Consumers Ditch Cash For Cards At Vending Machines

Gone are the days of shaking vending machines to retrieve quarters lost in the chute as an increasing number of consumers are ditching cash for swiping their cards at unattended vending machines.

According to data collected from vending machines operating on USA Technologies’ ePort Connect cashless technology, cashless payments now are the preferred payment method at 100 percent of the unattended vending machines.

“The nature of how the consumer pays for goods and how companies accommodate customers is experiencing a metamorphosis —demanding a new kind of solution,” said Stephen P. Herbert, president and CEO of USA Technologies.

The shift in consumer payments from cash to contactless comes at a time when popular payment methods like PayPal, Apple Pay and Android Pay are increasingly being made available to consumers on vending platforms. Apple Pay, for instance, is now being supported as a payment method on over 40,000 Coca-Cola vending machines across the U.S.

“At USA Technologies, we are committed to providing our users with the best technology service to enable them to tap into this evolution —driving positive business results for customers, while driving our own customer growth,” Herbert added.

The company observed an increase to 37 percent cashless usage in a one-month period as compared to the same period a year before. This reflects a 32 percent increase in spending when consumers chose to pay using a cashless payment method, the research found.

The seamless shopping experience and increased spending on cashless payment terminals is now even catching the eyes of retailers like Gap Inc., which is now reportedly looking into using vending machines for letting customers pick up clothes outside the store and to expand its digital presence.

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To check out what else is HOT in the world of payments, click here.

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