Connectivity for Smart Point of Sale and Vending Devices

Quectel Wireless Solutions, a global IoT solutions provider, has published a new white paper, titled ‘Which Connectivity is the Smart Choice for POS and vending?’ The paper explores which connectivity is the most effective connectivity technology for smart point of sale (POS) and vending devices. Both industries have been revolutionized by technical advances in payment technologies but also the step change in consumer behavior introduced by the pandemic. It is now apparent that cash is not only the favored payment method but is now the default for most users.

The white paper reports that, in 2020, global consumer preference to pay with cash fell to 15%. The move away from cash and increased trust in near-field communication (NFC) for payments, has seen connected terminals for in-store remote payments become part of everyone’s daily lives and the global point of sale (POS) terminal market is growing even more rapidly because of this. The market for cellular POS terminals is now worth more than US$11bn per year and is set to grow to US$30bn by 2024. Growth is driven by changing consumer habits but also by a new wave of cost-effective payment terminals that rely on cellular connections.

This is enabling truly smart solutions for one-person and micro businesses but also enabling larger businesses with greater flexibility as they introduce cellular-enabled payment technology into their stores. The advantages don’t stop there. Cellular connectivity can be used not only for secure payments but to manage stock, monitor vending machine performance, and enable predictive maintenance. There are high- and low-end scenarios at play across multiple types of retailers and vending scenarios and cellular connections, dominated by LTE Cat M, are demonstrating their value in terms of flexibility, ease of deployment, global availability, security, and cost efficiency.

The same approach of having multiple use cases for one cellular connection is in evidence in the vending market, the paper says. Dumb vending machines that failed to properly release your favorite chocolate bar are a thing of the past and are increasingly offering more complex products but also gathering data on user choices and becoming more intelligent as they tailor offerings to the needs of demographics in the locations they are sited.

Smart or intelligent vending devices utilize the connectivity enabled for payment to also manage the machine’s business functions and this is helping to encourage significant growth in the adoption of smart vending machines.

To find out more, download a free copy of the whitepaper here.