WIS News 10 - Columbia, South Carolina | Vending machines on the way to accept credit cards

Vending machines on the way to accept credit cards

(National-NBC) April 7, 2005 - Most vending machines appear simple on the outside. You put money in, make a selection and it falls to a tray for pickup.

Many vending machines have computers and are tied back to the vending company through the cell system, letting the company know when a machine is running low of products.

That's where TNS, Transaction Network Services, comes in. It can add a module to vending machines that lets them accept credit cards. Brian Bates is TNS president, "We are the network that takes the credit card info from the card, routing it to the credit card company for authorization, and then returning the approval and vending the soda."

The network is operating in 14 countries, western Europe and Australia.

Its network is already used by ATM's, gas stations, and now TNS is currently in a pilot with Pepsi in seven US markets: Memphis, Orlando to name a few.

The Washington area should have the machines in three to six months. Bates explains why we need a vending machine that takes credit cards, "It will make it much more convenient for the consumer to use the vending machine. They won't have to fumble in their pocket for change. They won't have to find some dollar bills that will be accepted by the machine. So they can just go up to the machine, swipe their card, get their soda and away they go."

All of that takes about four or five seconds. Usually people take more time just to make up their minds on what they want. swipe the card. The approval goes through, select a product, and out it comes.

Bates says the use of a credit card opens possibilities for more expensive items in vending machines, "They can now vend multiple types of product in the machines. it doesn't have to be just cold drinks, it could be coffees, like Starbucks. It could be Sobe drinks. It could also be other products such as flowers, CD's. It really allows a higher priced product to be sold through the vending machine."

Bates says existing vending machines can be retro-fitted with a TNS module in about 15 minutes.

The vending companies have cut a deal with major cards so it doesn't cost the 5% some retailers pay for a transaction. In addition to the vending machines that take cards, there's also a machine in the works that will read fingerprints. That fingerprint readout is tied to a credit card.

Posted 2:44pm by BrettWitt