GOING CASHLESS Not Just for Games

By Jason Mitchell

Increase sales by integrating your cashless arcade and POS systems

If you have a cashless arcade system, you know that it lowers your operating costs and reduces maintenance by eliminating coins, tokens, and tickets from your operation. It also makes it easier for your customers to pay, play, and redeem points by putting everything on one game card. However, that’s not all you can do with game cards. Let’s consider the additional benefits of integrating game cards with your center management or POS system.

The top game card systems can integrate with leading POS systems like Brunswick Sync and QubicaAMF Conqueror. This means the customer can use a game card beyond the arcade to pay for bowling, food and beverages, and other attractions like VR games and rides. At the Cinergy Entertainment chain, for example, a couple might be enjoying a drink at the bar after playing some games. If they want to see a movie playing at Cinergy, the bartender can close out the customers’ tab and sell them tickets to the next showing. It’s all done with the same Funcard. With more BECs and FECs adding to their entertainment offerings, it’s a great way to stimulate additional sales.

Game Card – Gift Card

The ability to use that game card throughout your center also gives it great potential as a gift card. There is tremendous sales potential in gift cards, especially if you offer them during the year-end gift-buying season. I know operators who have sold over $100,000 in gift cards in 30 days or less during the run-up to the holidays. Sales can be especially good after Thanksgiving, between Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Using your game card can reduce the costs of offering gift cards; if you use a third-party gift card provider, you may pay set-up fees and transaction fees every time your customer uses it. If you use your existing game card instead, you won’t pay those fees and will keep more of the card sales revenue.

While many third-party cards can’t be reloaded, your game card can always be reloaded by the customer, encouraging more play and future visits to your center. You can offer customers bonuses and special deals as incentives to reload, which isn’t an option with other gift cards.

It’s also simpler for the customer, because a third-party gift card isn’t a play card. If the customer wants to play games, they will have to use it to buy a game card from you, giving them two cards to manage. Some third-party gift cards may be subject to additional costs such as activation fees, transaction fees, or inactivity fees. These fees reduce the available balance of the card, which can irritate the customer and generate complaints for you.

Integration of your arcade system can help in the back office as well. Now you can take the data collected in the arcade and consolidate it with the daily reports generated by your POS system. Having a “one report” system makes it even easier to monitor and analyze the overall performance of your business.

To get more out of your card system, talk to your vendor about integrating it with your POS system. If you haven’t yet converted to a cashless arcade system, ask vendors about integration before choosing a system. Your bottom line will thank you.•

Jason Mitchell is the Customer Success Manager at Intercard. He uses his extensive experience in operations and executive management at some of the largest companies in the amusement industry to help proprietors get the most out of their arcade operations. He is also a regular speaker at Bowl Expo, BPAA Boot Camps, IAAPA, and Amusement Expo. He welcomes your questions at jmitchell@intercardinc.com.

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