Various Methods of Customer Payments for Laundromats
Credit card and proprietary card systems are able to keep an eye on silent partners and employee theft and provide more detailed reports on specific equipment use, income sources and customer preference. They often provide extensive information to those owners who enjoy expanded analysis of their operation.
The downside of all the credit card systems is initial cost, high failure of components, ongoing software upgrade costs, rapid outdating of the technology and a reduction in the value of the equipment in resale markets. The cost of converting your used equipment to other people’s vending choice can often make used equipment very hard to market. There is also a concern that the there is not enough business in our industry to support all the ongoing companies currently offering these systems. I believe less than half of the current companies will remain in business to support these systems in the coming years. Despite some belief that credit card systems are harder to beat because of a paper trail, there is reason to believe that any Laundromat payment system can be penetrated.
Application based systems are less costly to purchase than credit card and proprietary systems and do expand to the range of payment options available to your customers. They have a smaller but similar range of benefits to credit card and proprietary card systems.
The negative aspects include ongoing monthly bank fees, limited customer use and increased maintenance costs. Customer use is usually reported as less than 25% and bank issues are frequently cited complaints of users.
Coin drops and slides are still the dominate method of Laundromat vending options. The benefits include all money collected is retained by the Laundromat owner; no bank fees. Customer understanding of how coin slides and coin drops work is almost universal. Failure rates are extremely low and life expectancy is long in years and proven.
Although the use of coins still dominates all payment methods, with a usage or co-usage estimated in over 75% off all existing Laundromats, the rise in vended price has made the use of quarters a protracted experience for customers. Some customers are moving toward the use of dollar coin and tokens because of lower conversion cost and the preference of certain communities of Laundromat customers.
Most existing Laundromat owners will not make any changes to their current payment acceptance methods because of the high cost of adding a card or hybrid system. Combination applications and coin vend systems for existing Laundromats will increase in new stores because of the card systems benefits for new owners. However, guessing which systems will still be around in ten years is a gamble for the Laundromat owner.
I think the use of card and application based systems will grow in new Laundromat construction and major remodels. Existing Laundromats will continue to slowly grow in application based systems. Sales of propriety card systems to existing Laundromats will be limited.
In the next ten years and beyond the use of cash and coins of any type will diminish in all sectors of our society. Eventually the government will eventually achieve an ability to monitor all commercial transactions as to customer use and Laundromat owner income; meanwhile cash will still be king for many sectors of our population.