Category: Best Payment System – sponsored by Siemens
Name of Product: VMC Cashless Vending Solution
Company Name: VMC (UK) Ltd
Applicant Name: Lisa Dulay
Company: VMC (UK) Ltd
Summary:
About VMC
For over 25 years VMC have built a reputation for quality and expertise in cashless payments. Our solutions are flexible, secure, reliable and can be tailored to the exact needs of our clients.
Providing excellent customer service alongside top quality products is extremely important to us, which is why we develop, design and build VMC products in our own UK manufacturing and engineering facility.
Our solutions are fully scalable, offering exactly the same benefits to small and large environments, and our systems support all major payment types – cashless, smartcard, contactless, bank card, chip & pin and mobile payments.
Why a new solution was needed?
At VMC we have seen a surge in demand for flexible open payment solutions, which is reflected in the increased uptake of Tap & Go payment technology, and for UK vending operators is heralding the demise of cash-based vending. With high street retailers reporting 1 in 3 payments now being contactless, it’s clear that consumers enjoy the speed, convenience and choice this type of payment offers.
Combine that with the fact that operating costs for contactless are lower than the cost of managing cash, plus the added potential for increased sales through convenience and impulse buys, it’s easy to see why contactless is appealing to vending operators.
Recognising this emerging need VMC wanted to provide a new vending payment solution, and in partnership with Vendotek, we have developed a vending payment terminal that accepts both open contactless and closed cashless payment in one reader. VMC have secured exclusive UK distribution for Vendotek, enhancing a great product with excellent UK logistics, expertise and support.
Nick Bate, MD of VMC explains “It was clear to us that there was not enough choice on the market for open payments in vending and also that the high running costs were restrictive for many operators, which is why we formed our partnership with Vendotek to bring this new solution to the UK market. Customers and retailers need the flexibility to accept both bank card payment and closed user schemes and our collaboration with Vendotek provides a future-proof and long-term option for those investing in new payment technology.”
Why is this technology important to the vending industry?
The terminal was first launched in the UK at Avex and Vendex in 2017, and since then VMC has received a great response to the multi-payment reader.
But there is far more for vending operators to gain here than just consumer engagement and satisfaction; for example, the operator can benefit from highly competitive merchant costs, real time management information, quicker payments, customised loyalty and promotions, personalised advertising at the point of sale and customer engagement.
For vending operators, keeping costs down is vital, as is the option to upgrade rather than replace existing vending equipment where possible, and for consumers choice and speed is key. This is why our new terminal can be easily retro-fitted, accepts both open and closed payment and can be fully integrated into vending management software systems using the terminal as a conduit to collect DEX data from both the vending machine and coin-mech.
We believe that with this new technology there is a real opportunity to change the industries perceptions about the cost of upgrading vs. the long-term operational benefits and our solutions have been developed to provide more payment choice and add greater flexibility to any vending operation.
About the product
It was clear to us that there was not enough choice on the market for open payments in vending and also that the high running costs were restrictive for many operators, the features and benefits of our solution directly address these concerns:
• Direct merchant agreement with highly competitive rates
• lower monthly costs
• Settlements available daily, weekly or monthly – no waiting for your funds
• Roaming SIM as standard for better coverage
• Simple and easy to understand portal for selection audit reporting
• Quick fitting – no internal controller
• Rapid and cost-effective open payment solution
• Requires minimal maintenance
• Ability to accept Open and Closed payments in one terminal
• Advanced reporting option with real time product level data
• Options for promotions, hospitality and loyalty schemes
• Over the Air (OTA) configuration and software updates
• DEX data delivery
• UK sales, stock and support
• Extensive Closed User system integration including EPoS and customer service points