Your customers are paying for everything digitally today, and they expect to be able to do the same at your center.
The long-predicted cashless society took a giant leap forward during the COVID-19 pandemic when many businesses didn’t want to have their staff handling other people’s money and to minimize the face-to-face contact. “Credit/Debit Only” signs can still be found in many businesses today. From the business perspective, think about a world where you don’t have to provide security for all your cash? How about not having tills to count, and how much time you spend balancing your cash transactions against what is in the daily drop? Many centers today do as little as 10-20% of their business in cash, so a cashless future may not be that far away.
I was recently at a resort in Florida that had a “no cash” policy. The staff told me they would never go back to taking cash as it was faster, more secure, and more efficient to simply swipe or tap a card/phone. Digital payment company Square estimates that 18% of the businesses they work with have gone cashless. Digital wallet provider Venmo will transfer more than $200 billion between Americans this year (see sidebar).
One way to see how close we are to a cashless future is to ask the Millennials you know how much cash they have on them. In many cases the answer is zero. This age group is already living their life without the need to carry cash, and as more Boomers retire, Millennials will become the largest customer base for bowling centers. Make sure you are catering to how they want to pay for your services!
Going beyond taking credit cards is the move into tap-to-pay which is quickly becoming the preferred method of paying for goods and services. Very few of us go anywhere without our mobile device, and with digital wallets being able to store your credit/ debit card info on that device, going cashless has become routine for many Americans. These customers want to use their phone to pay you for their bowling, drinks, food, etc. Their phone is already in their hand, and tap-to-pay makes it simple, super-fast, and more secure than using a card with a chip. This technology is already widely accepted – last month I used my phone to pay for groceries, coffee, a visit to Target, Subway, at several vending machines, a gift at a craft fair, and an Uber ride. Bowling centers are cool, modern, and high tech, right? So, it’s time to step up and not only take tap-to-pay but encourage its’ use – all you need is a terminal that supports tap payments, which you may already have.
Security experts tell us that using tap-to-pay is the most secure way to pay as the merchant never sees your credit card information, making the transaction much safer for the customer. Yes, even safer than the latest chip technology. Encouraging the use of tap will help cut down on fraudulent charges to your customers, making the credit system safer. It will also speed up the time it takes to pay at checkout, saving your staff time. While there are costs to the center for processing fees, price increases in today’s climate are the norm, so this is an opportune time to raise your prices to cover your merchant fees.
Is a completely cashless bowling experience in our future? Possibly. More likely is one that promotes and encourages the use of card/tap for payment, while still taking cash from those who do not have a bank account, which is about 7% of the population. And yes, this means being able to reserve and pre-pay online, in advance, thru your website. If your website isn’t making the reservation experience fast and easy, time to upgrade your website!
The decision to go cashless is one each bowling center will have to make at the appropriate time. Until then, now is the time to encourage the use of cards and tap-to-pay as it is more secure for your customers, reduces the amount of cash on your premises, and it•is a much faster transaction, saving your staff time.