Other Zamok guides in this set
What is the customer paying for?
Items or services presented on the kiosk, eCommerce listings, line items from an external billing system, or a customer-entered payment.
Your guide to Zamok Payments
How does the kiosk know what the customer is paying for?
Kiosk transactions usually start with a few pieces of information:
- What is the customer paying for?
- How much should the kiosk collect?
- Where should the payment be posted?
- Who is making the payment?
How the kiosk receives that information matters. Zamok Payments connects your existing online services to self-service payment hardware, allowing customers to use their preferred payment methods while transactions post to the systems you already use. Talk with a Zamok Payments solutions engineer to find the right configuration for your organization.
Cash · Card · EMV · Tap · Check · ACH
Payment center
Secure session
Permit renewal
$125.00
Card
Cash
Check
One payment system, many industries
Four questions define every payment kiosk
Answer these first. The kiosk model and peripheral choices follow from the workflow.
How much is due?
Calculated by a shopping cart, entered by the customer, defined by custom logic, or retrieved from another system.
How is it paid?
Cash, card, check, ACH, or provider-hosted workflows.
Where does the result go?
Zamok records the transaction result, then passes it through to your website, payment provider, or business system.
Item, bill, or service
Amount due
Zamok PaymentsPayment method
Recorded result
A self-service payment and kiosk-orchestration platform.
Interface, cart, workflow, hardware, reporting, and integration.
An existing ecommerce platform or internal development team.
Standalone or connected to systems you already operate.
Onboarding, support, and central fleet management.
Cash, checks, documents, receipts, accessibility, and a managed public endpoint.
1 · How kiosk payments work
From selection to recorded transaction
The payment lifecycle stays consistent even when the source of the item and amount changes.
Identify
Choose permit renewal
Establish
Retrieve the $125 fee
Collect
Choose card, cash, or check
Confirm
Show approval or next step
Record
Post the permit transaction
2 · What is the customer paying for?
Start with where the item, bill, or service is defined.
Choose the answer closest to your current payment process.
Best starting point
Standalone payments
A fixed item, fee, service, suggested donation, or customer-entered amount is configured as part of the kiosk experience.
Explore this setup- Permit fee
- Admission
- Replacement card
- Donation options
3 · How will the customer pay?
A payment kiosk without an integration project
You do not need an existing platform or an internal development team to offer a guided payment experience.
- 1The payment options are established during onboarding.
- 2The kiosk presents a branded, guided experience.
- 3The visitor selects or enters the payment.
- 4Zamok coordinates the workflow and records the result.
- 5Receipts and reporting are configured for the deployment.
Best suited for
- Predictable payment options
- Fixed prices or entered amounts
- Donations and simple fees
- Organizations with limited IT resources
- Systems that should stay isolated
Honest scopeA simple payment experience is not a complete retail inventory platform. For larger catalogs, we can provide or connect a cart.
4 · WHERE SHOULD THE PAYMENT BE POSTED?
Need a shopping cart? We can provide one.
Buy a working catalog and checkout experience—not a content-management project.
What Advanced Kiosks provides
Managed commerce site
Product or service catalog
Cart and checkout
Kiosk-friendly interface
Branding and setup
Payment workflow connection
Kiosk only
The commerce site acts as the kiosk application and does not need to become part of your public website strategy.
Kiosk + website
The same catalog can support both kiosk users and online visitors.
You still decide
Products & servicesPricesTaxes & feesFulfillmentRefund policiesCatalog ownership
5 · Your existing website or shopping cart
Keep the commerce system you already use
Zamok adds the managed public endpoint around the experience your customers already recognize.
Use the application inside Zamok’s controlled kiosk browser.
Add kiosk-specific behavior through configuration and content scripts.
Connect an approved app to Zamok actions, state, and payment events.
Compatibility depends on the website, checkout design, payment provider, authentication requirements, and hardware workflow. We review these during discovery.
