Amatil X invests in Centrapay. Credit: Centrapay.

Coca-Cola Amatil’s (CCAs) venture capital platform Amatil X has made an undisclosed minority investment in digital asset payment platform Centrapay through a seed funding round.

The two firms are working on cryptocurrency vending machines.

Leveraging blockchain, Centrapay creates digital products and alternative payment systems, such as the Sylo Smart Wallet, a digital wallet available through Apple App and Google Play.

The firm is reportedly bolstering its focus in enabling merchants to accept Epay gift cards, contactless fiat, and vouchers without charging them a fee for every transaction when using the existing EFTPOS terminal.

Centrapay CEO Jerome Faury said: “Both Centrapay and Coca-Cola Amatil are committed to preserving consumers’ privacy and data ownership rights, whilst increasing business value.

“The fact that Coca-Cola Amatil has invested in Centrapay through Amatil X, shows that there is a real appetite to provide customers with new ways to engage or to exchange value.

“The global money supply is evolving rapidly with new economic models and the advent of smart, programmable money. The way we exchange value is set to change dramatically. There’s more change likely in the next 10 years than we’ve seen in the past 100.”

The new investment will be used by Centrapay to fast-track the integration point of sale and payment terminals, as well as enable brands to connect more directly with their consumers and drive more innovation in payments.

Earlier this year, Coca-Cola Amatil entered a commercial partnership with Centrepay that allows Australian and New Zealand consumers to use cryptocurrencies to pay for products across the vending network of Coca-Cola Amatil.

Amatil X head Alix Rimington said: “We already have a commercial relationship with Centrapay and our investment further supports our partnership with the team.

“Amatil’s customers can use their Sylo Smart Wallet at any one of our 2,000+ vending machines with a QR code payment sticker.

“These are located across New Zealand and Australia and will accept payments in cryptocurrency or other digital assets with a scan of your phone’s camera when Sylo Smart Wallet is installed.”

Coca-Cola Amatil is a bottler and distributor of alcoholic and non-alcoholic ready-to-drink beverage in Asia-Pacific, and one of the world’s largest bottlers of The Coca-Cola Company range. It has around 12,000 employees working in Indonesia, New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and Samoa.

Meanwhile, Coca-Cola has announced the restructuring of its global operations, which will take effect from 1 January 2021. The restructuring is designed to bring agility and eliminate resource duplication.

As part of this restructuring, Coca-Cola’s India and South-West Asia business unit will be pushed up to an operating unit.