Apple Pay comes to Canadian vending machines through PayRange app

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iPhone
Canadian iPhone owners should now be able to use Apple Pay at some vending machines, if indirectly by way of a third-party app, according to a Monday announcement.




People can use Apple Pay to fund the PayRange iOS app, which is being supported by members of the Canadian National Vending Alliance, the latter organization said. The app can only be used at machines equipped with a BluKey dongle, although operators can allegedly install the hardware in seconds.

A number of American vending machines already have direct support Apple Pay, such as some from Coca-Cola, an early Apple partner. Outside the U.S., however, Apple Pay support leans even more heavily towards retailers and restaurants.

Canada is still a relatively new frontier for Apple Pay, having only gained access to the platform in May. All of the country's major banks are now onboard, and merchant support should gradually increase.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    ericthehalfbeeericthehalfbee Posts: 4,486member
    Why? There are already vending machines that support Apple Pay the "normal" way (that is, they have the equivalent of a POS terminal built into the machine).
    redraider11
  • Reply 2 of 10
    calicali Posts: 3,494member
    Apple should be on top of this. A separate app makes it nearly useless.

    Anyone seen an Apple Pay vending machine?
    Does it have a piggybacking android pay logo?
  • Reply 3 of 10
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,384member
    I know use Apple pay for ~80% of my POS transactions. I've started to get annoyed by retailers who don't support it.
    lostkiwi
  • Reply 4 of 10
    auxioauxio Posts: 2,727member
    Why? There are already vending machines that support Apple Pay the "normal" way (that is, they have the equivalent of a POS terminal built into the machine).
    Agreed.  I can understand for existing vending machines which already use BluKey, but if you have to install something, why use specialized hardware and make it harder for customers when you can just use standard hardware?
  • Reply 5 of 10
    dingo6dingo6 Posts: 3member
    Didn't notice it wasn't supported, most vending units take Tap To Pay debit/credit (NFC).   And cheers to be annoyed by slow vendors, Old Navy I'm looking your way.. <.<
     5s & Apple Watch combo
  • Reply 6 of 10
    jbishop1039jbishop1039 Posts: 257member
    I've seen a few vending machines that have the Apple Pay logo on them and no separate app is required. Plus, most tap to pay terminals here in Canada are already good to go. 
    jony0lostkiwi
  • Reply 7 of 10
    mknelsonmknelson Posts: 1,125member
    It looks like this is a way to add ApplePay to older Vending Machines.

    Not ideal, but economic.

    https://www.payrange.com
  • Reply 8 of 10
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    3.95% !
  • Reply 9 of 10
    poweruser86poweruser86 Posts: 2member
    PayRange is great!!  I use it daily to play pinball at my favorite local haunt.

    For operators, the cost is a significant factor in ApplePay adoption.  For the price of ONE credit card / ApplePay receiver you can put on a machine, you can enable 10 machines with PayRange.  PayRange simply hooks up in-line using the same cabling you use to connect a bill taker or coin mech (which is why it takes so little time to install), and requires no internet service at the machine which is HUGE.  There's a nifty online console you can change prices remotely, set promotions or 'happy hours' up, and all the settings are updated on the hardware when someone swipes up on game to pay.

    And their 3.95% take is not too bad.  CC processors for vending usually take about the same, depending on the number of swipes per month.
  • Reply 10 of 10
    slprescottslprescott Posts: 765member
    I've been pleasantly surprised by the number of vending machines (in the US) that support Apple Pay.  I had assumed that vending machines would be a lagging adopter of Apple Pay because it would require an expensive upgrade or replacement of the physical machine, but that was wrong -- many of the vending machines I see do already accept Apple Pay.

    Next please: gas pumps

    edited August 2016
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