Cashless students

Cashless payment systems are increasingly becoming accepted as one of the worldwide mainstream payment methods.

The Payments Council, which is responsible for ensuring payment services work in the UK, reports that cash accounted for 71% of all payments in the UK 10 years ago. By 2012, the figure had fallen to 54%[i]. A cashless society is on the horizon; with demand set to rise, it is crucial that universities have a strategy in place to handle cashless payments. For a university, investing in a cashless solution which helps to simplify the payment process and improve the student hospitality experience can only be a good thing.

The benefits of installing cashless payment systems in universities are vast. For example, queue times are reduced significantly; cashless solutions allow students to pay by simply touching their token against a cashless payment terminal. This cuts queuing time significantly as they don’t have to worry about getting money out of wallets or purses or borrowing money from friends.

“Cashless payment systems can also integrate smoothly with existing access control NFC technology such as student access tokens and cards, without the need to recall or distribute additional tokens to students. The aim is to provide a one-stop token covering security access and payment for food, beverages and other items within your university environment. The token can also integrate car parking access, printing, library and photocopying usage. The cashless payment system can also be installed on university vending machines – which means students only have to worry about carrying one card, which works across campus at the various points.

It’s not only the students who will benefit from the enhanced hospitality experience. It can also help the university to improve stock control management and better understand the purchasing patterns of their students.

For example, here at Systopia provide university caterers with a vital tool to analyse management information, driving knowledge and business growth. Using this information they can identify which are the most popular meals, plan menus effectively and order stock in accordingly. This in turn can help to reduce wasted stock and help to reduce costs spent on unnecessary products.

Systopia is Europe’s leading provider of cashless payment systems. The company provides cashless solutions to universities, which combine robust and stylish point of sale hardware with multiple options for topping-up and managing accounts.

[i] https://www.retail-week.com/technology/analysis-will-the-uk-ever-be-a-cashless-society/5051837.article