Why cashless changes drink sales specifically
Drinks are an impulse purchase in a narrow time window — a break, a shift change, the walk back from a hot job. Anything that adds friction costs the sale. Cash is friction: nobody carries coins, the machine may not have change, and a jammed mech means the whole machine stops earning while it waits for a service call.
On sites that convert from coin-only to cashless we consistently see a lift in average spend, because a person buying a $4 cold drink with a card does not need to find exact change, and a second purchase for a workmate costs nothing extra in effort.
What is supported
A new cashless reader is from $550 installed, and can be retrofitted to most existing machines with an MDB controller. Full detail is on our cashless payment systems page.
- Tap-and-go debit and credit cards on a PCI-compliant reader
- Apple Pay and Google Pay from phones and watches
- QR code payment with no app download required
- Closed-loop RFID staff cards, wristbands and keyring fobs for subsidised or free-issue drinks
- Optional coin and note acceptance alongside cashless where the site wants both
What our service actually covers
Cashless is only half the value — the reporting behind it is the other half.
- Every vend timestamped, by product and by machine
- Sales dashboards that show which lines to expand and which to drop
- Stock alerts before a line sells out rather than after
- Settlement to your account on rentals and purchases
- Remote price changes without opening the machine
Frequently asked questions
How much does a cashless reader cost?
From $550 installed on a new fit. Retrofits to an existing MDB machine are quoted on the controller and mounting required.
Do cashless drink machines still take coins?
They can. Many sites run card-only to remove cash handling entirely, but a coin mech and note reader can be fitted alongside the card reader.
Is there a minimum spend on card?
No minimum is required. Card fees are built into the pricing model rather than passed on as a surcharge at the machine.
What happens if the internet drops out?
Readers buffer transactions and settle when connectivity returns, so a brief outage does not stop the machine trading.
Talk to us about a drink machine
Tell us your site, headcount and preferred drinks and we will come back with the best option — free placement, hire or purchase.