Almost 30 years ago, in 1987, Coges revolutionized the world of vending designing a small electronic key that allowed purchases from vending machines: a tool that quickly became established in the daily habits of Italians, almost becoming a symbol of the coffee break. The main strength of the historic ‘key’ , is its simplicity and convenience. The coffee key is always on hand, you can put it in your pocket without a problem and it’s intuitive and easy to use. Above all, it gained popularity because customers no longer had to carry coins around,
The mobile phone shares a lot of these characteristics: it is widespread in every location and social level; it is never far from us, often we put it in our pocket when we move away from the desk; in most cases, using it for payments is convenient for everybody. More and more advanced models follow one another on a monthly basis and now there is almost nothing that these tools cannot do. Thanks to Pay4Vend, the new smartphone app launched at Venditalia 2015, mobile phones finally enter the vending stage with a unique and innovative solution for secure and easy purchases from vending machines.
Like the contactless key, the app is really easy to use: all the customer has to do is open the Pay4Vend app, select the vending machine that he wants to use and get on with it. Pay4Vend scales the due amount from credit stored within the application, that can be charged by coins or banknotes directly on the vending machine, or if you want, by credit card and also PayPal. After the transaction the customer can send the Operator a comment about the buying experience, while the Operator can send messages and promotions that will appear directly on the user’s smartphone, opening a communication channel that the Operator can coordinate with ease, thanks to an online management service. There are also many additional functions available to the consumer on the app Pay4Vend, from lists of ingredients to the option of receiving alerts about the presence of allergens.
Pay4Vend overcomes one of the limitations of traditional smartphone applications, working perfectly even without telephone coverage and so it can be used in any type of location. Moreover, the vending machine doesn’t have to be connected to the network nor it is necessary to install additional readers: Pay4Vend works with any vending machine equipped with a Coges Engine system or with the change-giver coin mechanism Unica through integration of a small electronic board. All accounting data are recorded accurately and data audit can be done by systems of new generation supplied by Coges: USB pendrive, service keys or infrared connection to a handheld. There’s no need to change either internal management procedures or working practices or the infrastructure software: Pay4Vend is completely on cloud, providing another opportunity for all vending consumers.
The app Pay4Vend is already available on GooglePlay for smartphone Android and from summer 2015, you will be able to download it also on iOS devices through Apple Store. Pay4Vend is on the market thanks to Coges Mobile Solutions, the new Coges brand dedicated exclusively to applications for mobile devices; the creation of this business unit has been necessary to offer all vending customers the best service and a technical assistance dedicated in this ever-changing sector.
