cci | Card Concepts Inc.

It seems that everything these days is moving digital. Laundromats are no different, so converting your coin-operated laundromat to a card-based one that also accepts digital payments has many advantages.

Step One: Find the Card System That is Right for You

Researching the card systems available is a crucial first step when considering moving away from a coin-only laundromat. There are many different laundry card systems out there, and it can be overwhelming trying to determine which one is an ideal fit for you. At CCI, we offer FasCard, which affords you the best of both worlds by enabling you to accept credit/debit cards, loyalty cards and digital payments, while working with your existing coin machines and still allowing coin as a payment option.

As an owner or property manager with FasCard, you are able to monitor your laundry facility easily from a distance. Run sales reports, configure specials, change vend prices, check equipment, and manage employees all from your smartphone or laptop. FasCard can also alert you when a coin slot is full, so you only collect when you need to. The system is compatible with top laundry industry brands — take a look at our compatibility guide for more information.

Slow Transition or Complete Redo?

With FasCard, converting your laundromat is simple. You can either switch over a machine at a time or convert the entire store all at once. But before doing so, consider seasonality and the demand for your laundromat to help guide your decision.

Promote Upcoming Payment Options to Your Customers

Once you decide when and how you’ll switch to a card system, get organized and begin promoting the upcoming payment options to your customers months in advance. Informing your customers on what is happening at your store will create a smooth transition, plus it can be used as a valuable marketing tool to draw new customers in.

If you’re ready to start your transition to accepting more payment options in your laundromat, fill out this short form to request more information on FasCard.

Today’s laundromat customers prefer to use their smartphone for purchases and have come to expect to be able to pay for goods and services via mobile device. Mobile-pay is a great option for laundry purchases because it is fast, secure, easy and convenient. However, if you’re using a mobile-pay only system, you could be missing out on the benefits of a complete card payment system. CCI’s complete card systems allow you to accept mobile payments, credit/debit payments and can even work with existing coin laundry machines. In addition to accepting payments, CCI FasCard and LaundryCard systems offer benefits that will take your laundry business to the next level. Here are five reasons to consider investing in a complete card system over a mobile-pay only system.

1) Increase in ‘Float’ and Loyalty

With a CCI system, customers can add value to a loyalty account and have the choice to purchase a flat amount or preconfigured value packages (i.e. Buy $10, Get $11). With loyalty accounts, not only will customers be encouraged to pay you in advance, you now have them obligated for that amount of money in service! The more they add, the more loyal they will be to your business.

2) Loyalty to Your Laundromat, not a Payment Company

CCI’s FasCard system has an app that acts as a loyalty card. Customers who use the app will no longer need to own a physical card but can instead use the app in the same way. They can take advantage of any of the loyalty programs you offer, and the app will keep track of it all. If they forget their loyalty card one day, they can use the app, because the functionality between the app and physical cards is interchangeable. For some mobile-pay only systems, if customers add money to their account, they may be able to use that at several different laundromats, therefore their loyalty is to the mobile-pay company and not your specific laundromat. With CCI’s system app, the customer’s float is your money and can only be used at your business, so their loyalty stays with your laundromats.

3) Marketing Tools for the Laundry Industry

CCI FasCard and LaundryCard systems offer advanced marketing and loyalty programs. Loyalty programs include Loyalty Points, Bonus Packages, Free Dry, Group Discounts and more. Utilizing the integrated marketing programs will help you attract new business and encourage loyalty with your current customer base. Mobile-pay only companies make a one size fits all product that doesn’t take into consideration the marketing and management that goes into a laundromat business. CCI was born from over 40 years of experience in the vended laundry industry and designs all products with both the operator and end user in mind.

4) Remotely Running Your Laundromat

Managing your laundromat with a CCI system is simple and can be performed from any web browser at any time. You can remotely control, view and configure your laundromat in real-time. Run profit reports, see usage statistics and sales data for each machine and change vend prices all from your smartphone, tablet or computer!

5) Hands Off Employee Management

Managers can create, edit and monitor one-time and ongoing employee work schedules in a FasCard or LaundryCard system. Your employees can use the system to view upcoming work schedules as well as clock in and out for shifts. Our task scheduler ensures employees are reminded of what they are supposed to do and lets you run reports on what tasks are not getting done.

