NAMA has published a new version 4.3 of the Multi-Drop Bus (MDB) standard.

This update was primarily the proposal of the EVA Standards Committee, presented and discussed with fifteen NAMA experts earlier this year, amended and expanded before approval. Now all the final additions and proofing have been made, and the new version 4.3 has officially been published by NAMA.

“As [NAMA Committee] VDI coordinator, I applaud the fine work of this committee under the skillful leadership of Chris Lilly, Bob Ross, and Vladimir Lopatin,” said Michael Kasavana, Ph.D., NAMA Endowed Professor Emeritus. “Committee members provided valuable input that impacts our industry tremendously. MDB Version 4.3 allows for a comprehensive treatment of cashless transactions across convenience services. The MDB standard has a long history of quality and reliability, and MDB Version 4.3 is built on the same proven principles,” he concluded.

The MDB Version 4.2 standard had not been revised for eight years. MDB Version 4.3 is now available as a downloadable PDF on the NAMA website. Download your copy here. It is important to note that compared to the earlier version, MDB Version 4.3 revisions only appear in ‘Section 7 – Cashless Devices.’ The revised Section 7 is color coded to help clarify the changes. All other sections of MDB Version 4.3 remain identical to those of MDB 4.2.

Among the 7 new changes and functionalities are a new remote vend feature to allow selection and payment of products through the use of mobile phone applications without the need to touch the vending machine buttons, as well as basket and coupon additions.