10 Years of cVEND: From Pioneering Plug Terminal to Global Payment Success
It began in October 2015
After two years of intensive development work, the first cVEND plug payment terminals left our company. A true milestone in the history of FEIG and the starting signal for something very big. Today, ten years later, we are not only celebrating the anniversary of the cVEND plug, but also the growth of an entire product family that sets standards worldwide.
The development of the cVEND plug terminal marked the beginning of a long-standing success story and FEIG’s entry into the payment market. Since then, FEIG has established itself as a leading global supplier of payment terminals for validators and ticket gates in public transport.
The idea
FEIG had long been known as a successful developer of high-quality RFID products, but the voices in the public transport market were getting louder. They needed something that could read not only closed-loop cards in validators, onboard computers, or ticket gates, but also process payments (open-loop). Of course, this product also had to meet strict PCI PTS security requirements.
FEIG accepted and mastered this challenge. The result was the cVEND plug terminal, which became the technical basis for contactless payment in public transport. For the sector, this improved efficiency and flexibility enormously.
Today, millions of passengers worldwide benefit from the ability to easily hop on and off with their credit or debit card—without worrying about confusing tariffs.
The first project
The first project took place across the Atlantic: In October 2015, the first 1,100 cVEND plug terminals were delivered to a system integrator, who installed them in validators of a bus line in the Portland–Vancouver metropolitan area.
The integrator’s system automatically detects the cheapest fare and prevents double payments. Thanks to the cVEND plug terminal, passengers can pay with smart cards, mobile tickets, or credit and debit cards.
What happened next for FEIG
For FEIG, a long and successful journey began—becoming a major player and developer of “Made in Germany” payment terminals for unattended machines and systems.
cVEND plug – modularity for every installation situation: The original form factor was quickly supplemented by modular variants to serve a wide variety of installation situations and requirements. In the meantime, the cVEND plug has established itself as a reliable component for the public transport market.
cVEND box – perfect for vending applications: The cVEND box is also based on the cVEND plug, which was co-developed from the very beginning. It is available today in a further developed form and is primarily used in parking and vending.
cVEND PIN – security with keyboard: Various markets required a terminal for self-service applications. FEIG opted for a combination of contactless payment with a robust stainless-steel keyboard. This created the cVEND PIN terminal, now installed in a wide variety of machines. It also made the EV charging market increasingly interesting for FEIG. The keyboard allows higher-priced payments and enables users to select between two charging points, for example, directly on the keypad to start a charging process.
cVEND touch – design meets function: The latest member of the cVEND product family is the cVEND touch terminal. It offers the advantages of a keypad, with PIN entry flush with glass—making it ideal for design-oriented and demanding applications.
What the future holds
Even after ten years, cVEND plug and its successors are not obsolete—on the contrary: With Gen II, our terminals meet the requirements of PCI 6.x and can be easily replaced thanks to consistent form factors.
Our new Payment Services (PayServ) enable remote maintenance, updates, central management, and more. With the GatewaySolution, FEIG offers international scalability as a payment service provider—without contract confusion.
Our promise remains: quality “Made in Germany”, future-proofing, and cooperative partnership.
Happy Birthday cVEND – here’s to the next 10 years!
For more information or to discuss how FEIG’s payment solutions can support your next project, feel free to contact Frank Edunjobi, Senior Project Manager PAYMENT at FEIG.