Until fairly recently vending only offered one type of payment, generally coins, due to both the currency situation and the fact that vending is still a relatively low transaction value environment.

The Octopus card was launched in the transport sector in Hong Kong in 1997, eliminating the need for consumers to find exact change and allowing them to travel across multiple transport systems with just one card. Octopus obtained Deposit-taking Company authorisation from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority in April 2000, allowing its expansion into a wider range of applications, including retail.

Today, Octopus not only powers many of Hong Kong’s payment systems, it also provides access at buildings and supports various functions at schools. Launched in 2005, Octopus Rewards has also become one of the most widely adopted and cost-effective ways for merchants to enhance customer loyalty, says the company.

The Oyster card used on public transport within Greater London is a perfect example of the way in which pre-paid, contactless cards make payment in the UK quick and easy, speeding up use of the service overall. Simply top up and pay as you use, much like a mobile phone.

Primarily used as electronic wallets, smart cards like these allow money to be loaded onto the card electronically and debited with each use. In the hotel and catering sector for example, the use of a pre-pay card reduces the time a customer has to spend queueing and the time an employee then has to spend cashing up, improving customer service and widening profit margins.

Hotels present huge opportunities for cashless vending; if you are away on business for instance, it is much easier to settle your expenses in one go than it is to obtain receipts for every last drink and snack, especially if purchased from a vending machine. Many hotels now allow patrons to use their room key as a payment card throughout the premises, in what is also great market research. Simply by monitoring what guests are purchasing and when, enables hoteliers to build a profile of each guest. This has created opportunities for targeting a type of customer to maximise on profits in the future.

Cash payment still in demand

Klaus Meyer-Steffens, of National Rejectors, Germany, gave a speech at the EVA conference about how the EVA and World Vending Association were working to meet the challenges presented by new coins. He summarised that in his view, cash is the easiest method of payment and remains important for the future, particularly in low value transaction vending.

Coins were also the subject of the next presentation, by Andrew Yellop, Research Manager at MEI UK International, who tackled the growing issue of coin variability in the Euro zone. A number of coin features will affect a coin’s EMS he said, explaining that most of these can be controlled by the Mints. Security, he added, can be greatly improved with current coin and validator technologies, reducing variability.

Session Three of the conference was headed by a presentation by Fioravante Allegrino, of Sogeda, who looked into the latest aspects of banknote readers. He was followed by Kelvin Reynolds, Director of Technical Services, British Parking Association, who gave an interesting address on accepting payments in unattended points of sale.

While vending in Europe is traditionally coin-based, the conference also revealed that the use of banknote validators and contactless cards were on the increase, with more opportunities for mobile phone payment systems yet to be explored.

From change givers and bill acceptors to cashless payment solutions, the vending industry has done a great job of turning science fiction into science, to meet the hectic demands of today’s consumer  - whether they have the cash or not.

Printer friendly version

Email this article to a friend

Bookmark this

---