Mobile payments at physical locations in China have been slow to develop, and the lack of card acceptance at convenient locations is an important part of the reason. Ubox, a start-up in China, has adopted a new approach to the issue by introducing a mobile payment service allowing consumers to make purchases at vending machines.
Users of Ubox begin by signing up for the service and adding funds to their Ubox account via a UnionPay bank card or Alipay, according to a report on Penn Olson. Then, when they come across a participating vending machine, they simply make their snack selection by phone. The transaction takes place through the app, which also awards a 10 percent discount on all purchases made this way.
The combination of ubiquitous vending machines and the convenience of mobile payments will be appealing to some consumers who have so far found mobile payments irrelevant. It will be interesting to see how consumers adopt this new service.
Read more about the story and watch a product demo video here: http://www.springwise.com/financial_services/china-app-enables-discounted-mobile-payments-vending-machines/
