Why are payment kiosks better than coin-operated systems?

 Anyone who’s ever fished around for loose change in a dimly lit laundry knows the frustration. Coins jam. Machines swallow money. And customers walk out annoyed before the wash even starts. The short answer to why payment kiosks beat coin-operated systems is simple: they remove friction, increase spend, and give operators real control. But the real story sits in the everyday behaviour of customers—and the quiet economics behind the scenes.

Why are laundromat owners moving away from coins?

Coins feel familiar, but familiarity isn’t the same as effectiveness. Over the past decade, laundromat owners across Australia have been phasing out coin-based systems for centralised payment kiosks—and not because it’s trendy.

It’s because coins create friction at every stage.

Anyone who’s run a store for more than a few years will tell you the same things keep happening:

• Coin jams that shut machines down mid-cycle

• Staff time wasted emptying, counting, and reconciling cash

• Shrinkage that never quite adds up

• Customers leaving because they didn’t bring enough change

From a behavioural point of view, every one of those moments adds cognitive load. The harder it feels to start, the less likely people are to follow through. Payment kiosks remove that hesitation by making the decision feel easy and familiar—tap, pay, wash.

How do payment kiosks change customer behaviour?

Here’s where psychology quietly does the heavy lifting.

When customers pay at a central kiosk instead of feeding coins into a machine, something subtle happens: the pain of paying decreases. Behavioural scientists have known this for years. Physical cash feels more “real” than digital credit, so people spend less when they see coins leave their hands.

With kiosks, payment is abstracted. Customers load value once, then focus on washing—not counting dollars.

In practice, that leads to:

• Higher average transaction values

• More add-ons like extra rinse cycles or premium machines

• Less price sensitivity on busy days

This taps straight into loss aversion. When the payment moment is separated from each individual machine, customers stop re-evaluating the cost every time. They commit once and stay consistent—classic Cialdini commitment behaviour at work.

Are payment kiosks actually faster than coin systems?

Yes—and not just technically.

Coin systems slow people down in awkward ways. Someone’s always blocking a machine while searching for change. Another customer realises halfway through they’re a dollar short. The line backs up, and irritation spreads.

Payment kiosks streamline flow:

• One queue, one payment point

• Faster machine turnover

• Less customer confusion

From a store design perspective, this is pure choice architecture. You reduce the number of decisions customers have to make, and everything moves faster. Speed doesn’t just feel better—it increases throughput, especially during peak hours like weekends.

What about maintenance and reliability?

Ask any operator what keeps them up at night and coin jams will be high on the list.

Coins bend. Foreign objects get inserted. Mechanisms wear out. Each failure means downtime, refunds, and complaints.

Payment kiosks centralise complexity into one robust system instead of spreading it across every machine. That means:

• Fewer points of failure

• Easier diagnostics

• Lower long-term maintenance costs

Over time, this shifts your role from firefighting to managing. You’re no longer reacting to breakdowns; you’re overseeing a system.

Do payment kiosks improve security?

Coins are an obvious target. Break-ins aren’t subtle when cash is involved, and even small thefts add up over a year.

Kiosks reduce physical cash handling dramatically. Many stores run with minimal on-site cash, which lowers risk and insurance headaches. Even when cash is accepted, it’s consolidated into a single secure unit instead of dozens of machines.

There’s also digital security. Modern kiosks provide transaction logs, usage data, and clear audit trails—something coins can never offer.

Why data matters more than most owners realise

This is where the strategic advantage really shows.

Coin systems tell you almost nothing beyond “the machine ran.” Payment kiosks, on the other hand, quietly collect insights:

• Peak usage times

• Machine popularity

• Price sensitivity

• Payment method preferences

This data allows owners to optimise pricing, schedule maintenance intelligently, and even adjust store hours. It’s the difference between guessing and knowing.

Mark Ritson often talks about competitive advantage coming from better decisions, not just better tactics. Data-enabled systems give you that edge.

Are customers actually happier with kiosks?

Short answer: yes.

Not because they love technology—but because it removes small irritations they’ve learned to tolerate. No coins. No surprises. No awkward machine failures.

Social proof plays a role here too. As more laundromats adopt kiosks, customers begin to expect them. Walk into a store without one and it feels dated, even if the machines are clean.

Anyone who’s watched a new customer confidently tap and go—while another struggles with coins in an older store—has seen this shift happen in real time.

Do kiosks make sense for smaller laundromats?

There’s a myth that kiosks only work for large, high-volume locations. In reality, smaller operators often benefit the most.

Why?

• Less staff time spent on cash handling

• Fewer service calls

• More predictable revenue

Even modest increases in average spend can compound over time. A few extra dollars per customer, per week, quietly turns into thousands over a year.

Industry bodies like the Coin Laundry Association have consistently highlighted automation and cashless systems as a key driver of long-term profitability and operational stability.

Coins vs kiosks: what’s the real difference?

Feature	Coin-Operated Systems	Payment Kiosks
Customer friction	High	Low
Maintenance	Frequent	Centralised
Security risk	Higher	Lower
Data visibility	None	Detailed
Average spend	Lower	Higher

Seen this way, the choice becomes less about technology and more about behaviour, efficiency, and control.

Frequently asked questions

Do older customers struggle with kiosks?
Most don’t. Clear screens and familiar payment methods make adoption easier than many owners expect.

Can kiosks still accept cash?
Yes. Many systems support both cash and cashless payments, easing the transition.

Will removing coins upset regulars?
Only briefly. Once people experience the convenience, resistance fades quickly.

The quiet shift that keeps paying off

Payment kiosks don’t shout. They just work—reducing friction, smoothing decisions, and nudging customers to spend a little more without feeling pushed.

Over time, those small behavioural nudges add up. Less stress. Fewer problems. Better margins.

And for laundromat owners looking to modernise without reinventing their business, adopting a well-designed laundromat kiosk often becomes one of those decisions that feels obvious in hindsight.