USA Technologies, Apple Expand Partnership

USA Technologies wants to make it easier — and more rewarding — to snag a Snickers at a vending machine using Apple Pay.

The self-serve technology firm has announced that it will integrate its loyalty and payroll deduct program with Apple Pay at about 300,000 machines nationwide.

“Following the integration, unattended operators will be able to offer an enhanced experience to their customers using Apple Pay, which is transforming mobile payments with an easy, secure and private way to pay that’s fast and convenient,” said USA Technologies in a statement.

Those enhanced experiences will include exclusive promos, offers and discounting at other machines linked to USA Tech’s ePort Connect platform. To use the tie-in, Apple Pay users can interact with an NFC-enabled machine with their phone or watch — and choose loyalty points as a payment method. However, however to sync the loyalty program to Apple Pay, users must register and sync a digital loyalty card to their account.

“By offering MORE. with Apple Pay we are giving consumers a loyalty program that seamlessly integrates with their lifestyle, rewarding them for using the one thing they always have on hand, their iPhone or Apple Watch. We expect the integration with Apple Pay will not only fuel participation in the unattended loyalty program, but also underscore the ease, security and simplicity of Apple Pay transactions for everyday purchases like those made at vending machines, laundromats, self-serve kiosks, parking and more,” noted Maeve McKenna Duska, USA Technologies’ senior VP of sales and marketing.