7-Eleven Sites Adding More KeyMe Kiosks

NEW YORK — 7-Eleven and Rite-Aid retailers, among others, are set to deploy more than 100 KeyMe kiosks across the United States before the end of the year in an expansion of the locksmith industry service's pilot program. This includes 20 locations in the metro New York City area starting in November, KeyMe said.

KeyMe kiosks allow users to avoid accidental lockouts by storing a digital copy of their keys in the cloud and creating a spare copy in less than 30 seconds if necessary. To access a digitally saved key at a kiosk, it takes a fingerprint scan to verify a user's identity, after which any saved key can be printed. KeyMe supports car keys and most home, office and mailbox keys.

The new kiosks will also be able to copy car keys with transponder chips, marking the first time car keys have ever been able to be copied at a self-service desk, according the announcement. The next-generation technology lets KeyMe scan car keys at the kiosk, read the transponder and ship a copy with tracking code in under two days.

KeyMe prices start at $19.99 for non-transponder keys and $64.99 for transponder keys.

Additionally, the new kiosks are integrated with the free KeyMe mobile app, currently available for Apple devices, with an Android version set for release next month.

"This expansion of KeyMe across New York City, and ultimately the country, demonstrates the enormous consumer demand for our kiosks. We are copying tens of thousands of keys monthly, making us one of the largest key duplicators in the region," stated KeyMe CEO Greg Marsh. "To date, we have saved our customers hundreds of thousands of dollars in emergency lockout fees. With our next-generation kiosks and new locations, we will make it even easier to get a highly accurate copy of any key type, including car and house keys in the most convenient, secure way possible."

A complete list of confirmed KeyMe kiosk locations will be released soon, the company said.