Is cashless the future of vending?
At Cantaloupe, our vision is to help the world buy it and go. Cashless vending is helping us do just that.
While the contactless payment approach is not a new concept to the United Kingdom, its ubiquity has increased immensely within the vending space. Presently, people are less interested in carrying wallets or physical change, instead relying on the mobility of systems such as Apple Pay and other cell phone wallets to digitally hold their cash and credit cards
According to Cantaloupe’s Shaun Burger, Managing Director of EMEA, from 2017 to 2022 – and especially since the Covid-19 pandemic, during which people were forced to adopt safe, contactless options – there was a steady decline in cash acceptance at vending machines and an increased adoption of cashless devices in vending machines.
Burger also notes that this increased adoption of a cashless vending approach has been partially influenced by younger generations, who embrace technology at a faster rate and are expectant of more modern, cool and aesthetically-pleasing approaches to food and beverage experiences. Today, according to the AVA, over 65% of pay-vend machines in the United Kingdom have card readers and 72% of vending machine transactions were cashless.
Because of this acceptance of cashless, businesses have increased efficiency and revenue
Because of this acceptance of cashless, businesses have increased efficiency and revenue. The increased adoption of cashless approaches is pushing operators to continuously review the quantitative and qualitative advantages for their businesses of adopting cashless.
Cashless payments drive more revenue.
Quantitatively, cashless payments help to drive more revenue for businesses. Owen Baker, finance director at Decorum Vending, has experienced those sale increases firsthand.
“When we moved fully cashless, we were seeing a 32% increase in sales average across the board,” said Baker.
Baker says that this increase in sales is related to ease: customers no longer have to worry about not having enough cash on hand, instead being able to tap or swipe their credit cards to make their purchases.
Going cashless reduces business costs.
“For us, going cashless has been a dream. We have no stress, no headaches, no worrying about if cash (from our vending machines) is going to make it to the van, to the office, to the bank,” says Baker.
Applying a cashless approach to vending machines lessens the burden on operators who are tasked with handling or counting banking fees that could be associated with cash. This also reduces the burden on companies with vending machines that are both cash and cashless and lessens costs for labour and time.
Cashless = innovation.
As has been noted by David Llewellyn, Chief Executive at The AVA, the shift to cashless trends – especially in a post-pandemic era, in which 65-70% of vending machines are in workplaces and most companies are employing hybrid working models — allows operators to think outside of the box with the types of products they put out into the market, as well as where those products can be placed.
“What [businesses] tend to do [now] is look at a geographic area… and try to fulfill everything they can within their clients, rather than just focusing on vending,” says Llewellyn. “Which is why we’ve seen a huge increase in micro markets, wholesaling… more and more non-food and PPE are going vending as well. [Businesses] are expanding their offer… and that’s part of what is driving this technological change.”
83% of United Kingdom consumers preferring to use contactless payment
Cashless readers, such as Cantaloupe’s P66 readers, have been added to vending and coffee machines, resulting in a faster and sleeker vending experience while also increasing sales on average by 30% and the average basket size by 55%.
With 83% of United Kingdom consumers preferring to use contactless payments, we are seeing a dramatic shift for vending operators to adopt these methods of accepting payments. By choosing to go cashless, your business can only benefit.
And with these consumer demands shifting to adopting more modern forms of technology, operators can also start to explore the opportunities in solutions like micro markets or smart fridges that only continue to innovate how they deliver food and beverage experiences to their customers.
To learn more about the growth of cashless vending in the UK, you can watch Cantaloupe’s recent webinar with Cantaloupe’s Shaun Burger and the AVA’s David Llewellyn. View Webinar Here.
There are more Cantaloupe stories on Planet Vending – HERE
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