Cashless Option Boosts Vending Firm's Sales 17% Year to Year

An analysis of the first three months, post-installation, of ePort cashless devices on approximately 2,500 vending machines operated by Five Star Food Service indicates a 17% year-over-year increase in top line cash and cashless sales. Five Star, a full-service vending, micro-markets, office refreshment services and corporate dining firm that is also the largest Canteen franchisee in the United States, recently completed the installation of an initial 3,000 ePort cashless payment devices. It is currently working with vendor USA Technologies, Inc. on a continued, rolling installation schedule for an additional 3,000 ePorts over the next few months, for a total of 6,000.

"Five Star was an early adopter of cashless payments technology," says Five Star President/CEO Alan Recher. "We realized that, in order to capture every sale, increase margins and effectively compete in today's cashless world, we needed to accelerate our deployment and move forward quickly to install ePorts on more of our machines. USAT has been guiding and supporting us every step of the way, and we are already seeing great results."

"Five Star Food Service is following what we believe to be the typical trajectory for increased sales following ePort installation," notes Jim Turner, VP Deployment Planning at USA Technologies, "and we anticipate that the 17% increase in top-line sales will improve over time. As more consumers become aware of the ability to use their credit or debit cards, we expect sales will increase, consumers will begin buying more and more often, and new consumers will be drawn in by speed, convenience and more payment options. It's a win-win."

"With the ability for USAT to process payments and offer loyalty programs across our growing base of micro-markets, online and mobile payments, and dining services in addition to accepting mobile wallets like Apple Pay, Softcard and others, we know that we have made an investment in a service partner that will keep us ahead of the curve and continue to help us streamline and grow," Recher concludes.