Easy Pay Credit Spreads To Vending Machines, Toll Roads

Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages (CSAB) will equip some 5,000 vending machines, and the Ohio Turnpike will be the first toll road in America to begin testing acceptance of major credit cards' contactless payment systems, including MasterCard Worldwide's PayPass.

Since consumers no longer need to sign for purchases of less than $25, the use of contactless payment options has surged in just about every venue where cash is now the most frequent form of payment, including fast food restaurants, drug stores, taxis, some mass transit systems, movie theaters, parking garages--and yes, even vending machines and certain toll booths in Ohio.

Like Visa's comparable Contactless Cards, MasterCard's PayPass is easy to use and speeds up transactions for both consumers and merchants.

As many as 5,000 vending machines in markets including Dallas, New York and Chicago will be enabled to accept credit card payments. Consumers are willing to use cards for smaller purchases if the cashless option is available. A survey by Visa last spring found that 45% of consumers said they use their payment cards for small-ticket purchases more frequently than they did three years ago, citing convenience (73%), efficiency (44%) and speed (39%) as key factors in their payment choice.

advertisement

advertisement

Moreover, the fourth annual survey on small payments issued by Ipsos Insight in November, found that more than 67 million Americans had used a credit or debit card for a purchase of less than $5 in the past 30 days.

MasterCard said yesterday it is testing its contactless "Tap & Go" payments on the Ohio Turnpike, the first toll road in the U.S. to accept payment cards for self-service, toll transactions and the first to test general purpose contactless payment cards in a highway environment.

"Contactless payments present a unique value position around transaction speed," said Mike Friedman, director of Mercator Advisory Group's Emerging Technologies Practice. "This makes them an ideal solution for environments where throughput is paramount."

Visa USA launched its first contactless prepaid cards via MetaBank earlier this month and also bowed a new TV spot in its "Life Takes Visa" campaign that emphasizes the ease of making everyday purchases with its No Signature Required program.

Next story loading loading..