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Four ways FECs can benefit from going cashless

Ditching cash and going digital can help family entertainment centres save money and boost their revenue

It’s no secret that cashless transactions and solutions are becoming the norm. While the number of people paying for goods and services via debit or credit card had been steadily rising for some time, the pandemic escalated this trend dramatically.

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In the UK, for example, the latest figures show that contactless payments account for 63 per cent of all credit card and 76 per cent of all debit card transactions, and there is a similar trend across the rest of Europe. In Asia, too, there is a shift towards cashless payments, with 1 in 4 people choosing to pay via contactless cards and mobile contactless. Meanwhile, the US is the world’s leading market for NFC (near-field communication) mobile payments by volume, with 4.4 billion NFC mobile payments in 2022. This volume is expected to rise to 8.3 billion transactions by 2027.

But what does this mean for operators of family entertainment centres (FECs) and how can going cashless help them to overcome significant pain points, such as stagnant revenue, and give them the ability to move quickly and meet guest expectations?

For some FECs, there may be an element of fear around going digital, particularly around the cost of moving to a new system. However, the right cashless solution will ultimately pay for itself by increasing profitability, lowering costs in terms of hardware maintenance and repair, and cutting down on the amount of manpower needed.

Read on to find out four key ways that going cashless can transform operations for FEC operators.

1. Cashless solutions are proven to boost revenue

In this age of digital transformation, consumer trends are changing. Today’s visitors expect to be able to pay via credit or debit card, or simply by using their phone. By not going cashless, operators risk getting left behind, and are thus missing out on revenue.

Cashless payments

An FEC’s prospective consumer base and the spending power of those customers increases when it accepts credit and debit cards in addition to cash. Not to mention that rivals for that spending power are likely to accept cashless payments too – operators must provide the same in order to continue making money and competing in the market.

Card payments make life easier for the consumer. Customers prefer paying quickly and effortlessly without the fuss of handling change. And cashless payments encourage higher spending too; according to a study conducted by MIT, consumers who use credit cards to make purchases spend an average of 83% more.

Proven results

Essentially, making it easier for guests to pay will always help to boost revenue. This is borne out by the latest revenue stats from customers using Mobile Wallet, the virtual game card from Embed, a leading worldwide supplier of point-of-sale and revenue management systems.

The Mobile Wallet functions exactly like a conventional game card and is stored on the visitor’s mobile device in their Google Wallet or Apple Wallet, meaning they don’t need to exit the game when they’re out of credit – they can just tap and reload to carry on the fun. 

Both small and large FEC operators are showing the same average metric results with Mobile Wallet use: an average reload value 5x that of cash. The average Mobile Wallet reload value is $50.57. This is a big jump from the $31.95 reload value when guests use a credit card to top up their game card. In comparison, the average reload value is just $9.90 when using cash.

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Scary Strokes

Scary Strokes, an 11,000 square-foot FEC in Waldorf, Maryland, US, has always embraced a cashless approach, as a family-run business that needed to be able to stay nimble. Speaking about the decision to adopt the Mobile Wallet and reflecting on the impact it has had on the business, Doug Roth, president & CEO of Scary Strokes said:

“When Embed introduced the Mobile Wallet, it seemed like a good opportunity for us to jump in and see what it was all about, and there’s nothing not to like about it. It’s clever and very convenient; there is no need to visit a kiosk or a staff member, guests can do everything from the comfort of their phone.”

The FEC brought in the Mobile Wallet upon reopening after the pandemic and experienced a 60% increase from its normal business revenue.

2. Cashless solutions save money

While it may seem like a daunting upfront expense to upgrade an FEC’s POS and revenue management system, it will bring savings in the long term. It’s true that a business solution requires an initial financial outlay and choosing the incorrect one can have disastrous consequences. However, the right solution will pay for itself through increased operational savings and a boost in profits. 

When looked at in the context of the revenue boost, as outlined above, accepting card payments is relatively inexpensive. In fact, the processing fee will often be less than the extra revenue that operators are bringing in. And while traditional cash transactions don’t come with a fee, there are lots of hidden costs. For instance, it takes more staff hours to count and process that cash, with extra time spent on things like double-checking takings and trips to the bank.

Embed benefits of cashless technology

Research conducted by Visa has shown that it takes on average 542 hours to process $100K non-digital payments. In comparison, contactless transactions are instant and are recorded accurately in real time.

Cash also comes with the potential for costly mistakes, such as takings that don’t balance at the end of the day. There are a lot more opportunities for human error, compared with the ease of card payments.

A game-changer

Before switching to a cashless approach, Game Over Arcade in Lincoln City, Oregon, US, faced several pain points. For instance, they used to have issues with coin jams and spent a lot of time on labour-intensive tasks like gathering and counting coins. “We usually go to the bank twice a week or more with hundreds of dollars’ worth of quarters,” explained owner Chris Donner. Running on a coin-op model also left the business more open to theft.

Game Over Arcade switched to Embed’s cashless system in 2021, bringing in the firm’s smartTOUCH card readers, kiosks, customisable game cards, as well as the firm’s TOOLKIT suite of solutions.

