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Credit card processing for vending machines


royal

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I am thinking of placing credit card terminals in my vending machines. Anyone here operate vending machines which accept credit/debit cards?

If so, which are the better companies to deal with for processing credit/debit card without having to paying an arm and a leg. Thanks in advance.

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Thanks BASIC+ I will look into this company. Do you know of any credit card processing companies which actually process the credit card transactions. I have looked at some and they are tooooo expensive, with 1.5% charge per transaction in addition to the credit card company charges, and $.10 to $.20 charge per card use, including monthly minimum service fees and transaction statement fee.  

 

Thanks.

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USAT runs their own back office for the card processing as does MEI, but you can use any provider's card readers with any back office card network you choose to use.  In my opinion, it would be easier to use the card processing offered by your hardware provider.  The typical card processing charges are $36 to activate each card reader's cellular connection, $10-12 per month per card reader for network access and then a small percentage processing fee per transaction.  The reader's modem should upload a batch each night to the server so your card sales are reviewable the next day.  Because of the costs associated with card readers, you only want to use them in high volume locations and on equipment with high prices in them.  If your pricing and the majority of your sales are under $1 you might find card readers to not be profitable.  In the right account with the right demographic you can see a high card usage rate and usually you'll see a sales lift of 10-20% as well.

 

Some of the other providers are Arrow/InOne Technology, Cantaloupe Systems, Apriva Vend, MEI and others I can't remember right now.

 

One great thing about the card reader systems is that most of the providers also offer upgraded hardware that will allow DEX data (item level sales reporting) to be utilized if you choose to subscribe to their data reporting.

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There are a couple of things you need to know.

 

First, you can either get a reader with a mask that goes on your validator OR you can get a stand-alone reader.  The stand-alone reader must go into an existing cut-out OR you will need to drill holes to mount it into your machine.  USA Technologies (for example) ONLY supplies stand-alone readers.  They provide you with a drill guide so that you can easily drill the holes but it can be frustrating. 

 

Note: My first install was on a bevmax and it was VERY frustrating.  I had to order a new panel with a cut-out for the reader just to be able to mount it!

 

Second, you can either get the hardware and go with a processing company separately or you can get it all in the same deal.  I recommend sticking with USA Technologies for your first reader JUST BECAUSE I did it and they made things go pretty smooth for me.  You just fill out the paper work to purchase the first reader and fill out the paper work for the processing/fees and they will ship you the hardware and bill you.  The fees start when you first boot-up the reader (and it should only boot up once it has been installed properly).  They collect the money until you have accumulated OVER $25 in revenue AFTER their fees.  They then pay you on the Friday AFTER you have gotten over $25 (which could happen every week at a good account).  To my knowledge, all you have to do is record the payment they give you as net sales for the machine (ie. you may have grossed $30 in sales but they only give you $26 after fees.  Rather than worry about fee expenses, you just record the $26 as gross income from that machine and adjust your books accordingly).

 

Third, your machine MUST be MDB.  If you are going for a reader with a mask, make sure you have the right validator for the mask AND make sure that it will fit in the cut-out (I am not sure if all masks fit in all machines but they probably will).  If it is a stand-alone reader, make sure you have a place to mount the reader (usually above the validator).  A lot of soda machines have a second cut-out where a reader can be easily mounted, but a lot of snack machines will need to be drilled.

 

That should cover a lot of the issues that you will run into.  I recently installed a reader from USA Tech and it was frustrating because it was on a bevmax but it has worked great since the installation.

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"Note: My first install was on a bevmax and it was VERY frustrating.  I had to order a new panel with a cut-out for the reader just to be able to mount it!  That should cover a lot of the issues that you will run into.  I recently installed a reader from USA Tech and it was frustrating because it was on a bevmax but it has worked great since the installation."

 

You must have been installing in on a Bev 2 or newer machine.  If you are going to install a card reader in a Bevmax 2, 3 or 4, you will have to order a new upper bezel for the door that gives you the appropriate cutout to mount the card reader.  If you don't get the bezel kit, you will hack up the original bezel by cutting a hole in it and that hole will not look good.

 

The original Bevmax machines with the flat doors will only require holes to be drilled to mount the card reader, as with most machines.  The drawback to drilling holes in any door is what to do with the holes should the card reader ever be removed.  This is primarily a problem on soda machines, but the holes can usually be covered on snacks with a new Tuffront panel.

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