![Mike Lawlor, CSO, USA Technologies [NASDAQ: USAT]](https://www.retailciooutlook.com/company_logos/5ok6u.usa-person.jpg "Mike Lawlor, CSO, USA Technologies [NASDAQ: USAT]")
Mike Lawlor, CSO Payment innovations and consumer trends are changing every aspect of retail sales as unattended retail is becoming a fixture of the modern-day retail experience. To keep up with the pace of today’s consumers, retailers in self-serve markets are looking forthe latest solutions that help to increase operational efficiencies, expand payment acceptance options, and enhance consumer loyalty and engagement. In terms of unattended transactions, consumer purchases have traditionally been based largely on convenience and little on brand recognition. As a pioneer in spurring the adoption of cashless payments, USA Technologies and its secure API, Quick Connect, is shifting this paradigm of consumer engagement through its end-to-end electronic payment technology for the unattended retail market.
Committed to delivering high-quality service to self-serve operators who are dedicated to innovations that enhance the consumer experience, USAT has a reputation for delivering the most trusted payment technologies and has built one of the largest networks of connected, automated and cashless acceptance points in the industry. USAT’s flagship service platform, ePort Connect, is a complete suite of cashless payment, telemetry and value-added services forthe self-serve retail market which include kiosks, vending machines, micro-markets and more. The PCI compliant ePort with built-in NFC capabilities handles all the card processing and settlement for the client. “Our technical expertise allows us to seamlessly integrate with our customers’ diverse systems —from cashless payment acceptance options, consumer engagement services, processing and 24 x 7 customer service, we provide end-to-end services to help our customers build their businesses,” notes Mike Lawlor, CSO at USA Technologies.
USAT’s goal is to deliver a complete one-stop shop experience for customers with the most innovative technology, including loyalty programs, and comprehensive customer support in the unattended retail space. Its ePort technology allows clients to remove the burden of dealing with a separate payment processor for each transaction type. USAT makes the transition to cashless easy, giving consumers the opportunity to pay with whatever they have in their pocket and for operators to never miss a sale.
Our technical expertise allows us to seamlessly integrate with client’s business processes
With USAT, customers no longer need to spend their time reconciling receipts. “We handle the settlement with our payment processor, and send a weekly ACH/EFT of settled card transactions to the client’s designated bank account in a simplified structure,” explains Lawlor. Customers using the ePort Connect platform can also access a host of sales and operational data, including information regarding user configuration, credit and cash transactions, and reporting by machine and region.
Additionally, ePort Interactive, the company’s advanced cloud-based interactive media and content delivery management system enables the delivery of remote refunds, robust multimedia-marketing campaigns andloyalty programs for unattended and self-serve retailers and operators. The vibrant touchscreen and interactive media platform of ePort Interactive helps boost unattended business by supporting mobile payments as well as the traditional magnetic stripe credit and debit cards.
USAT’s Premier Services program, as well as the MORE program and content delivery management services are helping drive additional sales for customers using mobile wallet options. Over the past year, USAT conducted a study with targeted digital advertising screens on consumers’ use of mobile wallets—advertising Apple Pay—across 35 vending machines. This study revealed that when businesses and operators present consumers with the option to pay for items with Apple Pay, the number of mobile payments made and the amount spent, increased. Findings by USAT highlighted that there was a 36.5 percent increase in overall sales, 44.6 percent increase in total transactions, 135.2 percent increase in overall mobile payment usage and 55.5 percent increase in revenue through contactless purchases. With unattended retail and self-serve markets becoming an integral part of retail, USA Technologies will continue to work to develop and implement new ways to pay. USA Technologies is looking beyond just payment options and looking at the additional value that it can deliver to its customers and the ways in which a consumer and interact with a brand for a truly personalized experience at the point of sale.
![USA Technologies [NASDAQ: USAT]: Stalwarts of Self-Serve Retail](/company_logos/piz2iusa.jpg "USA Technologies [NASDAQ: USAT]: Stalwarts of Self-Serve Retail")
