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MasterCard Worldwide and USA Technologies announced that six of America's most prominent vending companies are installing e-Port® cashless payment technology on their vending machines to accept MasterCard PayPass cards and devices.

The six vending machine companies participating in the MasterCard and USA Technologies rollout are North County Vending, Five Star Food Service, A & B Vending, First Class Vending, Mid-Atlantic Vending, and PGI Services. These machines are part of the deployment of 5,000 PayPass- and cashless- enabled vending machines announced late last year.

"As a result of our work with USA Technologies, MasterCard PayPass is now available on vending machines in major cities across the US, giving consumers a faster, more convenient way to make purchases from beverage and snack machines," said T.J. Sharkey, group head, national accounts, U.S. commerce development, MasterCard Worldwide. "We are making it easier for bottling and vending companies to offer more diverse products with higher price points to consumers, while at the same time enhancing the customer's purchasing experience."

The USA Technologies wireless activated e-Port G6 allows vending machine customers to use either their traditional magnetic-stripe credit cards or new contactless cards such as MasterCard PayPass to make purchases. With PayPass, consumers simply wave their cards in front of the e-Port wireless reader, or tap the reader. MasterCard is leading the cashless and contactless payments drive in vending machines with the support of USA Technologies industry-leading wireless technology.

"Cashless payment technology offers vending machine customers more payment choices, adds security and improves auditing, while providing greater ease and speed when making purchases," said Stephen P. Herbert, president and COO, USA Technologies. "The $46 billion vending industry is rapidly converting to cashless payment, offering operators improved efficiencies and new revenue streams. The e-Port G6 is the only technology that accepts all mediums of payment - cash, cashless or contactless."

The six latest rollouts follow e-Port G6 deployments by several of the nation's largest bottling companies, including Coca-Cola Bottling Company United Inc., the third largest bottler in America and largest independently owned bottler, the Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottling Company, the fourth largest Coke bottler in the nation, the Great-Plains Coca-Cola Bottling Company, one of the largest family businesses in the State of Oklahoma, and Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages (CSAB), whose brands include Dr Pepper, 7UP, Snapple, A&W Root Beer, Hawaiian Punch, Canada Dry, and Mott's.

These six vending machine companies service many of the biggest vending markets in the US:

• North County Vending, a leading US vending company, services California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Arizona and Nevada, and was among the first to install e-Port cashless transaction technology to help overcome theft and vandalism of vending machines.
• Five Star Food Service, the sixth largest vending company in the nation, has operations in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky and Florida.
• A&B Vending Co, Inc. of New England, provides snack, beverage, food and coffee services, and already accepts MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover card payments at vending machines.
• First Class Vending, an independently owned Vending Service Provider, services Southern California's Los Angeles, Ventura, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange and San Diego counties.
• Mid-Atlantic Vending, located in Philadelphia, Pa., is one of America's leading distributors and operators of mobile street vending and machine vending of ice creams.
• PGI Services Inc., operates full-line vending services in Utah, Florida, and Illinois, and was one of the earliest adopters of cashless vending.

"According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, credit card usage now constitutes more than half of all retail transactions annually, and studies show that about 50 percent of consumers will not purchase from vending machines when the "use correct change" light is highlighted," said Herbert. "The e-Port G6 responds to the growing global cashless trend and it overcomes the inconvenience of not having correct change, delivering overall improved customer satisfaction."

MasterCard PayPass uses radio frequency technology to transmit payment details between the PayPass device and the merchant's terminal. The transaction is processed through the MasterCard network for clearing and settlement. PayPass cards include magnetic stripe technology for traditional swipe card payments, and can be offered on non-card devices, such as a convenient payment tag that fits on a key chain for easy access.