The e-Suds laundry system that enables advanced features including monitoring of washer and dryer availability online and notification via email when laundry cycles are complete has been implemented alongside Blackboard’s campus card payment system at Goucher College in Baltimore.
USA TECHNOLOGIES AND BLACKBOARD JOIN FORCES TO STREAMLINE STUDENT ACCESS TO E-SUDS LAUNDRY SERVICES
MALVERN, PA, February xx, 2005– USA Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB: USTT) today announced the successful integration with Blackboard Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBB), a leading provider of transaction processing systems to colleges and universities throughout America.
USA Technologies and Blackboard have integrated their technologies to allow students to use the Blackboard Transaction System™ cards to activate and pay for using USA Technologies’ e-Suds™ electronic online laundry services on campus. The first installation of e-Suds integrated with Blackboard was installed earlier this year at Goucher College in Baltimore Maryland.
“Students who took part in the Goucher College program enjoyed the convenience and simplicity of being able to use their Blackboard Transaction card to have the cost of doing their laundry deducted online directly from their Blackboard account,” said Wendy Jenkins, Vice president of Marketing, USA Technologies. “The relationship with Blackboard gives USA Technologies access to more than 450 universities, colleges and corporate accounts, and tens of thousands of users,” she said.
Students already use the Blackboard Transaction System to make payments at the cafeteria, bookstore, and even at neighboring retailers and restaurants. Now they use the same card to pay for laundry and receive all of the amenities for the e-Suds system including being able to see availability of washer and dryers online and get notified via email when their laundry cycles are complete.
“We believe the e-Suds is a terrific enhancement to our laundry service and plan to bring this to many of our partner schools,” said John Gregory, President of Caldwell and Gregory, Inc. “Now that e-Suds can integrate with Blackboard, there is the opportunity for the e-Suds service to grow. Many of our partners have been waiting for this.”
Blackboard is recognized as a leading provider of enterprise software and services to the Education Industry and has more than 450 schools using its transaction services. In a recent Forbes.com survey of the most connected campuses in the US, 18 of the 25 schools relied on the Blackboard Learning System™ for their e-learning needs.
USA Technologies’ e-Suds online laundry system has already been installed at a growing number of campuses, including Carnegie Melon, Cedarville College, Bluffton College and more have been targeted for deployment.
USA Technologies also manufactures the e-Port® cashless transaction device for vending machines and unattended kiosks, and an expanding line of energy management products, specifically aimed at the vending and cooler markets.
About USA Technologies:
USA Technologies is a leader in the networking of distributed assets, wireless non-cash transactions, associated financial/network services and energy management. USA Technologies provides networked credit card and other non-cash systems in the vending, commercial laundry, hospitality and digital imaging industries. USA Technologies is an IBM Business Partner. The Company has marketing agreements with AT&T, Honeywell, MEI, Unilever and ZiLOG Corporation. http://www.usatech.com
About Blackboard Inc.
Blackboard is a leading provider of enterprise software and services to the education industry. The Company’s product line consists of five software applications bundled in two suites, the Blackboard Academic Suite TM and the Blackboard Commerce Suite TM. Blackboard’s clients include colleges, universities, schools and other education providers, as well as textbook publishers and student-focused merchants that serve education providers and their students. Blackboard is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices and staff in North America, Europe and Asia.