CCI’s solutions give store owners additional tools to increase success in one integrated system. If you’re a laundromat owner or investor looking to set your business apart from the competition, contact us today to learn more about our payment solutions and how investing in the right technology can benefit your laundromat business!

CCI’s products are not just card systems that allow you to accept alternative payments. Our products are advanced automation systems that provide you a holistic solution to running your laundry business. We are continually making improvements to our products to take your laundromat to the next level, and we are excited to announce our latest system update for FasCard, Release 14. At CCI, we design all of our products with both the operator and end user in mind and Release 14 for FasCard is no exception. The latest upgrade for FasCard has innovative features that benefit users, employees, managers and owners.

Here are the new additions included in the latest system release for FasCard:

1) Modern and Personalized Customer Benefits

In-App Apple Pay Your customers can now use Apple Pay on their iPhones to add value to their loyalty account! Smartphone users have the choice to purchase a flat amount or preconfigured value packages (i.e. Buy $10, Get $11). Having the ability to make in-app purchases with a credit card or Apple Pay is a modern convenience for your customers and takes your laundry facility to the next level.
Spanish Language FasCard now has added Spanish language support for customer card reader functions to help you meet the needs of Spanish speaking laundry customers. Your users can choose between Spanish and English instructions and the FasCard system will remember your customer’s language preference and continue to display appropriately.

2) Automated and Remote Employee Management

Scheduled Tasks With the new FasCard release, you can schedule repeating tasks for your attendants and have them view and update their progress through the FasCard smartphone app. You are also able to run reports to view which attendants completed tasks and if they were completed on time, giving you a whole new level of remote store management.
Employee Work Schedule Through the FasCard admin portal, you can create, edit and monitor one-time and ongoing employee work schedules. Using the FasCard smartphone app, your employees can view their upcoming work schedules. Employees can now clock in and out from any FasCard reader in the store. Operators may verify the hours for completed shifts using the Employee Hours Report.

3) Added Features to Credit Card Processing

Maximum Daily Credit Card Limit You can configure a maximum daily purchase amount from any single credit card so that users cannot charge over a certain amount per credit card, per day. Setting a daily credit card limit helps you reduce fraud potential and limits your liability.
Offline Credit Card Mode Even if your internet goes offline, credit cards can still be used by your customers and transactions are processed when internet connectivity is restored.

4) New Internet Services Available

Cellular Backup Cellular Backup is a low cost, peace of mind option for FasCard locations looking for maximum ‘uptime’. The system automatically goes over to cellular connection when primary internet fails and falls back to primary service once internet is restored.
CCI Internet Service CCI has a new option for FasCard locations looking for low cost internet options. Reliable LTE 4G wireless service is easy to configure and manage and plans start as low as $20 a month (*taxes and fees not included).

Release 14 is available August 2017 and is provided at no additional cost to all FasCard customers. If you’re interested in learning more about FasCard or implementing CCI’s solutions in your laundromat, contact us today!

Technology has made just about everything in our lives more convenient and that includes the management and use of multi-unit laundry rooms. Having modern amenities in your laundry room such as online monitoring via smartphones and card payment systems will bring value to your property and set your property apart from the competition. As an owner or manager, introducing automated systems into your laundry room will save you time and money and reduce the stress of running a laundry room. In this blog post, we’ll show you how bringing technology into your multi-unit laundry room will turn it into a profitable and valued amenity of your property that is easy to manage.

Remote Management

Installing CCI’s FasCard system in your laundry room gives you the ability to manage cash and collections, provide immediate customer service, configure vend prices, implement marketing programs, run sales reports and monitor the status of equipment – all live and remotely from your smartphone or laptop! Having web-based management means accessing your FasCard system is simple and can be performed from any web browser so you can manage your laundry room at anytime from anywhere. With FasCard you can accept cash payments and resolve problems without having someone physically there. If a tenant or guest has a problem with a machine, you can simply log into their account and refund their money.

Card and Coin Auditing

Using FasCard in your laundry room allows you to audit both coin and card sales on any specific machine. This will give you the ability to not only track the success of your credit card sales but monitor the number of coins in each machine. You can configure FasCard to send you email notifications when coin boxes reach capacity so you collect only when you need to. If you are having someone else collect for you, you can receive an email notification that details the coins collected from each machine once your collector has finished. Having less cash in your machines will reduce theft and you’ll always know at any time how much money is in your laundry room. FasCard isn’t just a card payment system; it introduces a holistic solution to running your laundry room.

