Shopping centres
Dozens of venues and terminals, managed from one place.
Across several venues the problem is not accepting payments but visibility: which venue took how much, which terminal was down, and where settlement slipped.
So terminals are grouped by venue and by tenant, and the report can be read both as a whole and one venue at a time.
What you get
Many venues
Terminals grouped by location and tenant.
One report
Turnover per venue, per terminal and per day.
Access roles
A venue manager sees only their own venue.
Mixed terminals
Countertop, mobile and unattended in one account.
Shared settlement
One transfer or separate ones per venue, your call.
Parking and vending
Unattended terminals for the centre's machines.
Dozens of units, one panel
A shopping centre is not one business but many small ones gathered in one place. Each unit has its own takings, its own staff and its own problems, while management needs one picture.
On a shared account every device and every unit has an identifier. Reporting filters by unit, by floor, by period. The centre manager sees everything, the tenant sees their own, and accounts get an export for the whole site at once.
The practical difference shows at month end. Instead of gathering numbers from dozens of sources, you pull one file.
Combined settlement or separate per tenant
There are two models and the choice depends on how the centre is structured.
Combined settlement: takings from every unit arrive in one account and the internal split is your job. It suits a centre that operates the units itself, or where tenants sit under one legal entity.
Separate settlement per tenant: each receives their money directly into their own account, and the centre sees the reports without standing between the tenant and their money. That is cleaner legally and avoids questions about whose revenue it is.
A mixed model exists too: common areas and events on combined settlement, individual shops on their own. It is configured in advance, because changing midway is administratively awkward.
Common areas, events and temporary stands
A centre has its own revenue beyond rent: parking, events, promotional stands, children's areas, play zones. Each of those needs payment on the spot and usually for a short period.
Compact devices with a SIM are exactly right here, because they need no infrastructure and move easily. For parking and vending machines an unattended device that runs without an operator is required.
For an event or a seasonal stand a temporary device makes more sense than a permanent one sitting idle. Terms are agreed in advance.
What a tenant asks before agreeing
If the centre offers a single payments solution, tenants will ask the same questions and the answers are better prepared.
What is the rate and how does it compare with what I pay now. On IC++ the answer is verifiable: you show the components and the tenant can check them against their own statement.
When do I get my money. On separate settlement the answer is within 48 business hours into their account, with the centre not standing between them and it.
Who sees my numbers. Rights are set per unit, so the tenant sees their own and the centre sees the aggregate.
What happens if I leave. The account is theirs, not the centre's, and the device is returned or transferred without losing data.
Peak days, and why they are declared in advance
Black Friday, the Christmas period and the big sales do exactly what automated monitoring rules read as an anomaly: turnover ten times the usual, over two days.
So those dates are declared in advance. The profile is reviewed without interruption, because the growth was announced and expected rather than looking like something that warrants a hold pending clarification.
The second thing to settle early is capacity. If two devices per unit are enough on an ordinary day, they are not on Black Friday. Extra devices are planned in October, not in the final week.
Which settlement model for which centre
The choice is legal rather than technical, and it is made before launch.
| How the centre is structured | Model | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The centre operates the units | Combined settlement | One revenue, one legal entity |
| Independent tenants | Separate per tenant | Each receives their money directly |
| Mixed: common areas and shops | Mixed | Common revenue together, shops separately |
| Franchise under one entity | Combined with per-unit reporting | One entity, but managed per unit |
Changing model midway is administratively awkward, so it is agreed in advance.
What to prepare before the season
The list applies to Black Friday, the Christmas period and the big sales alike.
- Peak dates declared, so a review does not stop payments
- The number of extra devices planned and ordered in advance
- Connectivity checked in the common areas, not only in the shops
- Mobile devices for stands charged and tested
- Per-unit rights handed out before the season, not on Friday morning
- An on-call contact known to the unit managers
Questions about this
Can each tenant receive their money directly?
Yes. Settlement can be separate per unit, so the centre sees the reports without standing between the tenant and their money. That is cleaner both legally and in the accounts.
How are access rights managed?
Per unit. The tenant sees their own, the centre manager sees all of them, and accounts get a separate user limited to reports and exports.
What is needed for a terminal on a temporary stand?
Nothing on site. The compact model with a built-in SIM switches on and works, with no cable and no router. Short-term terms are agreed in advance.
Does it work for parking and vending?
Yes, with unattended devices designed to run without an operator. Per-device reporting shows what each machine takes, by hour and by day.
How many devices does a centre with fifty units need?
It depends on the types of unit and on peak days rather than on the number of shops. We work it out together for the specific case, including a reserve for Black Friday.
Who pays for the devices, the centre or the tenant?
Both are possible and it is a commercial decision rather than a technical one. Some centres offer them as part of the lease; others leave the choice to the tenant.
Ready to start accepting payments?
Send us an enquiry and you will get a concrete quote with calculated fees for your business, usually within one business day.