A vending machine can be a vital asset to your business. It can give your employees somewhere to go for a quick snack or help your customers entertain themselves while they wait for service. Providing a reasonable number of vending machine payment methods is just as important as installing the machine itself. Here’s some information on payment methods for vending machines and what you can do to accommodate the users.
How Many Kinds of Payment Methods Are There in Vending Machines?
You have at least four options to choose from when considering the payment methods you want to make available to your visitors. The most commonly known payment time is the old-fashioned coin system, and visitors can insert nickels, dimes, and quarters to retrieve the items they want from the vending machine.
Another payment type involves bill validators that accept one, five, and 10-dollar bills. You could make a bill validator system more effective by adding a feature that helps to straighten crumbled or bent bills. A common problem with using vending machines is that they spit out imperfect bills. Thus, the extra feature might boost the profits you get from the vending machine.
You might also want to offer your visitors the opportunity to use their credit and debit cards to pay for their snacks and accessories. Vending machines are available with those options as well. Alternatively, you can use a cashless system that allows users to pay with Google Pay and similar services. There may even be some Bitcoin machines around, but that option might be less popular at this time. It will likely become more sought-after in the upcoming years.
What Are the Payment Trends in Vending?
Cashless and card options are becoming quite a trend at laundromats and other facilities. However, many places are still using old-school style vending machines that take change and bills. The majority of buyers still keep a certain amount of cash on their person, and thus, it wouldn’t be wise to discount that method altogether.
Remember that you have the potential to sell goods each time someone comes across one of your machines. The more options you provide, the more you will empty your machines in a timely fashion. Adding one or two of the machines to your customer lobby or employee break room could end up being a profitable investment strategy for you.
Which Payment Methods Should You Use for Your Vending Machines?
The type of vending machine methods you offer depends on the demographics and customer trends. More businesses are installing machines with credit and debit card options because of increased card usage. Thus, you might want to use a vending machine that accepts change, bills, and cards. That will stretch the options out to the highest number of people.
As you can see, you can choose from a multitude of options to accommodate your guests and visitors. Consider installing at least one vending machine at your facility and providing your clients with various payment choices.