Rawls Distributing Company Expands Relationship With USAT To Deploy ePort Connect On 100% Of Its Machines; Signs On For Premier Support Service Offerings

MALVERN, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- USA Technologies, Inc., a premier payment technology service provider of integrated cashless and mobile transactions in the self-service retail market, today announced that it has added Rawls Distributing Company, a Canteen franchisee, to its growing list of ePort Connect® customers committing to a fully connected operation.

As part of the agreement, USAT will provide state-of-the-art cashless and telemetry services that enable and track the acceptance of cash at most machines, and also enable and track credit/debit cards, and mobile wallet payments such as Android Pay and Apple Pay through its NFC-capable ePort Connect cashless payment system. In addition, the company has signed up for USAT's Premier Support Services offerings, which provides companies access to a bundle of premium, best-in-class support services including deployment planning, project management, installation support, training of staff, the marketing of cashless, mobile payment and loyalty programs and funding support.

"For more than thirty years, we have built our company name not only on providing outstanding customer service, but on leveraging the latest technology in order to improve efficiency, productivity and competitiveness in the marketplace. With more consumers demanding card and mobile payment technology, it only makes sense that we complete our transition to cashless on every one of our machines," said Robin Rawls, President of Rawls Distributions Company. "By amplifying our long-standing partnership with USA Technologies through the Premier Services program, we are ensuring that the deployment occurs in the smartest, fastest way with maximum return. At only 50 percent deployment, cashless usage is already up to 33 percent, and we see greater volume and higher profit margins, which we feel are due to the new ePort deployments and upgrades."

Established in 1985, Rawls Distributing Co. is one of the largest vending service providers in Savannah, GA. As an early adopter of an integrated cashless and VMS solution, Rawls worked closely with USAT to enable half the company's machines with early versions of USAT's ePort, called Edge ePort back in 2011. This new Premier Services agreement marks an expansion and enhancement to their cashless program, deploying additional ePorts in unattended machines across the business, as well as upgrading older equipment in an effort to make 100 percent of Rawls' machines cashless and mobile-payment enabled.

"Rawls is one of the industry's most forward-thinking and well-respected operators. Their move toward offering cashless payments at every machine truly underscores the industry's steady march toward cashless and mobile payments in self-serve retail," said Jim Turner, Vice President of Deployment Services, USA Technologies. "We believe that, fueled by large scale installations like this one, smart machine technology like ours which implements telemetry, cashless and NFC are changing the face of the unattended retail marketplace through streamlined processes, increased efficiencies and greater consumer engagement."

Through the engagement and as part of the Premier Services program, Rawls will also participate in USAT's model market program, which aims to accelerate consumer adoption through site-specific support, marketing and strategic deployment planning.