Civic, a blockchain secure and user-friendly identity verification provider, today announced an expansion of the Civic Network. The soon-to-be-released Civic Pay app will enable partners to combine identity verification, payment, and rewards into a single transaction.
The first Civic Pay partners, at the forefront of the automated retail industry, include: AAEON, AR Systems, Fastcorp Vending, Global Vending Group, greenbox Robotics, Invenda, IVM, IVS, Retail Automated Concepts, SandenVendo, The-Venders, and Wemp. The companies aim to bring blockchain-powered solutions to the industry with simple access to age-gated products, an improved user experience, and personalized rewards.
By integrating the Civic Pay app with automated retail solutions and smart vending machines, these partners will introduce the first real-world, Civic Pay use cases, where people can prove identity and pay for a product in a single transaction. Together, these companies represent over one million connected vending machines.
Combining identity with payment will further advance Civic partners’ automated retail solutions and expand vending opportunities for a growing market. Currently, there are over 3 million connected vending machines globally, a number expected to grow to 5.4 million by 2022 according to Berg Insight.
The Civic Network expansion marks a big step towards Civic’s larger vision: to give everyone a digital identity that they own and control. Most transactions require some form of identity verification and building identity verification into payment functionality simplifies that process. Vending machines make digital identity accessible and give people the ability to experience new technology. In addition, with the Civic Pay app, once users are verified, they are able to use the same verification over and over again, further streamlining the identity and payment process.
“The first step in making digital identity attainable is making it accessible for the everyday consumer. Vending machines represent an introduction to the mass market, where people can see how digital identity functions in the real world, as well as opening up an entirely new market for automated retail. We’re thrilled to partner with leaders in the automated retail industry, and working together, we look forward to making digital identity available and usable.”
“Speaking with Civic, we immediately recognized the vision and how identity verification could help AAEON embark on an entirely new market of vending opportunities. The combination of identity and payment enables a frictionless user experience that allows for a new subset of product offerings. We’re excited to be one of Civic’s first vending machine partners, and we look forward to implementing Civic technology to provide a cutting-edge customer experience.”
“With over 800,000 vending machines, we’re always looking for innovative concepts to introduce. The vending machine market is flourishing and being the first to adopt industry-changing technology is critical to providing the best user experience. With combined identity, payment, and rewards solutions, Civic Pay is a perfect fit for our vending fleet, and we’re excited to implement this technology and help make digital identity more accessible.”