Online service
Complete your payment
Business license renewal$85.00
Zamok adds a physical payment lane
Cash Receipt Access
Kiosk-safe browsingSession resetPayment peripheralsReceipt printingScanningAccessibilityRemote diagnosticsReporting
6 · Connected bills and accounts
Let the kiosk retrieve what is owed
For payments that begin with an account, case, bill, permit, tax record, or other source system.
1IdentifyEnter or scan a reference
2RetrieveRequest bill information
3PayComplete the transaction
4PostReturn the result
5ConfirmProvide a receipt
Custom integration proof point
Shelby County
A demonstrated architecture for bill lookup, synchronized amounts, PayIt card and ACH workflows, cash handling, check scanning and MICR capture, payment posting, and reporting.
not a universal workflow
7 · Payment methods and hardware
Let customers pay in the ways your deployment supports
Methods, providers, devices, and workflow requirements are evaluated together.
Card
Credit, debit, EMV, and supported contactless experiences.
Cash
Bill acceptance, recycling, and change where supported.
Checks
Check scanning and MICR capture in configured workflows.
ACH
Provider-supported bank payment experiences.
Entered amount
Visitor-entered payments within configured limits.
Hosted checkout
Processor-hosted payment flows where appropriate.
Hardware ecosystem
Card terminals
Bill devices
Coin devices
Check scanners
QR scanners
Receipt printers
Available methods depend on the selected payment provider, hardware, deployment environment, and required workflow.
8 · Cash access and digital inclusion
Let customers pay cash for a digital service
The catalog or billing experience can remain digital while Zamok supplies the physical payment endpoint.
Select item
Enter card or bank details
Complete online
Online payment works well for customers with an accepted card or bank account and their own connected device.
Broader access
Serve people who use cash, checks, documents, or a managed public endpoint.
More availability
Collect outside staffed-counter hours where kiosk placement permits.
Immediate proof
Provide an on-screen confirmation or printed receipt as configured.
Less counter work
Move routine collections away from staff while preserving in-person service.
9 · Transaction records and reporting
One operational view across connected kiosks
Review activity, investigate incomplete attempts, compare locations, export applicable records, and support reconciliation workflows.
Transaction IDItem or billAmountMethodKioskDate & timeExternal referenceStatusReceipt or posting state
The authoritative accounting, settlement, or inventory record may live in Zamok, a commerce site, a provider, or your business system depending on the deployment.
10 · Kiosk and device operations
Payment collection is also an operations problem
A kiosk must stay usable, report problems, protect each session, and give operators enough information to support a distributed fleet.
Central configuration
Remote status
Screenshots & restarts
Device diagnostics
Cashbox information
Printer monitoring
Out-of-service behavior
Alerts & recovery
Payment fleet Live
City Hall · LobbyCard · Cash · Receipt
Online
County Court · Floor 1Card · Check · Receipt
Paper low
Utilities · Service CenterCard · Cash · ACH
Online
3 endpoints2 healthy1 needs attention
11 · Payment processors and integrations
Use a supported provider—or discuss yours with us
Flexibility begins with discovery, not a blanket compatibility promise.
Existing websiteManaged cartBilling systemStandalone setup
Zamok PaymentsOrchestration layer
Payment providerTerminal hardwareReportingBusiness system
Established integrationsZamok supports established payment-provider workflows.
Demonstrated government flowPayIt is proven within a connected government-payment deployment.
Your processorExisting relationships are considered during discovery and may be evaluated.
12 · Security and responsibilities
Clear responsibility at every step
Security and compliance depend on the complete deployment—not a single product claim.
