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Tuesday 8 February 2011
Nelson wins Mahar Cup
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Nelson roasts over Waitangi weekend Many Nelsonians spent the national holiday weekend trying their best to stay cool, as temperatures rocketed into the 30’s. Tasman Bay was packed with people over the weekend swimming, boating, kayaking and even paddle-boarding. The official Metservice high for Nelson was 28.7 degrees Celsius, but unofficial gauges around the city had it into the early-30’s. The hot weather was caused by Cyclone Yasi, that crashed in Queensland last week, and cranked the heat onto most of the South Island, with other centres recording temperatures into the mid-30’s. While many tried to shelter from the heat, some businesses were in their element with one ice-cream vendor saying demand over the weekend was the highest so far this summer. Allan Weldon, owner of Delizio, says his trade was noticeably busier over the weekend. “The sorbet flavours were the most popular, probably because they are the most refreshing.” The fine weather is forecast to continue through until next week, according to Metservice.
Nelson teenagers Toby Munro, left, and Harry Fergusson, both 14, jump off Rocks Rd into Tasman Bay on Sunday. Photo: Andrew Board.
Nelson retailers face eftpos cut-off Andrew Board
Hundreds of Nelson businesses have been warned they will have their eftpos cut if they do not upgrade their terminals by the June deadline. As many as 655 Nelson terminals on the Paymark eftpos system need to be upgraded to meet new security standards by June 1, or they will be cut off from the system. Previously, banks have been lenient with busi-
nesses that have not upgraded in time, however they are promising a hard line this time. Local eftpos company Viaduct, says it has been busy upgrading hundreds of businesses in Marlborough, the West Coast and Nelson but there are still many more that need to change, despite Paymark and banks’ repeated warnings. Currently there are three versions of eftpos software in the market place
Nicola Gear of Colourplus with a new terminal.
– 5.1, 5.2 and the new version 6. It is only the 5.1 software that needs to be upgraded. Viaduct Nelson branch manager Ged Svarc says businesses face being stranded if they don’t comply with the deadline and he is warning against businesses doing it at the last minute. “There has been plenty of demand but we expect that to pick up as the cut-off looms, but if people leave it too late there is no guarantee
we will get to everyone in time.” The upgrade has been spurred by security upgrades globally. The new terminals need to be able to read cards with a chip, which lowers the risk of fraud because they could not be copied as easily as the current magnetic strip cards. Of New Zealand’s estimated 120,000 eftpos terminals, 40,000 have old technology,
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