Coges is proud to present Engine Connect, the first payment system “digital native”. Thanks to the 4G integrated module, the Engine Connect can connect to Nebular connectivity service and to the peripherals which need a remote connection without the need for a router or any additional optional modules.

“Engine Connect is a payment and connectivity system complete for the Operators  who demand the best for their vending machines, without compromises in terms of quality and performance and without complications.” assures Daniele Ioriatti, Coges sales manager “Engine Connect includes all the functions of Coges Engine, the most advanced payment system in the vending market, and goes further to meet the ever increasing connectivity needs of vending, by offering the connection to credit card readers, telemetry, remote update of programming and prices, credit on the cloud and much more..”

Engine Connect is a multi-standard payment system for vending, equipped with all the main functions which made Coges Engine famous: among them the management of 200 price lines, price tables and differentiated time schedules bonuses complete of recharge and free sale, LOCK ID and deposit management. Engine Connect can also be equipped with Bluetooth module for managing the payment by means of smartphone with Pay4Vend and can be set to manage the credit on the cloud with the possibility of remote top-up. What differences it from its predecessors is the integrated 4G connectivity module, which permits to the payment system a remote connection simpler and faster, without the need for installing some additional telemetry modules.

The optional connection to Nebular service allows the Operator to receive in real time the accounting data from the vending machine and the connected peripherals, to send refunds by remote directly to the MyKey key and update the firmware, the database, the programming parameters and the prices without moving from the office. Furthermore Nebular permits to activate the payment by Satispay and to receive on the computer or the management software any report of faults and stock shortages.

“The vending machine market becomes ever more evolved and connected.” observes Matteo Pegoraro, Coges technical responsible “An autonomous and complete payment system like Engine offers to the Operator an indispensable advantage in terms of flexibility: it can be installed on any type of vending machine without compromises, avoiding thus to be linked to a specific brand. In this way the Operators can feel free to choose the machine they prefer according to the specific needs of a location, by preferring a model for the hot and another one with a different brand for the snacks: he knows that in any case he will find the most suitable Coges payment system for his needs,  whether it is a versatile system using the universal MyKey key or an innovative card reader.”

Engine Connect will be available in MyKey, MIFARE or LEGIC version by Coges and all the resellers in the European countries within the end of the year.

One of the secrets of the extraordinary precision of Hexis, which permits to recognize coins in standard conditions at first insertion, lies in its new Caesium Pro validator module.

Traditionally the coin validators measure different parameters or features of coins: one of the most important has always been the electromagnetic analysis of alloys. Another main operation is the measurement of the coin diameter, in the validators designed by Azkoyen Group, instead, another parameter which permits to contrast the different types of fraud comes from the sound analysis.

The main innovation of Caesium Pro module is the collection of information on the metallic and magnetic composition of the coins with three different depths of penetration: three different wavelengths are used at the same time in order to get a higher quantity of information. Therefore the new coin analysis sensor integrates the advantages of the multimodal technology already patented by Azkoyen, which permits to the three detection coils to work at the same time with the processing and the multifrequency stimulation.

Furthermore, Caesium Pro validator module incorporates a new faster and more powerful microcontroller which permits a higher number of readings during the coin passage and a higher precision for each of the magnetic measurement parameters.

This innovative technology, covered by two new patents, involves a better quality of coin identification by Hexis Change-giver Coin mechanism, whose result is a better acceptance and, moreover, a better counterfeit discrimination and the fraud attempts.

During the last years the mobile payment solutions have found an increasing success in the vending world as well: there are many applications which permit to purchase some products on the vending machine by paying with the smartphone. The advantages of this technology are many, starting from the possibility of transforming the smartphone that the user has in his pocket in a support for payment. Furthermore, by means of the apps for payment the Operator can build a bidirectional communication channel with the user, make himself know, receive or send messages. Finally the payment apps,  go generally  with the tools of the  Backoffice which offer to the Operator the possibility of monitoring the purchases and the credit recharges, of planning some promotions or discounts and in general of collecting information on the purchase habits of the users, to feed the marketing experts in order to improve the sale performances.

The applications for smartphone, however, have some limits which cannot always be overcome. In many locations it is not allowed to take the smartphone during the coffee break or it is not practical: just think about the school or to the manufacturing departments of the industry. Some apps can need a phone coverage in order to function (this is not the case of Pay4Vend) and this is not available everywhere. The apps themselves, as much as they are well-designed, can be unavailable for all the models and the versions of the operating systems for smartphone and offer a user experience less immediate compared to the traditional supports. In all these cases both the user and the Operator will find themselves to regret the simple use of the classic rechargeable key, even if they don’t want to renounce to the advantages of the digital technology.

Nevertheless there is a system to get the best of the two worlds: the practicality of a cashless key and the connectivity of an application. As a matter of fact Coges has designed a new generation of MyKey keys as a contact point between the physical support and the digital experience, thanks to the original possibility of accessing a web showcase (product waiting for a patent). This service extends to the key the typical advantages of the mobile solutions, exploiting at the same time the versatility and the simple use of a support which is present in a widespread way on the market as is MyKey key. In which way?

The web showcase of the new MyKey keys is a page dedicated to the Operator, where the user can enter with his smartphone by means of a QR code and register as he would do on an app. By opening a web showcase, the user could display a digital version of the label normally present on the vending machine, with the phone number and the e-mail address for contact, always updated and available for the Customer. Each web showcase is a different page from the others, with the logo and the colours chosen by the Operator: the brand and the trademark of the business management are highlighted also thanks to the parallel laser etching of the Operator’s logo on the MyKey keys.

The maximum potential of the web showcase reveals in the integration with Nebular, Coges platform to connect the payment system of the vending machine to the Internet network. Nebular permits to the Operator to make a firmware remote update of its systems and the coin and bill database, to detect some alarms and accounting data, to program the operating parameters and to manage the product stock with a simple planogram.

In the locations where the vending machines are connected to the Nebular platform, the access to the web showcase will offer to the registered user the same functions which he could find on the app: display its own credit on the key, send a feedback on the products, on the vending machine or the service, look up the log of the consumptions or send directly a message to the Operator. In case of the web showcase these functions can be accessed not only by smartphone, but also by a desktop computer or tablet; furthermore, as this is a web-based service, they are available for any model of phone and don’t need for complex updates on the Operator’s side.

Even in this case, as it happens for the apps, all the transactions carried out by the user with his MyKey key are registered on the web portal: in this way the Operator can access an updated registration of his users and can see the amount of purchases and recharges, analyze his sale data and plan some marketing strategies  and focused promotions. If an Operator intends to exploit the big data in order to survey the consumption of his customers, analyze the behaviours and implement some more  effective marketing strategies to increase the sales, he will find on Nebular all the data he needs. In the daily operation, the Operator has access to all the messages received by the users to intervene in a fast and precise way where it is necessary a maintenance or a restore of the product stock and can answer to the requests of the single user also by sending the refund or a bonus to a specific MyKey key.

For the customers who use the Nebular platform, the web showcase requires only an activation contribution for the etching of the logo on the keys, without additional monthly fee or update costs.  If you don’t want to renounce to the practicality of the key, but you desire to improve the service offered to the users with an interactive application which is always connected, contact your Coges area manager and find out how to customize the new MyKey key and activate the web showcase.