Since its launch in October last year, Apple Pay has been steadily growing in popularity. However, self- serving hardware seem to be one of the last few places to accept only cash or cards. USA Technologies (NASDAQ: USAT), a leader of wireless, cashless payment and M2M/IoT solutions for small-ticket, self-serve retailing industries, has now decided to bring Apple Pay to around 200,000 self serve platforms which include laundry machines, parking meters, vending machines and the likes of them.
USAT’s decision to bring NFC payments to self serving devices is a big step towards a complete freedom from physical money, paper, coins or plastic. USAT provides a broad line of cashless acceptance technologies including its NFC-ready ePort G-series, ePort Mobile for customers on the go, and QuickConnect, an API Web service for developers.
Stephen P. Herbert, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of USAT said in a statement- “USA Technologies has always sought to provide convenience, security and an easy way to pay for consumers who are less and less likely to carry cash. We recognized early on the potential for mobile payment, and promoted the technology to ensure our customers were ready for this shift to occur.”
USAT will introduce NFC payments with Apple Pay in amusement parks and arcades, car washes, and transit services as these are the places their self-service products are most often found. The firm also has prior experience with large brands like Starbucks and SMB nationwide.
“Our customers are excited to accept Apple Pay at the self-serve locations they operate.” Herbert added, “We anticipate that the millions of consumers who frequent these locations will appreciate the convenience and security of using Apple Pay for their everyday purchases, and we believe that Apple Pay will help to drive additional sales for our customers.”
According to a survey conducted by Rasmussen Reports In 2013, 5 million vending machines in the U.S. still only used cash, requiring physical money for snack-sized Funions. The question now arises whether these vending machines which have introduced card payment at a sluggish pace will take a leap forward and start accepting NFC payments?
On the other hand, USA Technologies which began building NFC capabilities into its cashless payment products and services approximately 10 years ago, has enjoyed a steady increase in the sale of its flagship ePort cashless payments technologies specially designed for small ticket, unattended retail applications.
Chevron had also announced last year that it will be working with Apple Pay to make it possible for customers to use their smart devices to purchase gas at the pump as well as other gas station goods. While Apple Pay continues to expand to more and more platforms, the Apple mobile payment and digital wallet service faces stiff competition from Google’s Wallet app and CurrentC, an upcoming mobile payment system backed by large retailers like Walmart.
(image credit: Forbes)
