Walking around SUB, i’ve noticed that there are lots of vending machines. This is not out of the ordinary, but one thing struck my eye: the paypass option on some of the machines. I, personally, haven’t seen anything like that before for vending machines, but after some research, it seemed to me that these machines have been around for a while (more than two years). It occurred to me that this was great way for a company to differentiate itself.
Visa, MasterCard, American Express and other credit card companies compete intensively. One way they have been able to influence the market is by making sure some stores only allow one card. For example, Costco only allows customers to purchase goods with American Express or cash. This could backfire, though, and lead to customer frustration. Yet, this innovative idea of credit card vending machines is a much better way making oneself unique. Another example that comes to mind is the Verified by Visa online security and MasterCard, although both have been questioned and criticized due to philishing scams. So, this has not been such successful innovation. Apparently, after reading some articles, Mastercard’s Paypass reader will work with Visa PayWave cards, because they work on the same frequency. But, the main point is it’s MasterCard’s name on these readers, not Visa. And this is what consumers see. Paypass is now even being used for highway toll fees, clearly more innovative than PayWave!
