Vending

UK vending operator teams with Vianet on contactless vending at airport

Image courtesy of Vianet.

January 26, 2021

Patrons at the Derry airport in Northern Ireland can purchase COVID-19 sample collection kits from vending machines without having to touch the machines, thanks to a collaborative effort between Mount Charles, a Belfast and Dublin-based convenience services provider, and Vianet Group Plc., a U.K. based provider of real-time monitoring services.

Mount Charles installed the contactless vending machines in transport locations where footfall is consistently high, thus enabling quick and easy access to testing facilities for the general public, according to a press release.

Customers pay with contactless credit or debit cards which they tapped against the payment device, or by mobile pay. Vianet developed the firmware on the payment device to allow it to process a payment as high as £95 ($130.43), compared to the typical £45 ($61.78) limit within the U.K.

Mount Charles installed the machines at the Derry airport on Dec. 23.

"We had some very specific needs to develop a contactless payment solution with an increased spending limit, that would work efficiently with vending machines in the transport sector dispensing COVID testing kits," Chris Annon, Mount Charles vending development manager, said in the release.

For an update on how the coronavirus pandemic has affected convenience services, click here.