Apple has a new partnership in place with USA Technologies that will help it accept Apple Pay at approximately 200,000 in-use self-serve payment terminals, 9to5Mac reports. The roll-out will bring Apple Pay to coffee machines, snack dispensers, laundromats, goods kiosks, amusement part ticket machines, car wastes, transit ticket and taxi terminals and more.
USA Technologies has a list of clients that includes Coca-Cola and Starbucks, but aims primarily at offerings that are designed to be used by small-ticket self-serve retailers, spanning merchants of all sizes. Its tech already supports NFC-based mobile payments, which is why the deal adds support to its active installations “immediately,” according to the company’s press release.
Self-serve is a key area in which Apple Pay can excel and continue to prove its worth: The best use cases for a device that obviates the need for carrying payment cards are these kind of convenience-buy situations, when you’re not necessarily out for a dedicated ‘shopping trip’ and less likely to have either a bag or a wallet on your person. Remembering you need gas when you’re out for a quick trip to the gym, or having a hankering for a chocolate bar when you’re walking the dog in sweats, for instance, are likely situations we’ve all been in.
Apple is apparently being courted by a huge influx of point-of-sale providers thanks to strong retailer appetite for Apple Pay, which is a marked departure from how POS system makers previously had to promote the idea of mobile contactless payments to their potential clients. The retail interest is good for Apple Pay’s long-term success metrics, but strong presence in settings where there’s not even a merchant present could help make an even more convincing case to consumers that it is in fact a big boon to shopping convenience right now.