On the weekend of 26 July 2003 two things as we know it will come to an end. The one is motor racing and the other the way we pay when we go motor racing.
This is the day that stadium racing will be introduced to the motor sport enthusiast at the Gosforth Park Raceway, of old horse racing fame.
With stadium racing come the non-motor sport challenges, a vast complex, products and services ranging from vehicle sales to no less than 175 arts and craft stalls, refreshments from sweets and biltong to hospitality suites serving five star buffet meals.
CEO of Gosforth Park Raceway, Peter Lindenberg, believes that the difference between the "great" and the "also ran" will be locked in the experience of the patrons when visiting this state of the art facility.
Not only will VIPs and corporate suite holders be those with beneficial privileges, the different offers to enthusiasts, ranging from the Petrol Heads Bar members and season ticket holders to the Gosforth Raceway Supporters Club, will all be part of the extended Gosforth Park Raceway family.
At the core of this dream sits the need to provide a hassle-free experience on race days, prizes and promotions to draw the crowds to the adrenaline inducing racing events, value-add offerings when the events are over, ranging from conference facilities to team-building exercises to discounts when purchasing from participating retailers.
As racing the way we know it has come to an end so will the way we have been used to pay come to an end. Gosforth Park Raceway patrons will be introduced to the Gosforth Park Smart Card, with which they can pay for meals, buy accessories, go for go-kart rides, enter the pits, be part of the lucky draws, reserve their seats and be identified as one of the Gosforth bunch. When they leave Gosforth they will still be part of the Gosforth loyalty programmes with its selected participating retailers and service providers.
The powerful 128-bit EMV card will form the basis of pre-loaded Gosforth Park Smart Cards which are re-loadable or re-chargeable by using cash or your ATM-enabled bank card.
Pre-loaded value in the form of Gosforth Park currency REVs (RPMs) allows high-speed transactions in offline mode with unparalleled levels of security.
Cost to the patron when doing a transaction is NIL. Yes, zero bank cost when purchasing with your Gosforth Park Smart Card.
Operating within the formal banking environment the Hand-e branded system chosen by Gosforth Park Raceway is capable of auditing each transaction or action that has been performed using the card. To the Gosforth Park management team it will be a powerful information tool ensuring that their offerings will be in tune with the enthusiasts` demands.
To the card-holder it will be the tool used to purchase, pre-book seats, earn loyalty value and be ready for the new economy.
Banks are committed to the EMV initiative which will see the change from magnetic strip to chip on banking cards, as the way in which debit or credit transactions will be done. With this in mind the Gosforth Park Smart Card is enabled to do pre-authorised-debit on chip, as the preferred method of the banks to do a stored value transaction, and is therefore capable of interoperating with future banking initiatives on chip cards.
Multi-application capabilities ranging from using the card as a personalised media to store personal information, passwords and user names, create digital certificates, use it for access control, do your purchase and be treated like royalty when entering Gosforth Park Raceway are only the beginning of what is in store for holders of the Gosforth Park Raceway Hand-e Card.
Hand-e is a registered trade mark of AST Smart Card Solutions (Pty) Ltd, and utilises the user-friendly Pocket Server card hosted application software, supported by the powerful CardTouch processing, clearing and settlement engine, developed over 10 years to provide an open platform for financial and other transactions, using chip or smart card technology.
With all stored value on the cards supported by real currency value within a commercial bank it is possible to rebuild and refund the value of personalised Gosforth Park Smart Cards, should they be lost or damaged.
Using the Internet, card holders will be able to pre-plan their visit by reserving seats, pre-booking meals, arranging hospitality cards for guests, arrange accommodation and then confirm it all by pre-paying in a secure e-commerce portal available from the www.gosforth.com Web site linking to www.hand-e.co.za.
The AST Smart Card Solutions (Pty) Ltd smart card readers, Web transaction processing and settlement offerings are used by the University of Stellenbosch, Pretoria Technicon and soon in schools and more tertiary institutions operating as cashless campuses.
For further information, please contact George Theron of AST Smart Card Solutions on (011) 455 9000 or e-mail therong@nemogroup.net. www.nemotechcard.com
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