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ShelfX Unattended Retail Fridges Now Accept Venmo Payment

BOULDER, CO ShelfX patrons can now use the Venmo app to purchase products at the smart fridges. The fridges are completely unattended and can sell a wide range of product types and sizes. Unlike a traditional vending machine, customers swipe a credit card or send Venmo and then the fridge unlocks. They can take products, read nutritional facts and can put them back if they like. Once the door is closed, the customers are charged for what they took. To pay with Venmo, ShelfX patrons simply search ...

April 1, 2018

BOULDER, CO – ShelfX patrons can now use the Venmo app to purchase products at  the smart fridges.

The fridges are completely unattended and can sell a wide range of product types and sizes. Unlike a traditional vending machine, customers swipe a credit card or send Venmo and then the fridge unlocks. They can take products, read nutritional facts and can put them back if they like. Once the door is closed, the customers are charged for what they took.

To pay with Venmo, ShelfX patrons simply search ShelfX on Venmo, scan a QR code displayed on the fridge, and then send $10 to ShelfX, which will create an account in their name.

To open the fridge, the customer enters the fridge's number in the Venmo app before sending funds. The door will unlock in about 10 seconds.

"As long as you keep a balance of $10 and above you can open the fridge and take whatever you want," says ShelfX chief executive Ran Margalit. "This allows operators to accept Venmo on existing fridges today without the need to install any new hardware. If customers decide that they want their balance back, we Venmo the balance back to them, it is very simple. It puts ShelfX as a user company of different fintech solutions in the mobile payments world."

Established in 2011 in Boulder, CO, ShelfX now operates in 18 countries and counting. ShelfX fridges can be found in hospitals, universities, workplaces, train stations and most recently, in airports and golf clubs.