1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to dispensing a product; and more particularly to a system and method of dispensing prepaid items using a uniquely identified container.
2. Description of Background
Currently, a typical method for dispensing food items, such as soft drinks, is to sell a generic container to a customer who can then fill it at a freestanding kiosk. This method does not insure that the customer will not allow others to use the authorized container for refills, or that only the authorized container is used. This method also does not insure that the container cannot be used beyond the period of time for which the sale was intended.
For systems that dispense items other than soft drinks, for example use of a company gas card at a company gas pump, existing schemes do not insure that the receiving container (usually a vehicle) is authorized. Such is the case for when a company gas card is utilized to fill the gas tank of a personal automobile.