PRESS RELEASE
Dec. 1, 2011, 2:19 p.m. EST
Giving Consumers Option to Pay for Snacks With a Single Tap of Their Phone
SAN FRANCISCO, CA and ATLANTA, GA, Dec 01, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Cantaloupe Systems, the leading vending optimization platform provider, is joining with First Data Corporation, a global leader in electronic commerce and payment processing, to implement near-field communication (NFC) reader technology in thousands of United States vending machines. Using Google Wallet, a mobile payment application that uses NFC technology, customers will be able to make purchases by tapping their phones at vending machines installed with the Cantaloupe Systems.
Google Wallet is compatible with the MasterCard PayPass(R) contactless system, already available in thousands of retail stores, and will expand to accommodate other NFC payment systems as they come to market.
"Our goal as a company is to bring leading-edge retail technology to the vending industry, and you can't get more leading-edge than Google Wallet, which will allow consumers to buy everything from electronics to snacks using their smartphones," said Anant Agrawal, co-founder and CMO of Cantaloupe Systems. "We're here to help our customers deliver wider choice and better service to their customers. Adding this cashless mobile payment option -- and its potential extensions into improved merchandising -- is a great step toward accomplishing that."
The NFC-enabled vending machines are owned and operated by Cantaloupe Systems customers, including CC Vending, which serves the tri-state area surrounding New York City; Black Tie Services and Midlantic Vending, which serve the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area; and Mark Vend, which serves the Chicago metropolitan area. In addition to the NFC enablement, all these machines are equipped with Cantaloupe Systems' Seed technology, which monitors, reports, and analyzes real-time sales data over the Web.
"The applications for NFC payments are vast and by expanding the user experience to the vending market, we are providing customers with a fun and engaging way to purchase goods at vending machines and even get offers and coupons," said Dom Morea, SVP and division manager, Advanced Solutions and Innovation, First Data. "This partnership is another step in the payments evolution that First Data is driving across our solutions integrating mobile payments into consumers' everyday lives; making payments interactive, fast and convenient."
"The merchandising value here goes beyond customer convenience to building customer loyalty and frequency of purchase in the mobile age," said Mike Cascione, President of CC Vending. "With mobile payment solutions like Google Wallet augmenting the customer information we're already receiving from Cantaloupe Systems' wireless Seed technology, we'll be able to offer custom-tailored promotions keyed to individual product preferences."
About First Data Around the world, every second of every day, First Data makes payment transactions secure, fast and easy for merchants, financial institutions and their customers. First Data leverages its vast product portfolio and expertise to drive customer revenue and profitability. Whether the choice of payment is by debit or credit card, gift card, check or mobile phone, online or at the checkout counter, First Data takes every opportunity to go beyond the transaction.
About Cantaloupe Systems San Francisco-based Cantaloupe Systems, Inc. is the fastest-growing wireless-enabled vending optimization platform provider. The company was founded in 2002 by engineers Mandeep Arora, a second-generation vending professional, and Anant Agrawal to provide automated merchandising and business intelligence technology to the $55 billion global vending industry. The Cantaloupe Retail Optimization Platform (CROP) applies state of the art business intelligence and analytics to remotely-monitored real-time vending sales data to suggest optimized next-best-step business decisions. The result: vending operators can generate the greatest revenue and margin from each machine with optimized service efficiencies and reduced operational cost. Operators using CROP average $35,000 in annual savings per route, can replenish 80 percent more machines per week and can reduce their carbon footprint by 40 percent through the elimination of unnecessary truck travel and smaller loads per truck.
Cantaloupe Systems is backed by Global Environment Fund of Chevy Chase, MD., and Foundation Capital of Menlo Park, CA. For more information, please visit http://www.cantaloupesystems.com .
