What is a Cashless System?

Are you familiar with any of the following scenarios: -

1. Searched your pockets for the correct change for your drink at the vending machine?

2. Received complaints from your colleagues that the vending machines have run out of change, or has the coin mechanism jammed again?

3. Not been able to eat your food because it’s gone cold, as you’ve had to wait so long to be served at the restaurant till?

4. Struggled to keep on top of your hospitality expenditures?

If the answer to any of the above is yes, then the VMC Metro Cashless System could be the answer to your problem!

The ability to store money in an electronic purse on a card is fast becoming standard practice throughout the workplace. The electronic purse is then used to purchase products at a vending machine, the till in the colleague restaurant, or at any point of sale terminal located within the business premises.

Since its formation in 1991, VMC has built-up a proven track record for quality and reliability. VMC is an independently owned British Company whose customer base now extends to over 400 sites throughout Europe, within many different market sectors for example Business and Industry, Education and Government, Banking and Finance, Hotel and Leisure, Retail and Hospitals.

VMC’s flagship system is Metro – a third generation smartcard cashless payment system combining electronic purse, hospitality, loyalty and subsidy management capabilities in one system. Metro is the latest in a line of category leading innovations from VMC. Metro extends and improves the functionality of the first VMC cashless systems ChangeCard / ChangeKey. Leading the market for the past 12 years these products quickly became the industry benchmark for innovation and reliability.

How does it work?

Users are issued with a card. The electronic purse is topped up using revaluation terminals. A range of terminals are now available including coin & note, credit card or payroll deduction terminal. Simply by inserting the card into a revaluation terminal and following the instructions given, money is added onto the electronic purse on the card. The card then replaces your wallet or purse when paying for goods at both vending and catering facilities.

Card readers are installed at all Points of Sale (e.g. vending machines, restaurant tills, coffee bar till, staff shops). Instead of juggling with cash at the Point of Sale, the card is inserted into the reader and the total sum of the purchase is quickly and accurately deducted from the card.

What are the benefits?

Faster transactions

It has been proven time after time that queuing at point of sale terminals and vending machines is greatly reduced; typically three times more people can be served using a cashless system than could have been if they were paying cash. This leaves employees more time to enjoy their break and encourages them to come back to the restaurant. Improving the speed of service may also offer the benefit of reducing staff levels at off peak times.

Improves hygiene on site

The handling of coins and notes provides an easy way for bacteria to spread quickly from one individual to another. A recent study of coins and notes revealed the presence of bacteria on 87% of the notes!! With a cashless system, the catering staff no longer have to handle cash, at the same time as serving food.

Managing staff entitlements

Free Vends, corporate cash, loyalty and hospitality spend are all entitlements which can be programmed on to the card, this can be refreshed, daily, weekly or monthly, whilst the cards can be configured so that any unused allowance is lost or accumulated, dependent on the client’s requirements.

In some instances it may be necessary to charge different tariffs for visitors and staff, the VMC Metro system manages tariffs and entitlements automatically.

Increased Sales

It has been demonstrated that with the introduction of a VMC cashless system can increase sales by as much 20%.

Vending and Catering purchases are often dictated by the amount of loose change we have in our pockets. With the introduction of a cashless system this is never a problem, the value on the card is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

70% of vending machine faults are coin related! Often vending machines require the exact change to be inserted in order to make a purchase. This can be frustrating and many times, people decide not to bother. Removing coins from your machines improves reliability, and overcomes the exact change problem. All this adds up to more sales and happier customers.

Cash collection – made simple!

Time spent collecting, counting and sorting cash costs money. The VMC cashless system offers a choice of top-up options including Payroll deduction, Credit & Debit card and Coin & Note.

Removing all the cash from your site removes the security issues relating to cash handling significantly and reduces the risk of vandalism and theft from your vending and catering points of sale.

A payroll loader, where money is transferred from your salary to your smartcard, or a Credit Card loader, where money can be loaded from your Access, Visa or MasterCard directly to your smartcard offers you and your customers a truly ‘cashless’ system.

Sites where it’s not practical to remove cash can still achieve major benefits from using coin and note loaders to top-up cards. These terminals can be sited in central locations where security risk is low. All money is safely locked away in alarmed cashboxes that are fully auditable. Since the money collected from coin and note loaders is high value denominations, less time is spent on counting and reconciling the cash, saving time and money to the operator.

Guests

When a guest arrives at an office how do they buy lunch? Simple…. As well as the revaluation terminals already installed on site, it is possible to install guest or visitor card terminals, providing 24 hour card dispensing facilities. Cards returned to the terminal are collected and any remaining balances are refunded. The terminal can also manage a card deposit to provide an incentive to return the card.

Simple Solutions

A cashless system from VMC provides a wide range of benefits which ensure a smooth running operation for businesses both big and small.