USA Technologies Unveils Its First Universal Card Link Connector For The Amusement And Gaming Industry
ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IAAPA ATTRACTIONS EXPO - USA Technologies, Inc. announced the launch of its Universal Card Link (UCL) Connector. The UCL Connector brings industry operators in the amusement and arcade industry the ability to connect cashless payment options such as credit and debit card and NFC (Mobile Wallet) like Apple Pay and Android Pay to their equipment, with the ease of a single cable. The company will be demonstrating the product at booth #558.
“As companies look to scale their business and make use of contactless payment platforms, the ability to accept cashless and mobile payments becomes a huge challenge when all the existing equipment needs to be updated,” said Tina Schwartz, business and finance manager, American Amusement Machine Association (AAMA). “Becoming compliant with the new standards has become paramount, and USA Technologies is the only payments solutions provider that offers a simple fix that eliminates expensive equipment upgrades. This connector also enhances ease of use, and will help entice consumers to buy more, play longer and come back more often, while future-proofing our business by ensuring acceptance of mobile payments as it moves to mainstream.”
USAT developed the connector in response to the guidelines put forth in November 2014 by the American Amusement Machine Association (AAMA) Standardization Committee. AAMA’s Universal Connector Link (UCL) Manual provides specifications for implementing a standard UCL connector harness for newly developed redemption/video games. USAT’s UCL Connector paired with the company’s ePort ConnectG9® hardware, seamlessly links up the harness to enable connectivity without the need to cut or splice cables. This eliminates time consuming setup or potential damage to card processors or amusement machines. The UCL Connector is a retrofit solution for machines built with a harness including most manufactured after November, 2014.
“According to AnythingResearch, the amusement arcade market is about a $2 billion business, and cashless payments represent a huge growth opportunity for the still-cash-based market. We believe the operators want a simple, easy solution that can connect all their machines to capture cash and credit reporting, as well as incremental sales," said Maeve McKenna-Duska, senior vice president of sales and marketing, USA Technologies. “The development of the UCL Connector was based on feedback from the industry and enables us to tap a portion of the amusement and arcade market that may have been incompatible with existing cashless payment solutions. By offering amusement operators the ability to provide cashless payment options to their consumers, we believe we offer them the ability to benefit in ways similar to other self-serve retail industries, such as higher sales and more repeat visits equating to higher revenue and greater return on investment.”
USAT's ePort Connect® service is a PCI-compliant suite of cashless payment and telemetry services specially tailored to fit the needs of self-serve retail industries. Designed to be a "one-stop shop," services offered through ePort Connect include wireless and merchant account setup, simplified processing rates, settlement and reconciliation, 24 x 7 customer service and a host of value-added services including mobile payment, loyalty programs and integrated payment services for micro-markets and other POS devices.
Pricing and Availability:
The UCL Connector is available immediately. We are offering special pricing for the duration of the show: purchase EDGE Pulse Hardware at $99; Jumpstart rent at $9.99 per month. For more information, please visit our website.
Universal Card Link (UCL) Connector Part Numbers:
Part # VVVUT0102000 G9 CDMA wireless with IDTech Bezel
Part # VVVUT0102100 G9 CDMA wireless with OTI Bezel
Part # VVWUT0102000 G9 HSPA wireless with IDTech Bezel
Part # VVWUT0102100 G9 HSPA wireless with OTI Bezel
