Wondering what those ATM-looking machines are?

November 25^th, 2012 (InsideCostaRica.com) You may have already seen them in shopping centers or bus stops, wondering what they are. These new machines appear similar to an ATM machine, but are used for making payments instead.  For the time being, they can only be used for adding time to prepaid cellular phones, though the makers of the machines say they hope to offer other types of payment services in the future.

The machines are quite user friendly, one simply enters their telephone number on the machine’s touchscreen, and then inserts the appropriate bill for the amount they would like to add to their balance.  The machines also accept debit and credit cards.

Behind the machines is a company called DACOR. David Ramirez, spokesperson for the company, said they started by placing the machines in larger shopping centers, but now want to expand into small stores and minimarkets.

According to the Telecommunications Supervision department, SUTEL, there are 3,267,000 prepaid phone lines in Costa Rica, meaning that 7 out of every 10 cellular lines are of the prepaid variety.

35 of these payment machines have already been installed in shopping centers, schools and industrial parks, and 100 more are expected to be put in place this year.