A cashless vending system, comprising, a plurality of vending machines, wherein each vending machine comprises a Vending Machine Controller that supports the international Multi-Drop Bus/Internal Communication Protocol standard; wherein each vending machine includes a NetVend interface, wherein each NetVend interface communicates, via a Multi-Drop Bus/Internal Communication Protocol interface, with the Vending Machine Controller; wherein each NetVend interface communicates with at least one central server, wherein the central server contains a database for storing user Identifiers and an associated allowable credit or available cash data for each user Identifier, wherein the central server is capable of authenticating users for granting/denying access to a vending machine, receiving transaction data, and monitoring and controlling each of the plurality of vending machines; and wherein each vending machine includes a display/reader.