Bottler Converts Vending Machines to Cashless Apr 9, 2007

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Coca-Cola Bottling Company United Inc., the third-largest bottler in America, is installing cashless payment technology in its vending machines.  The bottler began equipping vending machines with USA Technologies’ e-Port® G6 to accept MasterCard® PayPass™ contactless payments as well as traditional magnetic stripe credit card payments.

"The United States is rapidly becoming a ‘plastic nation’ with fast food restaurants and convenience stores accepting credit and debit cards, and we feel the time is right to begin providing these same payment options to our customers,” said Thacher Worthen, vice president of marketing for the bottling company, which is based in Birmingham, Alabama.

The cashless vending machines will be deployed in multiple markets, reaching consumers from Atlanta, Georgia, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The installations are part of a nationwide deployment of cashless vending machines and point-of-sale terminals by MasterCard and USA Technologies, and is said to represent the largest rollout of contactless technology in these markets.

To make a cashless transaction at PayPass-enabled, e-Port activated vending machines, consumers tap an enabled credit card or device on the e-Port terminal. The terminal flashes a light and produces a tone to signal the completion of the transaction in seconds. No signature is required. Radio frequency technology transmits payment details between the vending machine device and the merchant's terminal. The transaction is processed through the MasterCard network for clearing and settlement.
 

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