LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Money20/20 - USA Technologies, Inc. announced that it has added MinuteKey Inc. ("minuteKEY"), which is believed to be the world's first self-service, key duplication kiosks, to its growing list of ePort Connect® customers committing to a fully connected operation. Through the three-month deployment, USAT has migrated 3,400 of minuteKEY's kiosks to USAT's Quick Connect: a secure API that enables the company to quickly and securely process cashless transactions, track the acceptance of cash, credit/debit cards, and mobile wallet payments such as Apple Pay and Android Pay, and meets the payment needs of their customers, while benefitting from USAT's Premium Support Service and gaining access to USAT's extensive suite of services ranging from cashless to loyalty programs.
USAT believes that minuteKEY represents the next generation of smart machine technology in unattended retail. Launched in 2008, minuteKEY kiosks utilize robotics and an intuitive user interface, small footprint, and remote diagnostic and troubleshooting capabilities. The minuteKEY kiosks can be found in locations such as Lowe's Home Improvement centers and Wal-Mart stores nationwide, and the company has stated that it has plans to expand to other high traffic locations like grocery stores and convenience stores in the coming months. The company has been named to the Inc. 5000 for three years running.
"As retailers are looking to get the most value from employee spend, processes like key cutting that once took time and attention away from high value items are increasingly being automated," said Scott K. Moore, senior vice president of IT, minuteKEY. "By partnering with USA Technologies, we are making sure everyone that makes a key at one of our kiosks is able to pay with their preferred payment method, whether it be cash, card or mobile phone, while we benefit from USAT's high level of security, expertise in the unattended market, and customized programs, automating and simplifying the payment processing on our back end. The transition to ePort Connect using the Quick Connect API has been seamless, and we believe we've chosen the best payment solutions partner on the market today for our innovative kiosks."
USAT's Quick Connect enables manufacturers and resellers of kiosks to quickly connect their machines to the ePort Connect service for processing, reporting, loyalty and more. And as a USAT Premium Support Service customer, minuteKEY gained access to a full range of services that include project management and the marketing of cashless capabilities, mobile payment and loyalty programs, as well as funding support to ensure a smart, streamlined rollout and fast returns on the investment.
"As we continue to penetrate additional verticals outside vending, minuteKEY is an exciting addition to our growing roster of companies offering ePort Connect's cashless payment systems - whether it be a retrofit, or a software update using our Quick Connect API - on 100 percent of machines," said Maeve McKenna Duska, senior vice president of marketing and sales, USA Technologies. "As more in-store processes become automated, we believe this partnership represents the benefits USAT brings to smart machine technology like minuteKEY's, particularly in an IoT enabled world where telemetry, cashless and NFC acceptance are the rule rather than the exception."
According to a Transparency Market Research report, the global kiosks market holds an opportunity of US$12.2 billion in 2015. In addition, this report, titled "Kiosk Market - North America Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2016 - 2024," published on September 20, 2016, states the kiosk market in North America is expected to expand at a CAGR of 6.2 percent between 2016 and 2024. The report also maintains that in 2015 the North American kiosk market was valued at US $2.5 billion and is projected to rise to a valuation of US $4.4 billion by the end of 2024.
