Simple – fast – safe

In the 1980s, Migros commissioned the company Autelca, in collaboration with the Migros bank, to develop a system for non-cash purchases. The «Cardomat» was first tested in a shopping centre in Bern.

On 13 April 1987, the time has come: in the Shoppyland shopping centre, the Berne Migros Cooperative, together with Migros Bank, test non-cash transactions. The magic word is EFTPOS – Electronic Funds Transfer at the Point of Sale.
The system is developed by Autelca AG. This limited company goes back to the Eidgenössische Telegraphenwerkstätte, which was founded in 1852 at the same time as the telegraph network was created in Switzerland. The name Autelca is an abbreviation of Automatische Telephon-Kassierstationen (automatic telephone cashing stations), as the original purpose of the company was to manufacture pay phones. Specialising in automatic machines that check the authenticity of coins, Autelca also develops ticket machines from the mid-1960s, and now its Cardomat is set to revolutionise payment systems.
Humorously, the Brückenbauer summarises the basic principle of EFTPOS: “Up until now, it has been normal in Switzerland to fetch the money from the bank and pay it in the shop, and then the retailer brings the money back to the bank or post office.” This will now change, which is why the Brückenbauer explains the innovation to its readers step by step: “Using this payment terminal, the customer can initiate the payment procedure with the M-Card at the Cardomat and by entering their personal identification number on the keypad.” One by one, all Migros branches are fitted with the non-cash transaction system. Although that was only two decades ago, it’s difficult to imagine that it was ever any different.