Vending Technology Trends
Credit card & smart phone payments on the rise

Plastic Payment Swipes

Plastic payment swipes are ushering in a new world of self-service buy-and-pay applications, with American consumers increasingly using self-checkout stations at grocery stores, paying for travel through airport check-in kiosks, and renting movies from self-service DVD rental kiosks instead of traditional retail spaces.

Snapshots are being developed at photo kiosks, and motorists are refueling their vehicles at pay-at-pump gas stations. Restaurant diners can order from touch-screens at fast-food chains and use hand-held, pay-at-table devices at sit-down restaurants.

This new mode of self-service kiosk commerce is being built on ground already broken by ATMs and vending machines, both of which are going through both challenges and exciting developments in their own right.

Well aware that helping customers serve themselves is big business, manufacturers are feverishly working to develop applications to compete in this burgeoning market. From retail to hospitality, from foodservice to transportation to entertainment, industries are eagerly seeking to install new self-service technologies in order to meet customer demand, jump ahead of competitors and save on labor costs.

Smart Phone Payment Trends

USA Today has reported that smart phones could soon replace credit cards as Silicon Valley start-ups, wireless carriers and handset manufacturers work to facilitate the growing trend for 'shopping smart' as smart phone adoption soars.