Flexible Payment Options

Installing FasCard in your laundry room makes the experience of doing laundry easy, quick and stress free. Whether a customer prefers using currency or credit/debit cards, FasCard provides the ultimate in convenience by accepting all types of payment. Customers can even insert some coins and swipe their card for the balance. By adding card acceptance, you are make it easier for your customers to use your laundry room, encourage more use of your machines and therefore produce more revenue for you. No longer do your residents have to obtain coins and cash or deal with the hassles of coin dispensing equipment. In addition, our F2 Card Reader makes it even easier for your customers to pay for their cycles.

Smartphone App

Residents want to complete their laundry as quickly and efficiently as possible. With FasCard, instead of your consumer having to revolve their schedule around doing laundry, the laundry card system makes it convenient for them to do their laundry and easily fits into their busy schedule. Smartphones play an integral role in our lives and FasCard includes a smartphone app for today’s latest devices. From their smartphone, your customers will be able to create an account, add value, manage loyalty cards, check machine availability, request cycle completion notifications and even start a machine! No longer do your residents have to make unnecessary trips to the laundry room to check the status of machines, sit around and wait for their cycle to complete or risk loss of clothes sitting in the machines for hours.

CCI’s systems will give you the technological tools to create a modern laundry room that is a valuable business, easy to manage, and meets the needs of residents and guests. Our FasCard system is a perfect fit for multi-housing applications such as apartment buildings, hotels, condominium buildings and residence halls. If you’re a property owner or manager looking to get more out of your facility’s laundry room, contact us today to learn more about our FasCard payment solutions and how investing in the technology can take your laundry room to the next level!

Check out Brian’s in depth review of our FasCard payment system originally posted on the Planet Laundry forum board.

Brian goes in to great detail about our system and many of the features, here are a few excerpts from the post.

Basically you install the readers on each machine, they communicate wirelessly to a little black box which is connected to the internet, and that’s it. That’s all the infrastructure needed in your store.

The way the system works is essentially this: You install the readers on each machine in your store (or just one, there is no minimum).

I was amazed by the ability to use the associated smartphone app to be able to check and see what machines are available at any given time before arriving at the store! Customers can also register their credit card with the app to start machines in the store with their phone, if they’d like.

The fact that CCI has been producing the LaundryCard system for close to fifteen years now means a great deal in regard to their serial interface with all major equipment manufacturers. Their integration with Alliance products is of especial interest to us as we use Speed Queen machines exclusively. The control and options this allows far exceeds what any other credit card system available offers at this time.

We did some quick math and if we had FasCard at all three stores versus SpyderWash at all three stores, we would be paying $700/year less for FasCard on monthly maintenance fees alone. This doesn’t include the potential savings of being able to shop around for our own credit card processing company with the lowest rates.

Now for that whole “Other” category: Loyalty cards! This is one category where FasCard really outshines any other offering and where their years of experience with the LaundryCard system come into play. Here’s something that I learned on this trip that blew me away: Every card reader can serve as a Value Transfer Machine (VTM) to recharge loyalty cards! Just swipe the card, choose your desired amount to charge, and swipe your credit card. You can, of course, recharge their balance through the website as well but this was such a neat feature I thought I’d mention it.

FasCard offers many reasons for customers to get Loyalty cards, such as being emailed when their washers are done, bonus dollars being awarded for either adding enough money to a card or for spending a certain amount in the store, free dry points for washing with certain machines (if you’re into that), and more.

Check out the full review here: Brian’s Equipment Review: CCI’s FasCard System via PlanetLaundry.com

Would you like to find out more about FasCard for your laundromat or multi-housing laundry room?

Find out how FasCard can benefit you!

A recent review a Card Concepts Inc. (CCI) card payment system paired with Electrolux laundry equipment, which the writer has termed a “competitive advantage.”

Using LaundryCard or FasCard with even coin-operated laundromat equipment is an excellent idea to boost sales and gain an advantage for your business.

“Boasting an industrial look and the latest Electrolux Professional equipment with CCI payment system, customers find a full range of wash options all the way up to the 75-pound capacity H-Series soft-mount units…”