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USAT Celebrates 20 Years Of Leadership And Innovation During NAMA Show

LAS VEGAS -- USA Technologies marked the 20th anniversary of the debut of the ePort at last week's National Automatic Merchandising Association NAMA Show at the Las Vegas (NV) Convention Center. It was first unveiled in 1999, bringing one of the first cashless payment platforms to the self-serve retail industry. The NAMA show ran from April 24-26 at the Las Vegas (NV) Convention Center. With an eye toward USAT's continued leadership in innovation, the Malvern, PA, company branded its booth,...

April 30, 2019

LAS VEGAS -- USA Technologies marked the 20th anniversary of the debut of the ePort at last week's National Automatic Merchandising Association NAMA Show at the Las Vegas (NV) Convention Center. It was first unveiled in 1999, bringing one of the first cashless payment platforms to the self-serve retail industry.
 
The NAMA show ran from April 24-26 at the Las Vegas (NV) Convention Center.
 
With an eye toward USAT's continued leadership in innovation, the Malvern, PA, company branded its booth, "Powering Your Unattended World," and showcased new technologies, partnerships and research throughout the show.
 
"Twenty years ago, we ushered in the era of cashless in the vending market with ePort Connect," said USAT chief executive Stephen P. Herbert. "Since then, USAT has been at the helm of industry innovation, a change agent powering cashless adoption industrywide."
 
Early on, USAT began to recognize the benefits and opportunities possible through cashless technologies. It has since grown to support over 15,000 customers and approximately one million connections.
 
"We believe we have one of the largest NFC mobile footprints in the U.S. retail market," Herbert continued. "We were excited to celebrate this incredible accomplishment at NAMA and look forward to continuing to drive innovation and shape the self-serve retail marketplace for decades to come."
 
During the show, USAT's booth focused on the strength of its enterprise platform for unattended retail through its booth design and messaging: bringing consumer engagement and rewards, the benefits of both top-line revenue opportunities through digital payments and the bottom-line margin opportunities through increased efficiencies, logistics and merchandising.
 
Seed Markets Expansion: USAT announced that Seed Markets is now fully integrated with some of the industry's large micromarket providers, including 365 Retail Markets, Avanti Markets, Company Kitchen, Three Square Market and Yoke Payments. Through the Seed Markets' cloud-based and mobile solution, micromarket operators can now benefit from one standard set of tools including simplified route management, efficient warehouse pre-picking, a single reporting interface and cash accountability. Seed Markets was also featured in NAMA's New Product Zone.
 
Apple Pay Cash Study: In its main booth, USAT highlighted a rewards program promoting Apple Pay Cash where consumers can receive a discount if they use Apple Pay Cash at a participating ePort location. This program was piloted by Five Star and the white paper was available to show to attendees and is now available for download here.
 
Michigan State University Study on Low Performing Machines: While many vending operators prioritize equipping high-volume machines with cashless technology, USAT's study in partnership with Michigan State University found that low-performing machines can offer significant revenue growth as well. Vending operators who added cashless technology to machines with less than $2,000 a year in sales experienced top-line sales growth of 110% on average over the first 18 months following deployment, and cash sales increased by an average of 97% on the low performing machines during that same period.
 
USAT's Jim turner presented the results on the show floor during a NAMA "Learning Lab" session.
 
Partnerships in Action: In its Partner Pavilion, USAT showcased its technology in real life scenarios such as in workplace break rooms, the airport and more, with various industry partners across the vending, micro-market and office coffee services segments. Participating partners include 365 Retail Markets, ShelfX and Bunn. Starbucks and Avanti Markets also showcased USAT's technology in their booths.
 
"Imperial has been a Seed customer for more than 10 years, and it has completely revolutionized our business," said Lance Whorton president of Imperial Cos. (Tulsa, OK) "Through USAT's Seed technology, we can now ensure our machines are full, our routes are growing and our products are targeted to the preferences of consumers. This ensures we are bringing a better experience to our clients and consumers while increasing our top line sales which continue to grow year-over-year-over-year."