MatiPay is a startup that has been transforming coffee machines since 2019, i automatic points of sale and basically all vending machine in smart appliances. The project is due to the intuition of Matteo Pertosa, current CEO of MatiPay and vice president of Angel Company, the holding company of the homonymous group specializing in the railway, digital mechatronics and aerospace sectors. “We have responded to the renewed efficiency needs of operators in the sector and consumers through the integration of a small device capable of providing digital functions and services to traditional machines”, Matteo Pertosa explains to Italian Tech (the quasi-engineer).
MatiPay actually introduces three elements to the world of automatic points of sale: telemetry, marketing and digital payments. And this also happens metaphorically with the crasis of terms mechatronics e pay that we find in his name. In practice, with the assembly of specific modules it is possible to connect, via the mobile telephone network, the automatic points of sale to a platform that allows remote monitoring and management. Think about the possibility of varying prices, managing promotions, checking supplies and obtaining reports. Remote control is no small detail as these operations are normally entrusted to a field operator who is often forced to make unnecessary or inefficient laps. In this way, on the other hand, action is taken when needed and also reduces the environmental impact. “Let’s connect more than 59 thousand vending machines in the world serving almost 800 thousand customers “, underlines Pertosa.
In summary, those involved in the management of vending machines can have the readiness of each activity in real time. Not only. The platform is able to enable promotions, gifts and loyalty programs: a way to retain customers and also check their satisfaction. Telemetry and marketing would lack a key component without a electronic wallet for consumers and in fact MatiPay has developed an ad hoc solution available in cards, bracelets, badges and of course apps for Android and iPhone smartphones. The secret of this flexibility is due to NFC technology (near field communication), which is a widely available solution – even in most cell phones – that allows proximity wireless communications. Perhaps the name is not so well known but it is the same technology used by credit cards and the passport with chip.
In this sense, MatiPay has managed to stand out in the market. “Our electronic wallet can be recharged with credit card, PayPal and above all also with cash directly from the machines “, recalls the entrepreneur.
As for the future, the startup, or rather Pertosa, has clear ideas. The latest device on display on the official website is “more than a vending machine”: it is defined a smart fridge able to offer products and dishes of any size. A vending machine for dishes, to be heated later in the microwave in the office or in the restaurant areas. “And then if I have to think about our electronic purse, I see new perspectives, such as the possibility of paying for any type of good, not just those of the machines; obviously keeping the top-up option in cash”, concludes Pertosa.