Cashless Vending Machines - The Future Of The Vending Industry

These are pretty much self explanatory. Cashless vending machines are ones that do not accept coins or bills. 

They functions completely without the use of currency. These vending machines operate only by the use of credit cards, debt cards or some type of smart card. This relatively new system of not using coins in vending machines is meeting with a lot of enthusiasm in the vending business. This is reflected both in vendor opinions and those of the consumer.

No more do the vendors need to worry about coins getting jammed, non-American currency being used and confusing the machines or incorrect change being given that either infuriates the customer or causes losses to the proprietor. Using this system the customers find that the transaction goes faster which means if there is a long lineup of thirsty people waiting to make a purchase from a cold drink machine on a hot day the lineup moves faster and so there is less change of losing customers who become impatient. This has been shown to be a thirty percent increase in sales on this one point alone. Further it greatly improves the accounting process for the owners of the machines by making everything much more straightforward. The last big change in vending machines was the addition of paper currency validators over thirty years ago.

There are many advantages to cashless vending. One is how the machines will be treated. There is proof that there are fewer instances of vandalism against the machines if it is apparent that there is no change to be had by trying to break into the machines. People carrying change for the machines are less likely to be robbed while getting their drink, snack or meal when all they put into the vending machines is a plastic card.

There are some disadvantages to cashless machines. Many people have a philosophy about using their credit or debit cards. They have a cutoff limit at which point they normally determine that if the purchase costs under a certain amount they will use the cash on them instead of their cards. This practice is, surprisingly, something that will be found among people of all races and social economic standing. Often the magic number is ten dollars, but this amount will differ from person to person. The common factor is that most consumers have this cutoff point. Therefore to use cashless vending machines the proprietors must find a way to encourage their customers to use the credit card even though the purchase amount may be very low.

Despite this cashless paying is becoming more common and so the vending machines are changing over to accommodate this use. People have gotten used to using their credit cards for more types of purchasing after the experience of using pay at the pump gas stations and getting their cash though ATM machines. With over eight million vending machines in the United States cashless vending looks like it will be the next big change in how consumers shop.