Coges was chosen by SERIM for the cashless vending in Milan!
02 Feb
2021

Coges is proud to announce that SERIM chose Coges as a supplier for some vending systems for the City of Milan. The installation foresees the activation of 400 Coges Engine cashless systems equipped with a 4G connection module and a PMT Nebular Pay Credit Card Reader to be completed within the first months of 2021. The systems will be installed inside some schools, offices and public buildings of the Lombard County Seat.

“This configuration represents a unique and revolutionary event for the Italian vending, because most part of the systems will be installed without any device for the cash validation and will work only with the MyKey key and physical or virtual credit cards” observes Mario Majo, Coges Commercial Director “It will be the greatest installation of pure cashless systems in Italy in a moment of institutional thrust as regards electronic payments.”

SERIM is a top 10 company in the Italian vending sector with about 50 Euro millions of yearly revenue and it is a key member of the Coven consortium. SERIM involved Coges in this project of high strategic and symbolic value at the end of a long negotiation. It involved many company’s positions: from the Sales Dept. to R&D one, with the help of the Customer Service; the aim was to answer to the needs of SERIM in an excellent way, considering the high-profile opportunity was given to Coges.

One of the most appreciated aspects by the consumers who purchase a product from a vending machine is its easy use and the PMT Nebular Pay Credit Card Reader will guarantee to the users an immediate experience: to make the payment it is enough to move the credit card or the smartphone near to the Reader.

The payment with virtual cards doesn’t require any app download. Nebular Pay is compatible with all the credit and debit credit card circuits (Visa, Mastercard, VPay, Maestro, American Express…) and the virtual electronic wallets (Google Pay, Apple Pay, etc.), which foresee a rapid cash transfer on the Customer’s bank account. In addition to the direct purchase of products from the vending machine, the Nebular Pay Reader will allow the end user to recharge the credit on his own MyKey key. Thanks to the Nebular connectivity service, the payment solution requested by SERIM will also permit to the Operator to benefit from an online technical portal with some functions: product stock management, remote firmware and database update of the payment systems, remote refund of the credit on key and much more.

“The elimination of cash will not be a problem for the end user” – adds Majo – “Italy is moving rapidly as regards cashless payment and this year there will be an additional acceleration of this trend thanks to the demand of more hygienic and sure payment methods, due to the Coronavirus. Surely this is a challenge for us and we are proud that SERIM made this choice; we believe that Milan is the ideal lab-territory for this innovation.”

With this solution Coges and SERIM intend to be pioneers in the development of digital applications for vending; a partnership based on a mutual trust which will be an important step for the evolution of our sector.

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Conjugate the advantages of a mobile solution with the practicality of the physical key
10 Nov
2020

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.

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Nebular expands its functions with the new LAN-WIFI kit
02 Nov
2020

Coges adds to its range of accessories for the payment systems a new kit for the connection to the LAN network and the Wi-Fi one, which is compatible with cashless Coges Engine System and Unica Change-giver Coin mechanism. The kit offers a new connection option to the Nebular platform for Vending, perfect above all for the locations  which offer an access to the network via cable or Wi-Fi and for the vending machines where the network connection is already present, for example by means of a router with SIM card installed in the vending machine. In this way the payment system will be able to exploit the existing connection.

“The connectivity in the payment systems is more and more requested and appreciated at the moment, also in view of the current needs of distance” observes Matteo Pegoraro, Coges R&D manager. “Thanks to this new accessory we introduce an alternative for all the vending machines which access an independent connection and want to make a network with the payment systems as well, with all the advantages which follow in terms of firmware update, remote credit refund, change of configuration parameters, recording of sale data, real time alarms and much more. The LAN-WIFI kit is conceived for the connection to the Nebular platform, which in this way becomes even more versatile.”

The LAN-WIFI expansion kit offers a valid alternative to the 2G/4G connection, which is currently the more exploited for the connection to Nebular. The kit includes a safety battery pack and is suitable to be connected to two temperature probes and a sensor for door opening.

