Customers of Massy Stores can rest assured that their personal banking information was not compromised following a hack attack earlier this year, chief executive officer Roxane de Freitas has said.
On April 28, Massy Stores and Massy Distribution Trinidad experienced a cyber-security incident.
“That obviously was not a good thing for us. We are very disappointed about what happened however we continue to manage through the situation. What we can say is that customer information was not...we don’t keep that so none of that was released or revealed and our systems are back up and running, and we are safe again,” de Freitas said.
Massy Stores’ Chief digital and information officer Kevon Jack further explained that in particular credit card information could not be accessed.
“It is important for us to notice that even though our systems are integrated into the bank system, we don’t store credit card information. That is not something that we do or will do going forward or any time. The technology allows us to talk to the bank’s network without storing any of your personal information, your credit card information on the network. That has been tested. If you go to any of our stores you would notice that all of our registers are integrated into the bank’s network. So it’s important to note that we don’t store credit card information,” Jack said.
De Freitas and Jack made the comments as Massy Stores launched a new self-checkout service at its Brentwood location.
Massy stated that the new self-checkout service was introduced in an effort to offer customers a more control, convenience and a speedier option.
Self-checkout lanes are also currently operational at the Trincity location and will be fully operational by December 1 at the Westmoorings location. Speaking at the launch at Brentwood yesterday where customers were treated to an in-store experience, de Freitas said the new self-checkout units are synced with point-of-sale units and offer a more seamless experience than the previous model.
“It also takes up less space in the store and is easier to manage by our support team. Customers are assured that the experience is secure as there will be surveillance cameras reviewing every aspect of the transaction, and there is an assigned attendant consistently monitoring the system,” she said.
“Brentwood, as one of our newest locations was built with this feature in mind, and while it is a largely self-managed service, attendants will also be available to support customers if required. They will assist customers with taking them through the process or answering any questions they may have,” de Freitas said.
She explained the new self-checkout technology was the result of a pilot programme implemented in Gulf View four years ago where customers responded favourably.
“Gulf View was our pilot and as with anything you learn the challenges and so we have taken the learnings from Gulf View, and have waited to get the latest technology, equipment, software and machinery. These new machines have cameras all around which we have chosen to invest in. With the impact of COVID-19 a lot of the equipment installation was held back so we have just received them, and we are in the process of rolling out,” she said.
For those customers who are hesitant about using the new self-checkouts, de Freitas said its time to embrace the technology,
“We all got used to using our mobile phones, ATMs and mobile banking so this is another step in that direction, and it allows you to control that transaction and you can also scan your Massy Card so you can get your points. It’s a fully integrated system.”
She confirmed that the Massy Stores in Guyana, St Lucia and Barbados will also be outfitted with the new self-checkout service in the coming year.
During today’s launch at Brentwood, DJs Ana and Ultra Simmo provided entertainment and customers were treated to store give-aways.
