CAMBRIDGE, MA — Imagine a mobile payments system without the wireless costs — one that is designed to be the simplest and most accessible solution for vending, amusement and other self-service appliances of all kinds, including electromechanical equipment like bulk vending machines. Vending industry innovator Paresh Patel has not only envisioned such a solution, he’s bringing it to market. PayRange allows customers’ phones to handle the entire transaction process over their cellular networks, while using Bluetooth personal area networking to actuate the vend.

The PayRange founder and chief executive introduced the novel solution yesterday to a crowd of 600 senior executives from the payment industry during PYMNTS Innovation Project 2014 at Harvard University here. Until now, he explained, PayRange Inc. had been operating in “‘stealth mode’ under the code name VendNext.