The new Nebular LAN-WIFI connectivity kit is available in two versions: Engine and Unica. The first is installed inside the Engine plastic shell, the second includes an external shell which is connected to Unica Change-giver Coin mechanism with a direct cable.

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Optimize the vending management by smart working
15 Oct
2020

While the COVID-19 pandemic keeps on arousing worries around the world, the Operator’s company of vending keep themselves busy to face the difficulty of the moment and find out new business solutions.  To work in a “smart” way means to exploit all the advantages offered by the new technologies to adapt to the rapid changes in progress, by reducing the costs and keeping firm the trust of the users: the connectivity is an investment which permits us to be near to the customer even where we can’t go in person in this moment.

Health reasons and economic opportunities suggest, for example, to reduce the frequency and the duration  of the visits to the point of sale of the fillers and the technicians.  To this need answers the integration of the payment systems and Coges Nebular platform, which brings online the technical portal by permitting to intervene by remote on the firmware update of the master system and the peripherals, on the change of prices and parameters and on the coin and bill database. By means of Nebular, available on the online portal or integrated in the main management software, it is furthermore possible to display in real time the sales and the recharges carried out on the cashless keys, by sending also credit refund by remote in case of missing sale without meeting the user physically. These functions, together with the notification of the alarms and the management of the product stock, permit to the Operators to save on the technical visits and to reduce substantially the time devoted to the visits for filling the vending machines connected.

How to increase, at the same time, the sales on the vending machine? It is necessary to grow the trust of the users and to offer them, together with a service and some quality products, some payment options which make them feel sure. We know that in all Europe the cashless is finding the interest of the consumers: the more intuitive cashless solution is always the MyKey, which in the new embodiment amazes the users with the brilliant colours and involves them with the exclusive customized web showcases with the Operator’s colours and logo. When the vending machines are connected to Nebular, furthermore, the users can display on the showcase their credit and other exclusive functions, while the Operator has some always updated data available on their consumptions and can send some offers and promotions to make them feel more cuddled.

If Coronavirus takes you away from your Customers of from your vending machines, the connectivity of the advanced payment systems permits you to keep them at hand. Contact the nearest Coges dealer to find out the best solution for your needs!

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The need for cashless in the European vending grows, Coges has the suitable solution for you
03 Aug
2020

The recent research carried out by EVA on the vending market informs us that, following the crisis caused by the COVID-19 epidemic, in all Europe is increased the interest in the cashless payment in a significant way:  41% of the Operators foresee a higher request of payment solutions without cash. The reasons are easy to be realized: the news on the media and the fears for the infection have driven the consumers of all the world to limit the use of cash, even at excessive extent – according to somebody – to the real risk. As a consequence the shops and the restaurants are now preferring the use of the POS and the credit cards, both in order to reduce the exposure of their employees and to reassure the customers. In Italy the amount of transactions of electronic commerce increased in April of 80%, according to McKinsey & Company, more than 40% of the business owners affirm that the customers increased the contactless payments.

In the vending market there are different technologies which can satisfy the request of a cashless payment method, which benefit of a higher or lower popularity also because of the consolidated habits in the different national markets. In Italy, both the Operators and the users of the automatic vending machines are widely used to the convenience of the rechargeable MyKey key, the mostly representative product of  Coges catalogue. All know this pocket-size electronic memory, that in its different variations is nowadays a fundamental companion of each coffee break! The operation is extremely simple: the user recharges his personal key by inserting some coins or bills in the suitable validators and uses it till the credit is finished. The MIFARE or LEGIC supports operate in the same way. These devices permit an interaction with the cash delimited in time and limited to the moment of recharge and are therefore enough sure for most of the vending locations.

In the last years the payment by means of applications for smartphone achieved resounding success, which permit to the Operator a higher interaction with the consumer and make available some efficient tools of analysis and a lot of data on the preferences and the consumptions of the users. This solution is another valid alternative to the cash in the phase of fight against the COVID-19. The Pay4Vend Coges app foresees for this reason the recharge both by cash and credit cards: as a consequence the user can limit or even completely avoid the use of the cash for the payment to the vending machine.

