Vending Machine Card Payments

[tixxter]

Hi All, Looking for some advice and the knowledge of this great forum.
We need to accept card payments for our vending machines, I guess my question is who would you consider for this purpose as the research I have being doing - the cost of the card readers are between £300 - £400 to purchase and with 50+ machines this is a cost we would like to lower if at all possible, I know there are lots of new companies starting within the card payments world and wondering if anybody knows a more cheaper option than purchasing £3-400 readers for each machine.
I know we are late to the game as we have been trying to put off card payments but now feel 'to survive' its now a necessity. Any advice, suggestions would be most appreciated.

 

[numbersrule]

I am interpreting your question as meaning that you are provided with vending machines for your premises.
If that is true, then would your vending machine provider not offer any help with setting up card payments or even offer alternative vending machines?

 

[WaveJumper]

I am with the above having had to fit many a car park pay machine with card readers this was always done by the machine suppliers themselves, the biggest issue or more complicated came with who wass the cheapest card processing provider to use

 

[Ozzy]

I'm just going to agree with the above to speak to the vending machine manufacturer, the issue being that the card reader has to be integrated into the pricing mechanism within the machine to know how much to take from a card, and then to signal to the machine to inform it that payment has been taken.
This means you need either a specialist firm, or the vending machine manufacturer themselves. I'm afraid this also means you're likely to be over a barrel on the pricing too.

 

[DontAsk]

If the vending machine vendors have an sense they will have this locked down in the Ts and Cs (have you read them?)

I think you are unlikely to be allowed to connect 3rd party hardware to their machines.

Do they even make the interface (hardware and software) specs available?

 

[IanSuth]

I read it to be Tixxter makes vending machines - has 50+ in various locations and now feels they have to offer card payments so wants to know how to do it low cost.

Personally - I wouldn't fit a card reader. I would print a large QR code sending to a website with payment option and connect the vending machines so they can receive a message to say "it has been paid". But it is not my area of expertise so I will leave to those who do know to give a more definitive answer.

 

[Ozzy]

Personally - I wouldn't fit a card reader. I would print a large QR code sending to a website with payment option and connect the vending machines so they can receive a message to say "it has been paid".

I would actually advise against this approach. Contactless payment at a vending machine is so much easier than opening a website, to make a payment, and then have the machine recognise a payment has been made

 

[NickGrogan]

I would actually advise against this approach. Contactless payment at a vending machine is so much easier than opening a website, to make a payment, and then have the machine recognise a payment has been made

Print my own QR code, stick it over your QR code and get people sending me money. Sounds great.

 

[tixxter]

Thank you all for your input, Ian is correct in the reasoning, to find at a possibly lower cost, though qr codes would be a much cheaper option, I feel this would be susceptable to issues, such as errors, fraud, etc i think we are going to have to 'bite the bullet' and pay to get the traditional card readers installed.

 

[IanSuth]

Print my own QR code, stick it over your QR code and get people sending me money. Sounds great.

Actually thinking about it that is true (and apparently being used on parking machines)

I did say not my area - i just thought (correctly) everyone had got the wrong end of the stick re reason for the question

 

[ShaunB]

Cantaloupe Inc can support your payment requirements for Vending Machines. Send me a msg and I will provide more details.

 

[Damian Franko]

Hi @tixxter,

We faced a similar challenge last year — card readers for 30+ machines, and the upfront cost was a concern. In the end, we found that going with a sector-specific supplier helped a lot. They understood what was actually needed (especially for office environments) and offered integrated options with contactless and telemetry.

Might be worth looking at industry-focused providers.
<mod: Link Removed>

The cost per machine was still there, but the ROI improved with better data tracking and uptime. Just sharing in case it’s useful!