Payment Technology
Executive protocol
Term from the vending glossary
Older serial communication protocol for vending machines (Riveria/Crane standard), predecessor to MDB. Still found in legacy equipment; cashless terminals for Executive are now rare — migrate to MDB when retrofitting.
The Executive protocol is the older interface between machine and payment system, particularly common on European hot-beverage vending machines. Characteristic of it is the division: prices reside in the machine, the payment system only handles the cash box — hence the term 'Price Holding' for this operating mode.
In existing fleets, it is still commonly found and works. However, it shows limitations with anything beyond basic sales: multiple price tiers, employee card discounts, or reversal on malfunction. Any operator requiring such features cannot avoid switching to MDB.