In Europe, finally, the use of the credit cards in the vending field was till now limited to the crowded public locations, even though some national markets represent some remarkable exceptions. The current contingency could represent a turning point even for this technology. The users are accustomed to the most frequent use of their credit cards, maybe in a virtualized way on the smartphone or even on the smartwatch. A credit card reader like Coges PMT Nebular Pay could be the ideal product to intercept the new needs also in terms of hygiene or safety: compatible with all the contactless cards, it avoids not only the use of the cash for the payment but also the contact or the insertion of the credit card in the reader, reducing the need for clean or sanitation  of the device. In addition to the purchase from the vending machine, the credit card reader can be used for the recharge of the MyKey keys or the MIFARE supports directly on the machine or by means of dedicated recharge stations.

Rechargeable supports, applications for smartphone, credit cards… Whatever is the future of the vending in Europe, all the forecasts tell us that the cashless will play a more and more important role in the payment solutions. Choose the technology which is most suitable for your locations and for the needs of your customers and contact the Coges dealer or the nearest reference sales person. Expert in cashless for thirty-five years, Coges will always be at your side to support and help you to develop with the most innovative solutions in the market.

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Coges completes its product range with a new Credit Card Reader
22 Jul
2020

Coges launches the PMT Nebular Pay Credit Card Reader into the market, which is ideal in the vending for the electronic payment with contactless credit and debit credit card with the same simplicity of a key and card reader.

“Nebular Pay guarantees a user experience of immediate understanding:” promises Mario Majo, Coges Commercial Director, “To make the payment it is enough to near the credit card or the smartphone to the Reader, without entering any PIN or press any button, while the amounts and the messages are displayed on the vending machine. Also for the payment with Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay virtual cards it is not necessary to download any application. Our aim is to propose a credit card reader which does not imply a complicated or unusual experience for the user, but which is coherent with the habits we are already familiar to in our everyday life.”

With reduced dimensions and easy installation, the new reader is available in two different versions: for E.C.S. Coges Engine System and for Unica Change-giver Coin mechanism. It does not need of dedicated connectivity (SIM, modem, etc.) because the communication with the bank is guaranteed by the activation of Nebular connectivity service: in this way the connection is directly managed by Coges payment system and all Nebular services are enabled (remote refund, remote programming, remote change of prices and much more).

Compatible with all the circuits of credit and debit credit card (Visa, Mastercard, VPay, Maestro…) and with the virtual wallets (Google Pay, Apple Pay, etc.), it foresees a fast transfer of the money on the bank account of the Customer.

Small and versatile, the new PMT Nebular Pay Reader is suitable for the more specific needs of the market with performances and payment methods alternative to the cash.

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Remote controlling of the distribution of masks and PPE
23 Jun
2020

Cashless Coges Systems represent an opportunity for the Operator who desires to offer to the locations an essential service such as the distribution of masks and other types of PPE, permitting the free distribution only to whom are entitled and by keeping under control in real time the product stock to avoid any lack or  waste.

Discover our guide to solutions for dispensing masks and PPE with Coges payment systems.

While it seems that finally the health situation is coming back to normality, to speed up the passing of the crisis the public health authorities recommend the social distancing and where this is not possible , the adoption of Personal Prevention Equipment such as masks and gloves and the use of disinfectant gel. These necessary tools have become in short time integral part of our life even and moreover on the working place where every day we live in contact with colleagues, customers and suppliers. How to guarantee a precise safe and controlled distribution, of these devices to the employee? The channel of automatic distribution is surely one of the most suitable, as it avoids the direct contact between the persons and it hugely limits the risks of contamination. Furthermore, the public or private employer should not use some internal resources to these activities by subtracting them to much productive tasks.

