Cashless Vending Comes to Chicago; U. S. Wireless Data and PepsiAmericas to Install Credit Card-Accepting Machines at Navy Pier and Woodfield Mall
BUSINESS WIRE - August 12, 2002 11:55
CHICAGO, Aug 12, 2002 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- U. S. Wireless Data, Inc. (USWD) (OTC: USWE) and PepsiAmericas (NYSE: PAS) will let you pay with plastic at Pepsi vending machines at Navy Pier and Woodfield Mall.
The new vending machines will not only accept coins and cash, but credit cards too, which means consumers will be able to enjoy their favorite Pepsi beverage even when they are short on change. Initial plans will place as many as 80 new machines at the two locations. The machines are an expansion of the wireless vending initiative that Pepsi started in Memphis last January.
It addition to providing more options for payment, the new technology also connects vending machines to a wireless network, allowing PepsiAmericas, the nation's second largest Pepsi bottler, to go online and view real-time vending machine status. Knowing exactly when to re-fill their vending machines and provide service will help PepsiAmericas operate with increased efficiency. For consumers, the resulting improvements will help ensure that they always find machines full and in good working order.
"We're optimistic about the upside potential of this expansion," said Mark Schafer, vice president of on premise strategy and customer development of PepsiAmericas. "Not only will we gain real-time insight about the status of the wireless vending machines, we also hope to gain incremental sales because customers won't be limited by the cash on-hand when they want one of the many refreshing beverages Pepsi offers."
"Our tests in other cities have shown that our Synapse(TM) wireless technology dramatically improves the vending experience," said Dean M. Leavitt, Chairman and CEO of U.S. Wireless Data. "We are excited to be expanding the program to include one of the largest Pepsi bottlers in the country." |
