impact, by enabling the purchase of bus travel cards re-charge at hundreds of convenience stores served by Kronos and other large supermarkets and digital channels. The innovative SMASH eVouchers solution was integrated with the Cyprus Public Transport (CPT), now enabling Kronos and its merchants to sell eVouchers to top up rechargeable, personalised and student cards. 

The SMASH eVouchers solution has made topping up of smart cards easier than ever before as customers are able to top up their E-Wallet at hundreds of points of sale such as the closest Kiosk in the neighbourhood with face-to-face payment including cash. No longer will customers in Cyprus have to top up their cards at the CPT offices as their only option, improving the experience for people who ride public transport by making purchasing bus rides more convenient.

For us, this is another project demonstrating the increasing flexibility of SMASH eVOUCHERS to integrate with various operators and enable distributors and merchants to remain competitive with modern technologies that are cost effective, flexible and facilitate a seamless customer experience.

Whether attempting to change the customer experience with loyalty and rewards programs within the Retail, or Financial Services industry, one thing remains the same – you need to count on modern, simple, and consumer engaging technology.

The success of SMASH CARDS has been displayed once again with its expansion in the portfolio of modern technologies of our existing client Tamimi Markets and installation in their new operations in Bahrain. Tamimi Markets as always aims for the best consumer experience being a premium retailer by nature thus trusting PHILOSHOPIC once more after the impact of the SMASH CARDS solution in their Saudi operations.

SMASH CARDS, is a cost-effective cloud-native solution, part of PHILOSHOPIC SMASH framework that enables customers to purchase fixed denomination or rechargeable cards and either gift them or use them as an alternative to cash or banking cards. The cards are currently physical though digital may be introduced soon. Usage is simple for the consumer and possible instantly from the time of purchase or top-up and the customer can check the balance and card history at any time through the company website or mobile app as well as at the points of sale or customer service desks, which caters for all consumer preferences and digital skills. At the same time the business has complete and effortless central control in real time for security and business performance monitoring.

The expansion of SMASH CARDS in Bahrain as well as the constantly growing long term partnership with the Tamimi Markets group, fills us with pride and motivates us further to expand the PHILOSHOPIC SMASH Framework and solutions including Rewards/Loyalty programs, Promotions and Campaigns management, targeted cross platform messaging, Self-Scanning, and others, towards getting consumers, retailers, distributors and brands to enjoy an exciting experience together in a demanding and constantly evolving marketplace.  We are thankful to the Tamimi Markets group for being our partner in this journey for more than 7 years!