News

MEI adds cash acceptor to convenience store kiosks

June 29, 2005

WEST CHESTER, Pa. - Store24 convenience store customers now have the option of paying with cash at new WebStop kiosks.

Cash payment systems developer MEI, based in West Chester, Pa., recently added 500-bill AE2600 upstackers to the kiosks, which have been in Store24 locations since November. The cash acceptor enables customers to purchase items from the Web by paying cash rather than using a debit or credit card, according to a news release.

A 1999 Nilson Report shows that more than 28 percent of U.S. residents do not own a credit or debit card.

The WebStop kiosks feature an advertising screen for streaming video and a touch screen for Internet navigation. Customers are able to access e-mail, community information, Web sites, coupons, along with shopping online and making phone calls using a touch screen. Video advertisements, meanwhile, stream on a separate screen.

The Store 24 Companies Inc., based in Waltham, Mass., operate convenience stores in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Connecticut. The company is intentionally reaching out to the "unbanked" with the addition of cash acceptors, according to a news release.

MEI manufactures electronic bill acceptors, coin changers, and other electronic payment systems for the vending industry.