A team of 12 engineers and designers led by me explored exactly this. Through 9 months of research, design, development and user-testing, we created a fully custom machine that dispenses educational items not using cash - but a completely new payment system from the ground up.
Students earn points by engaging in campus activities, which can be redeemed for educational items.
The project was developed in collaboration with Penn State I.T. to allow students to simply use their existing university ID cards.