Can you imagine walking up to a vending machine at a concert or a sporting event and using your mobile phone to pay for a beer without even seeing or talking to a human?
This futuristic concept has already become a reality thanks to Civic Pay, a cryptocurrency company that debuted its beer vending machines at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas, United States earlier this year.
Attendees at the festival were able to walk up to the machines and pay with the company’s cryptocurrency, easily purchased via a credit card on its app, in order to acquire a beer without having to use physical money or talk to a stand attendant.
You might be wondering how the vending machine was able to know that beer purchasers were of legal drinking age, which has always been one roadblock to the widespread implementation of alcohol vending machines. Well, by verifying their identities on the app, users were able to prove that they were old enough to buy beer.
Could you imagine using your virtual identity to buy a beer? Well, the future has already arrived, and this concept is a reality. Keep an eye out for these nifty machines at a future event near you!
