UNICODE SYSTEMS is the leading provider of information systems for petrol stations retail in the Czech Republic and other European countries. This very extensive industry spans our IT solutions from technology management to management systems for petroleum company headquarters. We have more than 25 years of experience in developing and implementing systems. Besides development, part of our work is also service activities in the form of technological and IT support.

We deliver innovative products, work closely with our customers and very often set new standards in this field. We work with the highest responsibility and our solutions help our customers to increase the productivity and competitiveness of their petrol stations. Our solution is in operation at more than 5,000 petrol stations and several dozen central petroleum companies.

Our main activities

  • POS and BOS Systems
  • Self-service Payment Terminals (OPT) and systems
    for public and non-public filling stations
  • Loyalty systems
  • Central Control Systems (HOS)
  • Central Card Payment Systems
    (Card Management Systems, Authorization Centre)
  • Competence Centre providing full IT and Operational Support
    for our own systems and third-party systems

Company History

1990
1991
1996
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002 – 2004
2005 – 2007
2009 – 2010
2011 – 2017
2016
2021
2021
2021
2021
2022
2022

1990

Foundation of UNICODE SYSTEMS

UNICODE SYSTEMS was established in 1990 and has entered the IT market in the barcode field and identification technology.
In the same year, its activities were expanded into IT solutions for POS systems.
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1991

Beginning of OPT production

We launched activities related to the development and implementation of OPT (Outdoor Payment Terminal) for unmanned petrol stations.
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1996

Shop97 – POS, BOS system

We entered the market with the new concept of cash system solutions („Shop97“ POS, BOS system) on the Windows 95 platform. This step turned out to be a strategic decision for our the future and thus penetrated the highly competitive retail IT solutions market.
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1998

Start of the HOS development

We started the development of the central HOS. Our first product in this area was the installation at the TOTAL ČR headquarters .
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1999

5% market share in the Czech Republic

We reached a 5% market share among service providers for petrol stations in the Czech Republic (approx. 100 service stations). The number of installations reached 200 at the end of this year. The orders were made by TAMOIL and TOTAL CZ. The market share exceeded to 10% at the end of 1999.
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2000

Shop2000

We continue to increase our market share in the Czech market and we reach 13% (260 petrol stations) at the end of 2000. In the same year, we are itroducing the Next Generation system – Shop2000, based on Microsoft Visual FoxPro platform. The year 2000 is also a year of business collaboration with IBM. Shop2000 has been optimized for IBM SurePOS 500 hardware platforms. We launched the first version of the Shop2000 Enterprise central management system, based on the MS SQL Server platform and ASP web technologies.
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2001

Market share reached 16 %

We are expanding our activities to foreign markets in Austria – the Shop2000 certification under the Tankstelle 2000 brand and the first pilot installation in Germany. Our market share in the Czech Republic reached 16 % (320 installations).
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2002 – 2004

EuroShop

We launched a new information system brand – EuroShop – an international version based on our previous solutions.
The breakthrough moment for the new product was the use of a flexible MS SQL platform that enabled customers to quickly fulfil their requirements. In the same year, we became the winner in the choice of supplier to implement a system for 200 Čepro a.s./EuroOil petrol stations. We have also established UNICODE SERVICE specialising in providing installation and service support.
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2005 – 2007

Entering the EU market

Our further commercial success has become by entering with EuroShop system into the EU market. Participation in foreign tenders led to three important contracts – Agip Czech Republic and Slovakia, Slovnaft Czech Republic and the largest – OMV Czech Republic. In 2005, the first version of the central management system EuroShop Enterprise was released. By the end of 2007, our products had market share in the Czech Republic of 65 % in the segment of public service stations (more than 1,400 installations) and 60 % in the segment of self-service stations (400 terminals).
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2009 – 2010

Our market share is 80-85 %

Our market share in the domestic market is around 80-85 % (POS, BOS, HOS and OPT).
In the Czech Republic and the EU, EuroShop POS, BOS and HOS systems are successfully operated in petrol station chains.

  • 840 stations OMV – Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary.   
  • 300 stations + 3 national HOS – ENI Agip – Austria. Agip Austria is a joint project between IBM and UNICODE SYSTEMS. Loyalty system was completed in May 2010.
  • 330 stations – Unipetrol / BENZINA (PKN ORLEN Group) – HOS, central card management system, SAP integration.

2011 – 2017

ECR EUROSHOP into Europe

We are entering other countries in Southeast Europe: Slovenia, Serbia, Romania, Moldova, and Bulgaria. The ECR EuroShop implementation and deployment project is in total on 940 stations. We are also entering the Polish market where we are installing the ECR EuroShop for 30 Tesco stations.
The development of a new generation of OPT is also in progress, and we are introducing mobile platforms (the EuroShop mobile payment centre, mobile APP for petrol retail) on the Czech, Slovak and Austrian markets and launching the new generation of EuroShop ECR + EuroShop HOS called EuroShop Business during the construction of a new technology centre Brno.

2016

ČAPPO

23.06.2016 we became members of the Czech Association of Petroleum Industry and Trade. ČAPPO represents companies from the petroleum sector, which includes refining, distribution, and marketing of petroleum products in the Czech Republic. ČAPPO members support industry collaboration and dialogue in the areas of safety and transport, providing expertise, influence, and flexibility for those who wish to join. It is the voice of the Czech petroleum industry. Website: www.cappo.cz

2021

GasNet LNG stations

We are launching GasNet’s first self-service LNG petrol stations. We see LNG as one of the future fuel alternatives for truck transport.

2021

CardManager Wet & Dry

Newly on the market is our CardManager Wet & Dry for fuel and refreshment sales. Its unique design combines a classic outdoor OPT with a large 32″ touchscreen food ordering display, which is mainly used in Fast Food restaurants.

2021

Technology Park Brno

The coronavirus has brought a high demand for self-service OPTs. We expanded our production facilities to the premises of the Technology Park in Brno with a total area of 500 square metres and started to produce up to 100 pieces of all OPT models per month.

2021

Mobile app uniPAY

Introducing the long-awaited mobile app – uniPAY loyalty system. All public petrol stations using our POS systems can connect to uniPAY. More on the web: www.unipay.club

2022

CAR Wash OPT

We are introducing the new CAR Wash OPT, which is designed to sell and apply wash programs and also to control them. The new product range is a response to increased interest in the integration of wash portals and boxes. This type of OPT can also be used for reinstallation of our original 1998 OPT MiniMaster series.

2022

More news – ECR Monitoring

This application allows real ON-LINE monitoring of every connected OPT – the status, operation, and hardware. Proactive monitoring tracks communication and functionality of all components. Detailed breakdown of available operations, including history, enables preventive and operative solution of various situations.  

Our customers include the largest petroleum chains