Initially developed for vending equipment, PayRange’s BluKey interface can also work on amusement equipment, using the same app and hardware but different firmware. Patel told Vending Times that PayRange will begin testing new firmware for amusement machines beginning in October. 

Patel had his own amusement route in the 1990s and later sold it to focus on his vending business. “If anything is further behind vending, it’s coin laundry and amusements,” Patel said. “[Some] operators don’t even have dollar bill acceptors on their machines. It’s a no-brainer to leapfrog the older technology and go straight to mobile. Every high school kid has a smartphone, and that’s your targeted and most frequent users.”