2 | Unicard Interface BackOffice Setup

This article provides a how-to guide to configuring the Unicard Interface in BackOffice.

The Unicard Payment System interface supports Universities that utilize Unicard in allowing University ID Card Holders to use their University ID Card to pay for Transactions at SmartPOS using multiple account types (wallets on the Card). This provides Card Holders with the ability to present their Card to the Unicard PinPad to view their account(s) information on SmartPOS and also to pay for their Transactions using an available Unicard Balance.

Prerequisites

Aside from physically connecting the Unicard PinPad Device to the Till, a BackOffice Device must be added to the Till to establish the connection and link to Unicard

This Device, known as an External Payment Link will need the correct Communication Settings configured and also has Device Options to be configured per Organization/Venue preferences

Once the External Payment Link Device is satisfactorily set up, SmartController will need to be Restarted or have its Devices Reloaded in order for the

External Payment Link Device Setup

After logging into BackOffice, complete the following steps to create & configure a ResDiary Till Extension:

Navigate to the System Setup component in the sidebar, expand, and select Venue, Stores & Tills to open the Venue & Till List Tab
Highlight the desired Till and click on the Add New Device button at the top of the tab; when prompted select 'Blank Device' and a New Device and Interfaces Maintenance window will open
Enter a relevant Device Name, set the Device Type to 'External Payment Link', the External DLL Name to 'Extpay_unicard.Dll', and the Class Name to 'Unicard Payments'
Configure the Communication Settings as required:

Port Name must be configured properly as the Port where the Unicard PinPad is connected to the Till
The following fields will be automatically populated after saving the Device:

Baud Rate
Bits
Stop Bits
Parity

Configure the Device Options Flags as desired:

The Hide Account Balance flag controls whether or not the Account Balance/s will appear on the SmartPOS screen
The Print Balance on Receipt flag controls whether or not the Account Balance/s will appear on Printed Receipts from SmartPOS when this External Payment Link is used to Process a Transaction
Enter the password into the UniCard Device Pass field if different than the default (5E6D764) which has been hardcoded
Use the Payment Name drop-down to select the required External Payment; this corresponds to the External Payment Name and Number designated for External Payments in BackOffice; check here for more on External Payment configuration

Use the Account Setup button to set up & map the External Payments for the Device with Unicard Accounts; after clicking, an External Payment Setup window will open

(a) Select the Add button to add a new mapping
(b) Enter the Name to map with the Unicard External Payment; this name must match with the Unicard Account Name such as "Meal Account", "Primary Account", etc.
(c) After adding the required External Payment names, select the Edit button to enter Edit Mode and use the External Payment drop-down for each Name to map the Name to the corresponding External Payment as configured in the External Payments component for the Venue
(d) Click the Exit Setup button to Save changes; closing the window by clicking the 'X' in the top-right corner will not apply changes

Click OK to save the Device

After configuring and saving the External Payment Link Device, ensure that SmartController is restarted
Unicard Payments can now be accepted via SmartPOS assuming that the Unicard Pinpad is connected correctly to the corresponding Port as configured in the Device's Communication Settings