Eye on POS: With Cheq, Cantaloupe Furthers Its Push Into Sports Venues; InterPayments Launches Surcharging Tech

Cantaloupe Inc. announced early Tuesday it will install its Cheq point-of-sale platform at professional soccer club Detroit City FC’s home stadium for all games and live events. Cantaloupe will begin providing POS services at the stadium in June as part of a multi-year deal.

The deal builds on Cantaloupe’s acquisition of Cheq earlier this year for $4.75 million. That deal thrust Cantaloupe, which built its business on providing POS technology for vending machines and the self-service market, into the hotly competitive sports, entertainment, and hospitality market. Prior to the acquisition, Cheq provided POS solutions to several professional sports teams, including the Washington Commanders of the National Football League, the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League, and Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins.

Cheq’s POS service enables consumers to place in-stadium concession orders from their seat or through kiosks located within the venue. In addition, family and friends not in attendance at the game or event can place orders and have them sent in real time to those attending the event. Detroit FC fans also earn loyalty points for each order.

In related news, surcharging provider InterPayments announced the launch in the United States of a new service that enables merchants to levy credit card surcharges at different rates for different types of cards. The service was developed in response to merchants’ needs, the company says.

InterPayments says it will calculate the real-time cost of the presented card for merchants, as well as a product-level surcharge for all card networks in compliance with network rules. InterPayments says it guarantees compliance with more than 70 U.S. and Canadian jurisdictions that govern surcharging, with full indemnification.

In addition, merchants will have the option to impose voluntary rules to waive surcharges or discount them as required.

Credit card surcharging has won some popularity among merchants as a way to cover some or all of their credit card acceptance costs.