Cellphone Payment Option Backed By U.S. Heavy-Hitters

"Point and click" now has a different meaning, with Verizon Wireless and USA Technologies Inc. teaming to “accelerate the adoption of small-ticket, wireless, cashless payment services and machine-to-machine (M2M) applications” using USA Technologies’ ePort Connect Service.

The United States has lagged behind parts of the rest of the world when it comes to mobile transactions.The partners say the USA Technologies solution now will include the Verizon Wireless network for connectivity that enables wireless point-of-sale payments at vending machines via credit and debit cards.

With more than 100,000 M2M connections to its ePort Connect service, USA Technologies provides small-ticket, wireless, non-cash transaction services to businesses and industries that include kiosks, hospitality, digital imaging and the $43 billion (as of 2009) vending-machine industry.  The company approached Verizon Wireless to benefit from that carrier’s Machine to Machine Management Center portal managed through nPhase, a Verizon Wireless/Qualcomm joint venture and pioneer in helping businesses ease deployment and management of M2M applications.

Notes Stephen P. Herbert, president and COO at USA Technologies, “In addition to providing our customers with the reputable service that Verizon has built its brand on, we believe that the sales agreement will enable us to increase our sales reach by having our ePort Connect cashless payments service now included in the Verizon sales toolkit. This represents an important milestone for USA Technologies as consumers continue to adapt to using credit or debit cards for small-ticket, wireless point-of-sale transactions.”