MALVERN, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--USA Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:USAT) ("USAT"), a payment technology provider of cashless and mobile transactions in self-serve retail, today announced agreements with several Pepsi Cola bottling franchisees throughout North and South Carolina to leverage USAT’s cashless payment technologies within their existing inventory of vending machines. The company has 11,900 customers and over 469,000 point of sale cashless payment devices on the ePort Connect platform.
In total, six Pepsi-licensed bottlers, operating under the cooperative of Carolina Canners, Inc., signed up to deploy USAT’s state-of-the-art ePort G9 and/or the ePort Interactive and ePort Connect cashless payment systems on more than 2,000 machines, enabling the firms to track the acceptance of cash, credit/debit cards, and contactless payments, including mobile wallet payments such as Apple, Android and Samsung Pay. The roll out includes 1,750 of USAT’s touch-screen enabled ePort Interactive payment devices as well as 370 of its NFC-enabled G9 ePorts, for a total of 2,120 units. The initiative includes USAT’s Premium Support Services to assist in the deployment, at certain locations.
The bottlers include Pepsi Cola of Greenville (S.C.); Pepsi Cola of Bennettsville (S.C.); Pepsi Cola of Hickory (N.C.); Roanoke Rapids, N.C.-based McPherson Beverages; Ayden, N.C.-based Minges Bottling Group; and Florence, S.C.-based Pee Dee Food Service, an affiliate of Pepsi Cola of Florence. Together, operating in the region where pharmacist Caleb Bradham first invented the recipe for Pepsi Cola in 1893, these six independent Pepsi Cola bottlers represent more than four generations of family-owned business, with deep experience in the vending industry.
“When companies with the established history of these Pepsi Cola bottlers elect to deploy cashless acceptance technologies, it provides further validation that electronic payment in the vending and self-serve industry is not only the way of the future, it’s the way experienced companies are electing to operate now,” said Cecil Ledesma, Vice President, Regional Account Sales, USA Technologies. “The fact that these industry leading operators chose to use the services of USA Technologies shows that they are committed to responding to consumer demand, and giving them the payment experience they want today. We’re delighted to work with members of the Carolina Canners to help them do just that.”
Sterling Whitley, vice president of sales and marketing at Carolina Canners, Inc., highlighted the bottlers’ own retail experiences as a driving catalyst behind the choice to install cashless payment technology in their machines. “We’re all consumers ourselves, and when you shop today, whether online or in a store, you typically pay with a form other than cash,” Whitley said. “It will become increasingly difficult, as a vending operator, if you can’t extend those kinds of payment acceptance options to your customers as well. Working with USAT, Carolina Canners is committed to serving the next generation of consumers by allowing them to buy what they want, how they want.”
Beyond cashless payment acceptance, however, USAT's ePort Connect Service’s advanced cloud-based interactive media and content delivery management system offers a unique opportunity to serve up targeted advertising to consumers visiting these vending operators, including multimedia-marketing campaigns, delivery of nutritional information, and sampling. It also creates an interactive and responsive consumer experience by offering the opportunity to employ instant remote refunds and create electronic feedback mechanisms right at the point of sale.
Based in Cheraw, S.C., Carolina Canners, Inc. was established in 1968 to supply its franchise members with the highest quality products at the lowest possible cost; provide marketing assistance; share good operating practices; and explore opportunities to purchase additional franchises.
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Sales and Partnership Inquiries:
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Technologies, Inc. at +1 800.633.0340 or sales@usatech.com.
About ePort Connect®:
USAT's ePort Connect service is a
PCI-compliant suite of cashless payment and telemetry services specially
tailored to fit the needs of self-serve retail industries. Designed to
be a "one-stop shop," services offered through ePort Connect include
wireless and merchant account setup, simplified processing rates,
settlement and reconciliation, 24 x 7 customer service and a host of
value-added services, including mobile payment, loyalty programs and
integrated payment services for micro-markets and other POS devices.
About Premium Support Services:
USAT's Premium Support
Service bundles USAT's best-in-class services to ensure the most
effective deployments of USAT's cashless technology through cohesive
planning that maximizes returns. Services include USAT's Model Market
program for planning, project management, installation support, and
marketing support; integration of deployment planning, installation and
performance optimization; access to USAT's flagship Knowledge Base data;
and customized reporting in support of deployment, inventory and DEX
project management. USAT's Premium Support Service is available to
customers that have made a commitment to connect a significant portion
of their locations to USAT's service.
About USA Technologies:
USA Technologies, Inc. is a premier
payment technology service provider of integrated cashless and mobile
transactions in the self-service retail market. The company also
provides a broad line of cashless acceptance technologies including its
NFC-ready ePort® G-series, ePort Mobile™ for customers on the go, ePort®
Interactive, and QuickConnect, an API Web service for developers. USA
Technologies has 77 United States and foreign patents in force; and has
agreements with Verizon, Visa, Chase Paymentech and customers such as
Compass, AMI Entertainment and others. For more information, please
visit the website at www.usatech.com.
--G-USAT
