Sep 9, 2020

Sept. 9, 2020 Coca-Cola Amatil, a Coca-Cola bottler serving Australia and New Zealnd, is taking a minority investment in Centrapay as part of the payment platform's seed funding round, according to a press release. The companies did not disclose the amount of the investment. The bottling company in June announced plans to allow its vending machines to accept bitcoin. Centrapay specializes in the adoption of digital assets and merchant payments. Its platform is designed to help brands connect directly with consumers and increase revenue and operational efficiency for merchants. In addition to digital assets, Centrapay is expanding its focus to provide retailers with the ability to accept contactless fiat, Epay gift cards and vouchers without being charged a transaction fee using their existing EFTPOS terminal. Consumers will also be able to send fiat or other supported payments as easily as sending a text message using the Centrapay Wallet. The investment will accelerate integration with point-of-sale and payment terminals, enable brands to connect more directly with their consumers and drive more innovation in payments and value exchange. "Both Centrapay and Coca-Cola Amatil are committed to preserving consumers' privacy and data ownership rights, whilst increasing business value," Centrapay CEO Jerome Faury said in the press release. "The fact that Coca-Cola Amatil has invested in Centrapay through Amatil X (Coca-Cola Amatil's corporate venturing platform) shows that there is a real appetite to provide customers with new ways to engage or to exchange value." Alix Rimington, Coca-Cola Amatil's head of Amatil X, said Coca-Cola Amatil was working with Centrapay to give consumers the option to use its Sylo Smart Wallet to pay for items across Amatil's vending network using cryptocurrency. "Amatil's customers can use their Sylo Smart Wallet at any one of our 2000-plus vending machines with a QR code payment sticker," Rimington said. 'These are located across New Zealand and Australia and will accept payments in cryptocurrency or other digital assets with a scan of your phone's camera when Sylo Smart Wallet is installed." Image courtesy of Coca-Cola Amatil. KEEP UP WITH RETAIL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE NEWS AND TRENDS Sign up now for the Retail Customer Experience newsletter and get the top stories delivered straight to your inbox. SUBSCRIBE NOW