Bluetooth Accelerates Mobile Pay at Canadian Vending Machines

A coalition of Canada’s largest vending machine operators has formed a partnership with Portland, Ore.-based payments technology startup PayRange Inc. to add mobile payments through Bluetooth technology.

The Canadian Vending Machine Alliance (CNVA) is embracing PayRange’s Bluetooth plug-in dongle, called BluKey, enabling consumers who download an app to make purchases with their handsets, the organization said in a press release.

The PayRange App, available for iOS and Android, prompts consumers to link a credit or debit card to fund purchases at vending machines. Apple Pay, which has been extending its reach in Canada, is another funding source within the app, the alliance said.

PayRange’s BluKey tool can be installed on vending machines in a few seconds and provides a simpler, lower-cost approach to supporting mobile payments than installing card readers and network connections, the CNVA said.

“With the PayRange platform, we’re able to provide consumers with greater choice not only in how they pay, but also in what they can purchase from the machines, as they are no longer constrained by the change in their pockets,” said Steve Tremblay, CNVA president.