Cashless Payments In A Snapshot

The lights are bright, the wind is blowing and a photographer is giving prompts on the best poses for your shot, but this isn’t your typical photo shoot … it’s actually a photo booth.

This interactive experience comes complete with a digital photographer, a surround sound system, flashing lights and even video prompts, all designed to mimic the setup of an actual photo studio with the convenience of a photo booth.

“The difference is the experience itself,” Super Booths CEO Jeremy Radino told PYMNTS, noting that the latest version of the company’s products also feature touchscreens and the ability to share images on social media channels.

But just as advancing technologies have revamped how we think about taking photos generally – remember how the notion of a phone as camera first sounded – the availability of new technologies has raised the expectation bar for consumers who now see how easily accessible professional-grade photo experiences have become.

But very hard to pay for.

Radino explained that the photo booths currently accept cash payment before the guests step into the booth and then provide the option to purchase more copies before they step out. However, the ability to only accept cash or coin presents a problem in capitalizing on that additional sale opportunity.

“Just think of how many additional sales we’ve missed over the last four years because you have to put $5 in to start then at the end of the photo session you have 45 seconds to decide,” Radino said. In most cases, he added, people may not have the extra $3 in cash on hand to actually buy extra copies.

“Who knows how much we’ve actually lost out on?” A question that they wont have to worry about answering for much longer.

Super Booths is now making a major move toward retrofitting their machines with the ability to accept cashless payments allowing guests to simply pull out a credit card, swipe and purchase their additional prints quickly and easily.

“This is why it’s so important for that payment piece to work seamlessly with existing software for that additional opportunity,” Radino pointed out. “Flexibility is very important, we needed something that flowed with system and could be a part of its source code.”

Radino noted that integrating new cashless capabilities into the Super Booth machines was just a logical next step, and the move to add the necessary payment equipment to existing machines is sure to bring more options to guests.

The integration of the payment software with the photo booth software will also provide Super Booths with real-time performance and analytics for every single machine, which Radino said is critical to meeting the demands of its clients.

“Our customers want statistics, as close to real-time as possible,” he added.

Super Booths is also keeping the door open to accepting more advanced payment methods going forward as well – meaning the idea of purchasing photo booth pictures with the dip of an EMV-enabled chip card or the tap of a mobile device may not be too far off.

For now, Radino said the company is working with RFID technology, particularly for booths located in places guests may not be carrying cash or credit cards at all.

Many music festivals, for example, allow attendees to purchase bracelets ahead of the event that are linked to their payment accounts or cards – so why shouldn’t they also be able to use those bracelets to enjoy a Super Booths experience?

“This would allow them to use our photo booths without having to do any kind of opting in, they just swipe their bracelets,” Radino explained.

It looks like the “world’s first interactive photo booth” is hoping to keep pace with the rapidly advancing payment technology landscape as well.

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The PYMNTS.com Developer TrackerTM, powered by Vantiv, is designed to provide the payments ecosystem with a view into how software developers are using new technologies to create innovative business opportunities and enable merchants to optimize the ways in which they engage with shoppers today. The developer community within the tracker is separated into three categories: Shopping and Payments, Operations, and Marketing.