Cashless Vending Comes to Chicago; U. S. Wireless Data and PepsiAmericas to Install Credit Card-Accepting Machines at Navy Pier and Woodfield Mall.Business Editors CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 12, 2002 U. S. Wireless Data, Inc. (USWD) (OTC OTC See: Over-the-counter. OTC See over-the-counter market (OTC). : USWE USWE Undersea Warfare Evaluator ) and PepsiAmericas (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : PAS) will let you pay with plastic at Pepsi vending machines at Navy Pier and Woodfield Mall Woodfield Mall is a shopping mall located in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg, Illinois at the intersection of Golf Road and Illinois Route 53. Woodfield opened on September 9, 1971 with 59 stores, growing to 189 stores with 1. . The new vending machines will not only accept coins and cash, but credit cards too, which means consumers will be able to enjoy their favorite Pepsi beverage even when they are short on change. Initial plans will place as many as 80 new machines at the two locations. The machines are an expansion of the wireless vending initiative that Pepsi started in Memphis last January. It addition to providing more options for payment, the new technology also connects vending machines to a wireless network, allowing PepsiAmericas, the nation's second largest Pepsi bottler, to go online and view real-time vending machine status. Knowing exactly when to re-fill their vending machines and provide service will help PepsiAmericas operate with increased efficiency. For consumers, the resulting improvements will help ensure that they always find machines full and in good working order. "We're optimistic about the upside potential Upside potential The amount by which analysts or investors expect the price of a security may increase. upside potential The potential price or gain that may be expected in a security or in a security average, generally stated as the dollar of this expansion," said Mark Schafer, vice president of on premise strategy and customer development of PepsiAmericas. "Not only will we gain real-time insight about the status of the wireless vending machines, we also hope to gain incremental sales because customers won't be limited by the cash on-hand when they want one of the many refreshing beverages Pepsi offers." "Our tests in other cities have shown that our Synapse synapse (sĭn`ăps), junction between various signal-transmitter cells, either between two neurons or between a neuron and a muscle or gland. A nerve impulse reaches the synapse through the axon, or transmitting end, of a nerve cell, or neuron. (TM) wireless technology dramatically improves the vending experience," said Dean M. Leavitt, Chairman and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of U.S. Wireless Data. "We are excited to be expanding the program to include one of the largest Pepsi bottlers in the country." About PepsiAmericas PepsiAmericas is the number-two anchor bottler Anchor bottler is a term used by cola beverage manufacturers for their major bottlers around the world. The Coca-Cola Company employed the strategy of "anchor bottlers" to penetrate markets like China, Eastern Europe and Russia. in the Pepsi system with operations in 18 states as well as Puerto Rico, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (trĭn`ĭdăd, təbā`gō), officially Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, republic (2005 est. pop. 1,088,000), 1,980 sq mi (5,129 sq km), West Indies. The capital is Port of Spain. , Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Republic of Slovakia. In total, the company serves an area with a population of more than 117 million people. PepsiAmericas manufactures, distributes and markets a broad portfolio of Pepsi-Cola and other regional brands. PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) holds approximately a 37.3 percent equity interest in PepsiAmericas. For more information about PepsiAmericas, please visit www.pepsiamericas.com. About U.S. Wireless Data U.S. Wireless Data (USWD) (OTC: USWE) makes credit card and ATM transactions faster and more cost effective. USWD connects credit card processing companies to their merchant clients. Using wireless and landline technology, USWD provides improved transport, data translation, and value-added processing. In addition, by enabling wireless point of sale terminals, USWD adds speed and mobility that has been unachievable in the past. USWD now handles more than 600 million transactions each year through its centralized computer center and nationwide network. Further information is available at www.uswirelessdata.com. |
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