Coges answer to this need with Coges Engine Plus and Unica System, which permit the vending operators  to give a rapid answer to the Customers’ needs, by exploiting the vending machines already installed. On these payment systems it is possible to get some free sales by means of the MyKey or MIFARE supports  on specific price lines, which could be devoted to the masks or to other EEP for the employees. Thanks to the controlled sales, furthermore, it is possible to limit the withdrawal of a defined number of PPE by day or by week, avoiding thus any waste. The same limit can be differentiated per key category /MIFARE, granting a higher number of PPE to some particular categories of employees who don’t have particular needs: for example maximum 3 masks per day could be distributed to the workers of the plant  and 2 masks per day to the employees in the office, also exploiting the same vending machine. If the employer desires that the free distribution of masks occurs only during the working time, it is enough to set on the payment system  some time schedules with differentiated prices as well (gratis/ on payment). Furthermore the Operator can add to his offer some high margin products such as the disinfectant gel, preventing the users from going to the pharmacy and buy them.

All the data concerning the distribution can be recorded by means of pendrive, but the activation of Coges Nebular connectivity service adds, in the case of the PPE as well, all the advantages of the remote management: first of all the possibility of monitoring the product stock in real time. In this way a constant level of supply can be guaranteed, also setting some alarms which warn when the reserve on a specific price nears to the minimum. Nebular, registers in real time all the sales, free sales included.  The service permits to display on which vending machine the sale was carried out, and permits moreover to display on which vending machine the sale was carried out, the exact date and time  of the withdrawal and even the serial code of the key or the MIFARE support which made the purchase. This precision contributes to avoid the abuses and to guarantee all the devices they are entitled. Nebular also helps to reduce the frequency and the length of the visit to the vending machines on the Operator’s side with time schedules, they can be updated directly by the office, Coges and Nebular time schedules can be remote updated directly by the office. Coges and Nebular payment systems permit the setting of the a different VAT among the different price lines, offering the possibility to sell food products not in the same vending machine (in this case it can be necessary the change of description on the site of the Income Revenue Authority).

Thanks to Coges and Nebular systems the Operator could supply a new service to his customers by using the vending machine already used, guaranteeing a monitor of the reserve of the distribution even with report which ca be exported.  At the same time the employers and the employee could go on to operate with the maximum safety, with respect of the law and healthy needs.

 

 

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E.C.S. Dynamos, Coges presents the “baby” of the family
03 Jun
2020

The range of the payment systems of the house from Vicenza grows thanks to a new payment system suitable for the machines with reduced dimensions.

Coges introduces to the vending market the new Dynamos cashless payment system, ideal for the Operators who desire to offer the payment by key in vending machines with little dimensions as well. Dynamos integrates the range of Coges systems, by placing it by side of the high quality Coges Engine to take some essential advantages of the cashless on all the vending machines: early takings, possibility to program some multiple price lines and data recording even from the connected MDB peripherals.

“Coges experience allowed us to reduce the size of the system.” highlights Mario Majo, Coges commercial director “In this way the Operator can offer the payment by key even on table-top machines. We know that in the  Vending world there are many realities that at the moment don’t need the bonuses and the plus functions offered by the Engine but that at the same time need a system by key to control the consumptions and the accounting data. The Operators want an essential system but sturdy and of high quality, designed by a company they can trust: Dynamos is the answer to their request.”

E.C.S. Dynamos System stays comfortably on a palm of a hand and is available both in MyKey version (with Coges Key 3 Reader) and in MIFARE version, so that it is compatible with any type of support used. As regards the peripherals it is possible to connect a Change-giver coin mechanism, a bill validator or a coin validator. There is also an MDB Dynamos version which can be connected as slave peripheral to a change-giver already in use, increasing the versatility of use of the system. Dynamos is furthermore compatible with the BTDataKey for a rapid sending of the accounting data to a smartphone for the transmission of the payment due.

“Dynamos system was thought for people who desire a simple programming and the presence of all basic functions. Coges always aims to offer to his customers the best service and the most innovative technological products” adds Matteo Pegoraro, Coges R&D manager. “From this point of view Dynamos represents a further step forward:  the challenge was to maintain our excellent standards in a compact product, without giving in compromises on quality and safety.”