AreaPossible owner
Catalog, bill, or amountZamok, managed commerce, or customer system
Kiosk experienceZamok
Card or ACH processingPayment provider
Payment hardwareAdvanced Kiosks and provider ecosystem
Transaction reportingZamok and/or connected system
SettlementPayment provider and merchant
Inventory and fulfillmentCommerce platform or customer system
Accounting and reconciliationCustomer financial system, provider, or designed integration
Restricted browsing
Session reset
Approved origins
Roles & access
Audit logs
Physical controls
13 · What fits—and what requires discovery
Start with what you have today
There is a practical path whether you have no cart, an established portal, or a connected billing requirement.
“We don’t have a shopping cart.”
Advanced Kiosks can provide a cost-effective managed commerce experience for the kiosk and, optionally, the web.
“We already have an online store.”
Zamok can run or connect to the experience and add kiosk controls, payment hardware, session management, and remote operations.
“We already accept payments online.”
The kiosk can extend that service to cash, checks, physical documents, printed receipts, accessible hardware, and people who need a managed public endpoint.
“We need to look up what someone owes.”
That is a connected workflow. We identify the account source, lookup process, provider, posting requirements, and reconciliation path.
“We want an isolated standalone system.”
Zamok Payments can operate as a bolt-on solution without requiring integration into primary business systems.
“We need full retail POS.”
Zamok can provide the endpoint and payment experience. Large catalogs, live inventory, promotions, returns, loyalty, taxation, and omnichannel fulfillment may be better owned by an established commerce platform.
“We have our own processor.”
We will evaluate its integration options, supported hardware, certifications, and fit for the desired transaction flow.
14 · Solution matrix and FAQ
Find the approach that matches your organization
Use this as a starting point. Final availability depends on method, provider, hardware, and workflow.
| Capability | Standalone | Managed commerce | Existing cart | Connected system |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed payment options | Yes | Yes | Customer-owned | System-defined |
| Customer-entered amount | Optional | Optional | Platform-dependent | Workflow-dependent |
| Product catalog | Basic | Yes | Customer-owned | External |
| Shopping cart | Optional / basic | Yes | Customer-owned | Usually not required |
| Account or bill lookup | Custom | Custom | Platform-dependent | Yes |
| Kiosk payment hardware | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cash acceptance | Supported hardware | Supported hardware | Integration-dependent | Configured workflow |
| Receipts & reporting | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| External payment posting | Optional | Platform-dependent | Platform-dependent | Yes |
| Customer IT resources | Low | Low | Moderate | Moderate / high |
| Discovery scope | Low | Low / moderate | Moderate | High |
Frequently asked questions
What information does a payment kiosk need?
It needs to know what is being paid for, the amount due, available payment methods, and where the completed result belongs.
Can you provide the shopping cart?
Yes. Advanced Kiosks can provide a managed catalog and checkout experience for kiosk-only use or for both kiosk and web visitors.
Can we use our existing website?
Often, yes. Compatibility depends on its checkout, authentication, processor, and required hardware interactions.
Can customers pay cash for an online item?
With the right integration and supported hardware, Zamok can connect a digital selection experience to a physical cash transaction.
Can the kiosk look up a balance?
Yes, through a designed connected workflow that retrieves the amount and returns the transaction result to the appropriate system.
Can we use our payment processor?
Possibly. The processor, terminal, certifications, payment methods, and intended flow must be reviewed together.
Where are transactions recorded?
Zamok can maintain an operational record. The authoritative financial record may live in Zamok, a cart, a provider, or your business system.
Does Zamok manage inventory?
Basic catalogs can be provided, but sophisticated inventory and retail functions are usually better owned by an established commerce platform.
Can it operate without our network?
A standalone deployment may be isolated from primary business systems, but payment providers and remote management typically still require suitable connectivity.
What requires custom integration?
Account lookup, synchronized balances, external posting, specialized processors, complex reconciliation, or unusual hardware commonly require discovery and custom work.
Start with how you collect payments today
You do not need a complete technical specification.
Show us what the customer is paying for, where the amount comes from, which payment methods you need, and where the completed transaction should go. We will help determine the right kiosk, commerce, payment, and integration approach.