Barcode reading from loyalty cards and smartphone screens at the checkout POS

In connection with the introduction of loyalty cards and mobile applications for customers by store chains, it is necessary to read the barcode from the customer's card or the screen of the smartphone at the store's checkout POS. While fashion stores most often use handheld scanners to read 2D codes, including codes from smartphone screens, and it is not a problem for them to spend a few extra seconds to read the code, in FMCG chains (convenience stores, discounts, supermarkets, hypermarkets) it is usually a different situation. In most cases, these chains use laser counter scanners, which do not read codes from phone screens, and even if stationary scanners operate on the basis of imager (reading codes from screens), handing over the phone to the cashier in order to read the code from the screen causes many problems. The operation of reading the code from a loyalty card by the cashier, let alone from the phone, is an unnecessary waste of a few precious seconds for the FMCG store. In such stores, the best solution is to install dedicated customer readers at POSs, where customers could scan cards or codes from their smartphones by themselves. It is very important to choose the right reader. Reading the code must be intuitive - the customer must know where to place the code and the reading itself must be fast and must work within a large range of the code distance from the reader. Correct reading of the code should be clearly indicated to the customer by the reader. These requirements are best met by readers with “a window", reading codes presented from above, even if the code is applied directly to the reader window. The operation of the reader we offer is shown in a video.