The kiosks soon turned out to be game-changers for the FEC. Going cashless helped the business to reduce manpower, as well as to minimise maintenance costs for problems such as quarter jams, and elevating the guest experience:

“The kiosks are important to us because we don’t need an extra employee selling cards all day. Those have made a big impact especially now that we have two kiosks and a POS system,” said owner Jennifer Donner. “Before, we just had two change machines, and if those were down, customers would come running to our employees. Kiosks made it a lot quicker for people to get their money to play games.”

3. Cashless solutions streamline operations so FECs can focus more on the guest experience

By choosing Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions, like Embed’s integrated offerings, over multiple expensive different systems that don’t interact with each other, operators are empowered to take charge of their processes, optimising and streamlining operations. With SaaS and cashless transactions, everything is in the same place.

Bullwinkle’s, a family-run FEC in Wilsonville, California, US, didn’t have to worry about system compatibility when it opted to switch to Embed’s cashless system.

“We’re currently with CenterEdge for POS, Embed for the card system, and Brunswick for our bowling system,” explained Darren Harmon, general manager. “The beauty of that is all three of them integrate. We have one master recording system going through the POS system that’s making it easy to have those reports come out, so I know how our games are doing and what sales are live. I don’t have to go ringing kiosks or another point-of-sale system.”

When it comes to the elevated guest experience, he added: “By moving to Embed’s cashless card system, it made it easier for guests to play games, do attractions, and redeem prizes. They can buy a card and everything’s there – no more tickets and tokens in their pockets. They can just top-up anytime or purchase a package of multiple cards and get bonus play. It just made it so much easier for guests to spend money.”

More meaningful interactions

When processes are streamlined, it allows the operator to focus on the most important aspect of their FEC business – the guest experience. When staff members aren’t tied up with inefficient and outdated systems, they can interact with visitors in a more meaningful way, therefore improving the guest experience and building loyalty.

Embed SaaS Cashless solutions

Tilt Studio, a chain of action-packed family fun centres with branches across the US, has observed the benefits of the Mobile Wallet in terms of the visitor experience at its venues. Vicky Peek, marketing director, says:

“We are seeing a consistent higher reload amount with the Mobile Wallet! It really changed the game for our locations that even our local news picked up interest in it for our new location’s opening.

“People are not as confident to top-up their physical game cards as they might lose them. Our guests go bigger on reloads on their phones, which they always have on them. Parents simply reload all the kids’ cards before reaching our locations so they can start playing upon arrival.”

4. Cashless solutions give operators real-time data at their fingertips

With cashless solutions, operators can easily see what games or products are making money and which ones aren’t performing so well.

This is particularly useful for FECs with more than one venue. For example, Stars and Strikes, a bowling and family entertainment centre chain in the US with 15 locations across Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Stars and Strikes brought in Embed’s cashless system back in 2007, and it has helped the operating team to manage all these locations centrally.

Mobile Wallet Toolkit Embed benefits of cashless technology

Managing 15 locations can be demanding, but Embed’s technology offers a connected solution across all of them. Dale Jones, Stars and Strikes senior regional manager, explains that this easy access to data helps him with “business analytics to better manage the business, labor, and control costs.”

“When I want to know how I’m doing sales-wise, or if I want to know who my best salesperson is for a certain period, I can just go into SALES in TOOLKIT and pull up usage or sales by name or day,” he added. “It is also a great tool to identify peak hours on specific days and derived from hourly reports.”

The power of data

Data is also a powerful marketing tool, helping operators boost revenue through loyalty schemes and repeat visits. Meanwhile, from the guest’s point of view, they get personalised offers. This makes them feel like the FEC knows them and is offering them what they actually want.

FECs opting for Embed’s cashless solutions can now benefit from a new product, STATS. This a reliable platform for visualising reports and data, created to help operators make informed business decisions. Understanding the visitor is key when it comes to offering a memorable experience and keeping guests coming back or more. So, unlocking the data gathered through cashless transactions helps FECs improve the visitor experience.

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Operators can track patterns with STATS and gain comprehensive insights on revenue and game performance, visitor behaviour, average stay length, spending patterns, labour analysis, inventory control, and more. This provides a thorough analysis of the FEC’s performance. In addition, it may be used as a planning tool, providing operational planning reports and projecting game sales and revenue using previous data.

Additionally, there are advantages for marketers as well since data-driven promotions can help them improve consumer satisfaction and retention. In essence, data gives operators the ability to design promotions that they are confident their customers will enjoy. STATS users can monitor customer retention rates and relevant factors like price points and promotions. They can then make use of this data to create marketing strategies that will attract repeat visits.

A cashless future

As digitisation streamlines processes and operations, cashless solutions maximise operational efficiency for FECS in terms of costs, maintenance, and labour, and remove obstacles to revenue growth.

Looking at the whole picture, it seems FECs can’t afford not to switch to cashless.

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charlotte coates

Charlotte Coates

Charlotte Coates is blooloop's editor. She is from Brighton, UK and previously worked as a librarian. She has a strong interest in arts, culture and information and graduated from the University of Sussex with a degree in English Literature. Charlotte can usually be found either with her head in a book or planning her next travel adventure.

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