Does Vending Machines Take Fake Money?
The question “Do vending machines take fake money?” may have come up in your mind because of your son or daughter and you are interested to find the answer to this question.
Vending machines will split out money that are fake. But there is a lot of explanation on why this happens? Read on…
If you are like most people, you do not know how to tell if the money you see in the vending machines is real or not.
What Is a Vending Machine?
A vending machine is a computer that verifies a bill, usually at the point of sale.
The bill contains information such as the date and time when it was purchased.
Once this has been verified the machine verifies whether the cash is still in the vending machine.
If this is the case then the machine will dispense a number of coins that contain the amount of money that was paid and the person can use the coins to pay for what he/she is shopping for or to take home with them.
The number of coins being dispensed from the vending machines will usually increase once the customer has used up all of their money.
At this stage the machine is programmed to deduct a certain amount of money from the amount of money that the customer has spent.
This method has been used by vending machine companies for a long time to ensure that their vending machines do not suffer from people losing their money, especially if they are going to be closed for a period of time.
How Does A Vending Machine Bill Acceptor Scan Work?
The way that a bill acceptors scan works is that a machine that receives watermarks to determine if it is genuine or fake.
This is but many factors to know if the bill is genuine.
Bill acceptors will not accept A New Bill Without A Software Update?
Do you know that vendors have to constantly update the firmware inside the bill acceptors in order to accept new bills?
These can be frustrating when some customers who always complains about everything.
I still have a lot of vending machines with coin mechanism and bill acceptors that are not yet updated to accept the latest Loonies ( Shiny New 1 Dollar Canadian Coins ) and New $10 Dollar Bill.
With the current situation right now and very low sales, I can wait for my other vending machines to be updated.
There are still many bills and coins that can be accepted by the vending machine.
You can also install a Debit Credit Card device in which case there are plenty of options of capturing all forms of sales.
Vending Machine With No Software Update Thinks New Bill Is Fake
If you have a vending machine with no software update and people believe new bills are fake, you might be in for a lot of trouble.
The cost for an update is around $25 Canadian here in Canada for each bill acceptor plus the service fee of $145! visit from your technician! What a rip off!
I strongly advise you to call your local vending supplier and ask for the Bill Acceptor Upgrade Kit for : Mars MEI, Conlux
But you can always go to your local vending machine supplier and get an Updating Device where you simply plug into your bill acceptor or coin mech and it will update everything for you.
I’m not sure about the price but as soon as I get my hands on several then it will be a future article.
Right now it is not urgent since I mentioned that people have lots of options to pay: Debit Card, Credit Card, Other Coins that are compatible, and $5 Canadian Dollar Bills which are more common than tens.
So if you have an old vending machine with no software update, it is very important that you get yourself updated.
So if you are selling an old vending machine with no software update the bill acceptor still thinks new bills are fake.
The first time it happened to me, I wasted a lot of money and my reputation and now I know I should have gotten myself updated before starting a business.
Have you ever seen a vending machine bill that has been rejected because of money being dirty?
What is the Reason That My Vending Machine Bill is Rejected?
If you have a vending machine business, then you probably want to know why your vending machine bill is rejected. It can be quite frustrating when you know what is causing it, and then it happens.
The first thing that you need to check is the bill acceptor belt.
The belt should be in good shape and should have no cracks, holes or wear.
If you see any signs of wear and tear, this could be a sign that there are parts on the belt that are falling apart and rejecting bills.
If the vending machine bill is rejected due to worn out belts, you may need to replace your belts.
There are parts that can be purchased, but you might also need to buy a new belt.
One thing that you can do to help yourself with your belt replacement is to try and repair it yourself.
What To Do If Your Vending Machine Bill Is Rejected If Insufficient Change
Make sure that you have sufficient change on the vending machine in case you installed a bill acceptor.
Be sure to install a bill acceptor only in secured locations, since you need at least a float of around $150 to ensure there is change given to bills.
Actually in my real life case as a vendor when visiting locations with bill acceptors, I only leave $80 change inside a coin mechanism since the only bills that I collect every visit is just $20 to $30 so $80 change is just enough.
I’m also having thoughts that if ever the machine is broken into then the robber will be frustrated into thinking that he gets hundreds of dollars!