Toshiba Tec Launches Gift Certificate Support for Self-Checkouts

Toshiba Tec on 30 October launched the "Gift Certificate Linked Subsystem," which connects POS registers with a gift certificate reading device. The aim is to let shoppers use paper vouchers at self-checkouts without summoning a store employee.

The subsystem links Toshiba Tec's PrimeStore retail system with the AES-GTR certificate reader made by Akatsuki Denki Seisakusho. Once installed, the POS system automates the use, collection and tallying of gift certificates. Because PrimeStore can also be deployed on self-checkout lanes, customers who want to pay with a voucher generally no longer need staff assistance. The company says this should reduce workload in stores and make checkout more convenient.

Pricing and targets

The store server is priced at 48,000 yen, and each POS license costs 15,600 yen. Toshiba Tec is aiming at supermarkets, drugstores and home improvement centers, and plans to sell 2,000 licenses over five years.

Limits and field testing

The system can output reports on collected certificates by type, number and amount. Certificate verification works by matching against registered voucher information, so, the company notes, it cannot detect every counterfeit certificate.

The system was tested between March and April 2026 at the Sunplaza Kitanoda store, a supermarket in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture. The trial examined its effect on employee tasks and store operations.

Similar efforts exist in the market. In 2025, a trial combined a Teraoka Seiko POS system with the Vself certificate reader from Laurel Bank Machine.

For retailers, voucher payment has often been one of the few transactions that pulls staff away from unattended lanes. Automating it could make self-checkout viable for a wider range of customers, though counterfeit detection remains limited to matching registered data.