Smartphone app for digital receipts & paperless payment

Is there actually Digital receipts and paperless payment? As I was fed up with the paperwork, receipts and all the waste, I looked around for solutions. One person who is already working on a comprehensive app for digital receipts and paperless payment is Amir Karimi from Bremen - I made an appointment with him for an interview. Some time ago, he himself was fed up with the many and actually superfluous receipts. Now he is developing his admin Appwhich allows you to easily collect receipts to simplify shopping and save all that thermal paper waste. Have fun!

Who and what is behind the admin Appfor paperless receipts?

Our team consists of developers, programmers and designers. Or, as we say: visionaries. With our skills, our experience and our enthusiasm for creative challenges, we create sophisticated digital solutions. Our goal is to develop excellent products that are easy to use for everyone. As software architects, we design virtual environments in which people can move naturally and intuitively. And thus integrate technological innovation perfectly into real living environments. Our goal is: Always ahead. And so are our software solutions. We can keep pace with the rapid pace of technological development.

Because we know the latest possibilities from the world of programming and find ways to use them in the best possible way. To do this, we go through our everyday lives with a keen eye and discover where software can create optimization potential.

What problem do you solve with paperless receipts?

The way in which purchases have been receipted in the retail sector to date has brought with it a whole series of problems: firstly, according to a study, 14 out of 19 receipts printed at German checkouts are made of thermal paper. This is coated with the chemical bisphenol A, which is considered extremely hazardous to health because it has a hormonal effect and can even be carcinogenic. This is why the EU is banning thermal paper from 2020. What's more, till receipts as we know them today consume vast amounts of paper - even though they often end up in the bin right at the till. Quite apart from the environmental aspect, it annoys me that something is produced at great expense only for it to be thrown away again at the end. (Article recommendation: Saving paper waste)

But that's not all: collecting and storing relevant receipts is a pretty messy business for consumers. The receipts crumple up, fade or get lost. How often I've searched for receipts! The app admin solves this problem because all receipts are stored in a central location and can be searched from anywhere at any time: The app creates a digital receipt directly upon purchase and archives it for customers - in a folder system that they can create individually according to their needs. At the same time, the software recognizes which receipts may be relevant for the income tax return and files the items separately for the user accordingly. If required, users can share folders with their tax advisor or partner, for example. This not only reduces the burden on the environment, but consumers can also get more money back when filing their tax return - a real win-win situation.

How does the admin App quite practical?

We naturally attached great importance to this during development, admin as intuitive as possible to ensure a smooth process at the checkout. In practice, it works like this: Users register once in the admin app, which they have previously downloaded to their smartphone free of charge. When paying at the checkout, the digital receipt is transferred contactlessly via NFC (or alternatively QR code) directly to the customer's smartphone. A push message then appears on the screen indicating that a new receipt has been added. In the app itself, the user can then sort the receipts - for example in special folders - or mark or "remember" them so that particularly important receipts are grouped together in a kind of favorites list. This is particularly helpful for warranty receipts, for example.

There is also the option to share folders permanently or for a specific period of time. Accountants or tax consultants can then access the receipts in the folder from their devices and see when new ones have been added. This saves users the hassle of scanning and time-consuming transmission of receipts: All they have to do is place their receipt in the relevant folder at the tap of a finger.

About the hardware: NFC devices are used at the retailer. They are simply integrated into the existing checkout system and are already available in many places - around 60 percent of all terminals in Germany are already equipped with NFC. Thanks to the RFID-based technology, no mobile internet connection is required. So nobody has to worry about the app not working if their smartphone has no reception.

I think the digitization of receipts is coming relatively late. Why has nobody dared to do this before?

It is always difficult to break old habits. Compared to e-commerce, retailers are not yet familiar with digital invoicing, and for a long time it was not even allowed. Then there were a few experiments, for example by Deichmann, with receipts that were sent to the customer by email after a query at the checkout. In other countries, such as England, this is actually quite established - but it hasn't caught on in Germany, I suspect because Germans are very careful with their data and because it also took longer at the checkout to transmit their data. In online retail, on the other hand, the digital receipt has become established because it is the most practical solution and people have had to deal with it more or less from the outset.

Why is there no other option for digital acknowledgement?

I think that the solution for the retail trade must be suitable for the masses. But of course there is a risk here, because the system has to be established at the checkouts AND with consumers at virtually the same time. This is of course a challenge that nobody has dared to take on yet. Instead, there are isolated solutions, for example from individual retail chains that offer the service in their apps, but only as a supplement to the normal receipt.

We have looked at all of this and want to take a chance with a solution that takes all of these special features into account. The consumer shouldn't have to download a different app for every retailer, which is confusing. With admin we have all receipts digitally in one place. This could revolutionize the retail sector. At the same time, it would reduce the burden on consumers and retailers and make returns and exchanges much easier. No one would have to search for an old paper receipt if an item no longer works or is not to their liking, but simply enter the item, the store, the date of purchase or other information to search through the stored receipts and can then present them accordingly. It's simple and ingenious, or rather: ingeniously simple.

Where can our readers get the Admin App?

Anyone who wants to say goodbye to paper receipts can download admin free of charge for the iOS and Android operating systems from 2019.

Great - you have our support!

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Personally, I think this app for paperless payment is simply more than up to date. Not only because of the paperwork and all the waste from private purchases, which may not even require a receipt. Thermal paper also has consequences for our health - because it contains the dangerous chemical BPA (bisphenol A), which upsets our hormone balance. This causes confusion for the Waste separationbecause thermal paper must not be disposed of in waste paper. It belongs in the residual waste. As many people do not know about this, BPA ends up in the waste. Recycling-cycle and finally via detours into our waters.

What do you generally think about till receipts and what do you think of the app idea for the digital till receipt?

I look forward to your comment and this interview.

Stay clean,

PS.: In the article Zero Waste Apps I have provided the best apps for avoiding waste. You might also find a few smartphone apps there that will simplify your everyday life.