Cantaloupe, Inc., previously known as USA Technologies Inc., is an American company known for its work with ePort cashless acceptance technology running on its patented ePort Connect service, a PCI compliant, comprehensive suite of services designed for the self serve, unattended market. ePort Connect wirelessly facilitates electronic payment options to consumers (so that payment can be made with credit, debit, or NFC enabled electronic wallets like

Apple Pay Apple Pay is a mobile payment service by Apple Inc. that allows users to make payments in person, in iOS apps, and on the web. It is supported on these Apple devices: iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, and Mac. It digitizes and can replace a cred ...

and Google Pay) while providing operators with both

telemetry Telemetry is the in situ collection of measurements or other data at remote points and their automatic transmission to receiving equipment (telecommunication) for monitoring. The word is derived from the Greek roots ''tele'', "remote", an ...

and machine-to-machine (M2M) services. ePort technology is primarily found in

vending machines A vending machine is an automated machine that provides items such as snacks, beverages, cigarettes, and lottery tickets to consumers after cash, a credit card, or other forms of payment are inserted into the machine or otherwise made. The fir ...

kiosks Historically, a kiosk () was a small garden pavilion open on some or all sides common in Persia, the Indian subcontinent, and in the Ottoman Empire from the 13th century onward. Today, several examples of this type of kiosk still exist in an ...

and

point-of-sale The point of sale (POS) or point of purchase (POP) is the time and place at which a retail transaction is completed. At the point of sale, the merchant calculates the amount owed by the customer, indicates that amount, may prepare an invoic ...

(POS) terminals, but the ePort Online and ePort Mobile products have extended the network to accept recurring payments from a PC or retail outlets and the taxi industry through smartphone devices. The company has also produced other technology in the unattended industry such as the More Prepaid and Loyalty consumer engage program, ePort beacon and the EnergyMiser, a device that reduces the energy consumption of vending machines, as well as facilitating Bluetooth payment options,

History

USA Technologies was founded in 1992 and holds more than 87 patents on its products and services. Its patents pertain to all aspects of its industry, ranging from payment processing, transaction methods, and terminal connection methods, to energy management and telematics. There currently are over 250,000 connections to its ePort Connect Service. The company was named in Deloitte L.L.P’s 2014 Technology Fast 500 List of the fastest-growing companies in North America. They worked with Setomatic Systems to be the first to bring NFC technology into the Self Service Laundry market The Nilson Report ranked USA Technologies 6th in the US (and 28th Worldwide) in POS shipments and they received the 2014 Frost and Sullivan North American Customer Value Leadership Award in Financial Services and Retail M2M Communications. In 2010, a

proxy fight A proxy fight, proxy contest or proxy battle (sometimes even called a proxy war) is an unfriendly contest for the control over an organization. The event usually occurs when a corporation's stockholders develop opposition to some aspect of the corp ...

for the company's board of directors took place with shareholder group SAVE Partners. This proxy fight ended with the addition of two SAVE Board candidates and modification of company policies. In 2012, there was another proxy fight involving SAVE, but this dispute resulted in no change to the board. USA Technologies' CEO George Jensen was suspended 4 October 2011 after he was revealed to be posting company information to an investor board, and resigned two weeks later. Stephen Herbert was appointed as CEO and held that position until he stepped down in 2019, due to the "start of a proxy battle brought by its largest investor", Hudson Executive Capital. USA Technologies announced its name change to Cantaloupe, Inc. on 19 April 2021.

Products

USA Technologies' primary product is the ePort, a cashless

payment terminal A payment terminal, also known as a point of sale (POS) terminal, credit card terminal, EFTPOS terminal (or by the older term as PDQ terminal which stands for "Process Data Quickly"), is a device which interfaces with payment cards to make electro ...

for vending machines, kiosks, and POS terminals. The ePort EDGE accepts magnetic swipe cards, and the ePort G8 & G9 series also accept contactless cards, FOB,

PIN A pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together. Pin or PIN may also refer to: Computers and technology * Personal identification number (PIN), to access a secured system ** PIN pad, a PIN entry device * PIN, a former Dutch ...

, and virtual wallets such as Apple Pay and Softcard. This particular technology features an inclusive system for providing remote audits, cashless payment, and interactive transaction capabilities in a vending machine. In 2010, the ePort EDGE won the

National Automatic Merchandising Association The National Automatic Merchandising Association, or NAMA, is the American national trade association of the convenience services industry, including vending, micro markets, office coffee service, and foodservice management. Headquartered in Arlingt ...

(NAMA) award for innovation in cashless vending technology. NAMA is the vending industry's national body. Specific to vending machines, USA Technologies holds over a dozen patents that tap into the $40 billion vending industry and have maintained partnerships with MasterCard Worldwide,

Dr. Pepper Dr Pepper is a carbonated soft drink. It was created in the 1880s by pharmacist Charles Alderton in Waco, Texas, and first served around 1885. Dr Pepper was first nationally marketed in the United States in 1904. It is now also sold in Europe ...

Seven Up 7 Up (stylized as 7up outside North America) is an American brand of lemon-lime-flavored non-caffeinated soft drink. The brand and formula are owned by Keurig Dr Pepper although the beverage is internationally distributed by PepsiCo. 7 Up comp ...

Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...

, ZiLOG, CineMachine, MEI, and

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

, among others. The company has been ranked several times among the leading shippers of point-of-sale terminals by The Nilson Report, a source of news and research on consumer payment systems worldwide. In 2009, it ranked 6th in the US and 31st in the world. In 2013, the report ranked it 6th in POS shipments in the United States and 28th in the world. USA Technologies announced its expansion initiatives in Australia in June 2018.

References

{{reflist, 2 Technology companies of the United States Companies based in Chester County, Pennsylvania Technology companies established in 1992 Point of sale companies Software companies of the United States 1992 establishments in Pennsylvania Companies listed on the Nasdaq