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• Jul 7, 2006 9:01 pm US/Eastern
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  3 On Your Side: Cashless Vending Machines

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3 On Your Side: Cashless Vending Machines

PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ― When was the last time you tried buying something from a vending machine and you just didn't have enough cash? Well soon that won't matter, 3 On Your Side's Jim Donovan reports that Philadelphia is the first city in the nation to roll out cashless vending machines.

Have you ever tried using a dollar bill at a vending machine and it just won't accept it? It leaves you frustrated, thirsty and thinking there has to a better way.

Well now there is, introducing the cashless vending machine.

Forget the bills and the coins, these new machines also take plastic. You simply swipe your credit or debit card and you're ready to go.

Also, there's another way too: tap and go.

"You just put the card within an inch of the device and it will activate as you see right there," explained George Jensen, CEO of USA Technologies.

Instead of reading the magnetic strip, there are MasterCard pay pass cards embedded with radio frequency micro chips.

The tap and go technology is already being used by businesses like McDonald's, CVS, Regal Theaters and vendors at Citizens Bank Park.

"I don't have to fumble with money and at the same time, I don't have to hand my card over and swipe it, I just tap and I go," customer, Dennis Brown.

However, this is the first time credit and debit cards are being used in vending machines.

"It's telling you it's authorizing and momentarily it will tell you it's approved, and this is all being done wireless," said Jensen while watching a transaction.

Malvern based USA technologies is teaming up with Coca Cola and MasterCard, placing 1000's of the cashless machines in the Philadelphia area, the first in the nation.

"Philadelphia is a targeted city for the new contact less cards as is many other cities, and we think this rollout will be expanded beyond Philadelphia," added Jensen.

And the cost to consumers?

"Nothing, absolutely nothing," said Jensen.

That's because the vendors pay the transaction fees. By the way, these vending machines will still accept cash too.

(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)