The cashless is the most appreciated payment mode in the vending machine world: it reduces the frequency of the use of the cash, it offers to the users a personal payment tool more hygienic and it permits the Operator to cash the sale early  with respect to the distribution of the product. If Coges Engine is the reference product for the more Operators, Dynamos System permits now to exploit these advantages even on the vending machines where the installation was complicated by the reduced space or by the high costs of the hardware.

Little, dynamic and reliable: the new Dynamos system represents the ideal proposal for who wants to grow in vending.

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COVID-2019 epidemiological emergency
17 Mar
2020

Coges informs that our production, warehouse and product quality control departments are regularly operating on site, maintaining all essential services, the reception and the shipment of the goods in Italy and abroad included. The other company departments have been organized in smart working mode to continue ensuring the efficiency of the work.

The Customer Service service remains operational at 0039 0445 502811 (1).

The company is seriously  engaged in the protection of his employees, Customers and Suppliers and the public health with a full respect of current regulations.

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Coges’ MyKey becomes “smart” and takes you to the web
24 Feb
2020

Coges is proud to present the new generation of MyKey rechargeable cashless keys, already available for purchase. With the new version, Coges intends to transform MyKey into a point of contact between the physical media and the Internet of vending, without sacrificing the solidity of proprietary technology and the simplicity of use that make this product an indispensable element of the coffee break. The evolution of MyKey passes through the unprecedented possibility of connecting to a “showcase” on the web (product pending patent), which also represents a communication platform between the Operator and his customers.

“This is an important technological innovation for the world of vending.” Mario Majo, commercial director of Coges says “The web showcase connected to MyKey allows the user not only to read the information on his key, but also to send information directly to the Operator, a service previously impossible for a physical token. Thanks to the integration with our Nebular connectivity service, the Operator now has a tool to get in direct contact with end users of the vending machine without leaving their office, send refunds on a specific fob and analyze habits of consumption of his customers in greater detail. These are just some of the functions currently implemented: the development potential is extended.”

MyKey is a small electronic memory, ideal for holding a credit and making purchases on unattended points of sale such as vending machines. With over 30 million tokens on the European market, MyKey has been for over fifteen years one of the most known and loved rechargeable media for vending machines in Italy and abroad. The novelties of the new series are not limited to integration with the Cloud world: the physical token has also changed, with a new design and 5 brilliant colours that will not fail to attract attention. The new MyKey is compatible with all Coges Key readers of the second and third generation. Thanks to the new technology adopted for the key manufacturing, moreover, it is possible to print the Operator’s logo directly on the key with a personalized, accurate and long-lasting laser engraving.

The connection between MyKey and the web showcase is immediate. On one side of the new MyKey there is a QR code, a simple technology known by everyone: by framing the QR code with your smartphone, the user will be directed to a page already personalized with the logo, colours and contact information chosen by the Operator. The MyKey web showcase can do even more for Operators who use Nebular, the connectivity service provided by Coges. In this case, the user registered on the web showcase has access to exclusive functions such as reading their credit on the key, sending feedback, contacting the Operator and viewing their purchasing history. Registered MyKey users and their messages are automatically integrated into the Nebular platform: in this way the Operator will be able to view the feedback received, respond to requests, check all transactions (purchases and top-ups) made on the connected vending machines and even send a refund to the user, remotely topping-up the credit on MyKey.

“Being close to the customer is essential for a service like this.” confirms Alberto Conte, Site Director of Coges “The web showcase extends to the key the typical advantages of mobile solutions, but at the same time offers the Operator a dedicated and customized space: a way to make your business known and give importance to your brand. Each web showcase is, in practice, a page distinct from the others, of which the Operator is the protagonist. It is also a service that could make a difference in the case of public or private tenders.”

Practical, lively and ever smarter: in 2020 MyKey continues to be the symbol of Coges, a bridge between electronic technology and innovation more and more driven towards connectivity and software solutions.

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