However, as a person involved in selling cashless vending systems, I can attest that there are benefits to vending operators. Vending operators who commit themselves to this over time are realizing a good return on their investment.

Selling your account on the benefits of a credit/debit card purchasing option will allow you to raise the price of your products and if done correctly, the account will be more than willing to pick up part of the cost of the card system.

What are the benefits of credit / debit card program for your customer?

1. The time to purchase an item is significantly reduced, especially utilizing the new “tap and go” cards. The reduced purchasing time allows the lines to move quicker providing your customer’s employees more time to enjoy their meal during their limited break time.
2. Employees are able to purchase a more variety of items even if they do not have the proper cash denominations. The benefit to your customer is increased productivity and morale as employees will stay within the facility for lunch breaks.
3. Verifiable on line sales tracking from total cash and credit sales down to the transaction detail level. Detail transaction information includes the transaction amount, whether the transaction was cash or credit, the time the transaction occurred and the purchased item’s column number. Information that you can provide to your customer if you wish.
4. For the commission conscious account, the sales increase due to the sales of higher end products, the higher amount of sales per transaction, the increase in multiple product purchases per transaction and finally the ability to offer higher prices for all items all comes down to increase commission dollars for the account.

The benefit for you, the operator, is that unlike normal price increases where unit sales go down, with a cashless option, your unit sales should go down less if not stay the same allowing for additional revenue. Unit sales will go up at locations where pricing remains the same. This will help to offset the costs for a cashless system in no commission situations where prices are at proper levels.

Determining which accounts are profitable for a credit/debit card vending program can be done by simple testing and a look at the demographics of the account. The younger generation is a proven user of credit/debit card purchasing options.

Locations where a younger population exists would be college campuses, entertainment venues such as amusement parks and movie theaters. Transportation and hospitality locations such as airports, train stations and hotels have been successful due the fact that customers who use these services are stronger users of payment cards. Corporate offices with a younger, higher than average income could be potentially profitable locations. Finally, health care facilities such as hospitals have also been proven as decent accounts for credit/debit card programs based on the percentage of card transactions versus overall sales. You should find that the percentage of card transactions to total sales will range from 15 percent to 50 percent with an average of around 20 percent.

I am interested in your comments and I would like to answer your questions on how to make a cashless program profitable for you. My background is in vending operations, equipment manufacturing, accountability software and cashless solutions. I look forward to hearing from you.