MEMPHIS, Tenn., March 24, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- One thing small business owners often lack is data to help them make decisions based on facts rather than intuition. First Tennessee aims to change that by offering business customers Clover hardware and its intelligence software and apps to capture customer data directly from sales transactions – for both the businesses themselves and their competitors.
Imagine, for example, that an ice cream shop owner knows that when it rains, banana split sales rise significantly. And the morning news is predicting rain for the next three days. Hmmm – maybe it's a good time to stock up on bananas and offer a discount on banana splits via social media.
With the Insightics software and apps available on the Clover platform, the data to make these kinds of decisions is at the small business owner's fingertips. Literally.
"This technology is like offering a smartphone dedicated to small business, complete with cool-looking hardware and apps that our customers can download, depending on what they need and want to know to grow their businesses," said David Popwell, president of banking for First Tennessee's parent company, First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE: FHN). "This will let our customers focus on serving their customers and running their businesses, rather than trying to figure out how to get the facts they need to make the best decisions."
So how is First Tennessee making this all possible?
Insightics captures data from sales transactions, whether a purchase is made with cash, a check or a credit or debit card. That combined data gives business owners rich information on what is purchased, who is making the purchases and when they're buying.
It's the kind of information that until now was available only to large businesses that could afford the technology to track, aggregate and analyze so much data.
First Tennessee is offering Clover and Insightics through a new alliance with First Data, a global leader in commerce enabling technology and solutions. First Data secures and processes more than 2,500 transactions per second.
With Clover comes the Clover App Market, one of the fastest-growing POS app markets, with more than 125 apps designed to help business owners with daily tasks.
Just like smartphone apps, Clover apps are surprisingly simple to use. Plus, the Clover hardware looks really cool – which is important to many small business owners. The Clover hardware would replace the clunky credit card swipe machines that many businesses use today.
First Tennessee will also offer other products in the Clover family:
Clover Station - a countertop point-of-sale and business management solution
Clover Mobile - a high-powered portable system that enables transactions on the go whether a business owner is accepting payments tableside or in a register line
Clover Mini - an "all-in-one" solution to streamline operations
Clover Go – an EMV card reader for businesses with mobile workforces or entrepreneurs
Small business owners who would like to learn more about Clover can visit any First Tennessee Bank financial center or First Tennessee's Clover website.
About First Tennessee First Tennessee Bank is the largest bank headquartered in Tennessee, with the number one deposit market share in Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis and the Tri-Cities and a top-five deposit market share in Nashville. The FTB Advisors wealth management group has 313 financial advisors and $25 billion in assets under administration. First Tennessee was founded during the Civil War in 1864 and has the 14th oldest national bank charter in the country and one of the highest customer retention rates of any bank in the country. First Tennessee, FTN Financial and FTB Advisors are part of First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE: FHN), which has 4,300 employees. First Horizon has been recognized as one of the nation's best employers by Forbes, Working Mother and American Banker magazines. More information is available at www.FirstTennessee.com.
About First Data First Data (NYSE: FDC) is a global leader in commerce-enabling technology and solutions, serving approximately six million business locations and 4,000 financial institutions in 118 countries around the world. The company's 24,000 owner-associates are dedicated to helping companies, from start-ups to the world's largest corporations, conduct commerce every day by securing and processing more than 2,500 transactions per second and $1.9 trillion per year.
