Unattended Retail’s Payments Snapshot

Remember those clunky vending machines of yesteryear that demanded exact change, impossibly smooth dollar bills and perhaps a bit of teeth gritting and machine shaking in exchange for your beloved M&Ms? Sooner or later, such tales could be greeted with looks of bewilderment and head scratches.

At least that may be the case if today’s unattended retail players have anything to say about it. The self-service retail market’s fully connected vending machines are now designed with today’s consumers in mind — offering cashless options and more. And unattended retail player USA Technologies just nabbed a partner in crime as it expanded its partnership with Rawls Distributing Company earlier this month.

In light of the news, PYMNTS recently caught up with Robin Rawls, President of Rawls Distributing Company, to discuss the partnership, the uptick the company has seen in cashless transactions and more. Catch the conversation here:

PYMNTS: In your words, what does the implementation of USA Technologies’ ePort Connect into all of Rawls Distributing Co’s Canteen machines mean to the world of unattended retail?

RR: The vending industry really is a pretty tight-knit group of like-minded individuals for the most part — and I like to think unless we are in direct competition with another company we like to share our best practices and what works well and what doesn’t work well. I feel that by taking this step with USAT and using their technology and resources, we will see a new era of unattended vending over the next few years. I want to share that with my fellow operators to improve our industry as a whole and make us more profitable and efficient.

PYMNTS: Over the years we have seen or heard of many uncommon items turn to unattended retail, with my personal favorite being life insurance policy machines in airports during the ’60s. Over the next five years, where do you see vending machines going to further expand their footprint both product-wise as well as the industry?

RR: Cashless technology will allow us to sell anything, literally. Japan is so far ahead of us in this area that we have a lot of catching up to do internationally. But I can see books, DVDs and a myriad of other items that could be placed in our machines. Not just in airports but the local hospital or factory. These days it doesn’t have to be just snack or drink items. Somewhere out there is an entrepreneur who is going to come up with the next greatest idea. I don’t know what it is, but it will be in my machines one day.

PYMNTS: Do you see a time in the near future where cash is no longer accepted at vending machines and, if so, what is the time frame of that transition?

RR: Each passing year there are fewer and fewer people that carry cash and they are mostly my generation (60 or older). It makes sense as well with the almost universal acceptance of cashless alternatives; it is easier and safer. Now, people can carry their phone, credit or debit card and ID and go anywhere and pay for anything. I think I will live to see the day when cash is no longer necessary and will be considered very old school.

PYMNTS: Your data shows a 33% uptick in cashless usage after just 50% cashless deployment in your machines. What is the biggest deterrent people have to accepting cashless vending and what are you doing to ease these fears?

RR: Education is the key to making cashless acceptance work. We use signage and have started using messages on the readers themselves to get our point across. We literally have only had one or two instances in the last five years of a legitimate loss of money by a customer and that was promptly refunded by USAT. I don’t know how many millions of transactions that is, but I would hazard a guess that your odds of being struck by lightning are a lot better than losing money in one of my readers.

PYMNTS: What are the main security risks involved in self-serve retail and what is being done to minimize those risks?

RR: In my opinion the security risks involved in cashless vending are much lower than using cash. Think about this for a moment: A quarter can go down the wrong chute or a dollar can get stuck in a bill validator and not cycle properly. A cashless transaction is not completed until the motor dispensing the product turns and that product falling into the delivery compartment of the machine breaks a photo electric eye to acknowledge product delivery. The equipment manufacturers and the cashless providers have put a lot of time, energy and thought into making this a stress-free transition. I’m sure there will be potential problems down the road, because there always are, but I have confidence that the folks at USAT will foresee them and stay ahead of any issues.

PYMNTS: Lack of education in cashless devices as well as trust in their security causes hesitation in product usage. What must be done not only by Rawls and USA Technologies, but by card networks and issuers to expedite the implementation process?

RR: I think a big part of the solution of implementation is taking the first step — a leap of faith as it were. Five years ago I had very little money and my business was floundering in many ways. We were not efficient or profitable. I took the leap of faith and installed 50 readers and then a hundred more using the Quickstart program. Then I added more until we were up to 500 readers. Cashless acceptance starts slowly, but by the end of the first year it was like a tiny pebble starting an avalanche. With thousands of readers, that effect will just be magnified. I’m looking for the day when television advertising and promotional incentives are at the machine level. I’m a pretty smart guy but it is going to be the media and industry leaders like USAT that are going to lead the charge in getting the word out and educating consumers. I do it day-by-day, one customer at a time, one transaction at a time.