Why Coin-Only Laundromats Are Losing Customers (And How to Fix It)

Contactless payments, mobile apps, and NFC-enabled machines are not optional upgrades anymore. They are what customers expect to find. A coin-only laundromat is not just inconvenient anymore. For a lot of customers, it is a reason to leave and not come back.

The good news is that upgrading does not have to be complicated or overwhelming. Laundroworks, powered by Cents (the platform running one in seven laundromats across the country), gives operators a straightforward path from coin-only to a modern operation. Whether you are making a full switch or adding digital options alongside coin, this blog walks through what is holding coin-only laundromats back and what you can do about it.

From the field: Queen City Laundry, a four-location operation in the Cincinnati area, ran coin-only for years before phasing in Cents Penny readers, then QR and mobile payments, then Laundroworks VAC kiosks. Owners Dave and Carla Menz said customer adoption followed what they called a "hockey stick trajectory," and complaints that other locations did not have the system yet were coming in before the second kiosk was even plugged in.

Why Old Machines Are Hurting Your Business

The problem:

Coin-only laundromats often run older equipment, and the two problems feed each other. Slow, unreliable machines frustrate customers. And without any data to track machine performance, operators usually do not know something is wrong until it breaks down completely.

Outdated equipment also drives up operating costs quietly. Older washers and dryers use more water and electricity than modern machines, which adds up fast as utility costs continue to rise. Frequent repairs eat into revenue, and when machines go down unpredictably, customers start to assume the business is unreliable. Some of them stop coming back.

Laundromats with newer machines bring in more customers by making laundry faster and easier. If your machines are slow, expensive to fix, and frustrate customers, your laundromat may lose business.

The solution:

• Upgrade to energy-efficient machines: Modern machines use significantly less water and electricity, which lowers operating costs and shortens customer wait times. Laundroworks is compatible with all major commercial machine manufacturers, so you can upgrade without replacing your entire setup at once.

• Monitor machine health in real time. Laundroworks surfaces machine performance data through its LaundroPortal dashboard so you can spot issues before they become breakdowns. Running coin-only is essentially flying blind. You cannot see which machines are underperforming, how often they are cycling, or when maintenance is actually needed.

• Give customers cycle visibility: Smart machine integrations let customers track their laundry through the LaundryCat app and get notified when their cycle is done, which cuts down on in-store frustration and interruptions.

Help Customers Pay for Laundry The Easy Way

The problem:

Customers today pay with their phones, their watches, and a tap of their card. When a laundromat does not support those options, it creates friction at the worst possible moment. And friction sends people somewhere else.

According to Visa's Back to Business Study, nearly two-thirds of consumers say they would switch to a business that offers contactless payment options, and nearly half say they would not return to a store where the only option requires contact with a shared device. That is not just a trend in big cities. Operators serving suburban and rural markets have found that their customers adopt digital payments faster than expected once the option is available.

There is also a security side to this. A coin-heavy operation means more cash on-site, more bank runs, and more exposure to theft. Counting and transporting coin takes time that could go toward actually running the business.

The solution:

• Enable NFC and contactless payment at every machine: Laundroworks hardware supports tap-to-pay through Apple Pay, Google Pay, and contactless cards. No friction, no change hunting.

• Offer mobile payment through the LaundryCat app: The LaundryCat customer app puts payment, cycle tracking, and loyalty in one place. Customers pay, monitor their laundry, and stay connected to your store from their phone.

• Simplify your back office: Digital payments process automatically. No manual coin counting, fewer bank trips, and cleaner records without any extra effort on your end.

Get Laundry Done Quickly and Without the Hassle

The problem:

A laundromat visit should be quick and easy to predict. Customers want to know which machines are open, how long their cycle will take, and when they are done. When that information is not available, wait times feel longer, frustration builds, and the experience becomes something people warn others about instead of recommend.

People are quick to share bad experiences online. If your laundromat is easy to use, they'll have good things to say instead.

The solution:

• Give customers real-time machine visibility: Through the LaundryCat app, customers can check availability before they arrive and get notified when their cycle finishes. That reduces in-store frustration and helps spread traffic more evenly throughout the day.

• Build loyalty that brings customers back: Laundroworks promotions and loyalty tools let you create reload bonuses, promo codes, and repeat-visit rewards that are simple to set up and actually move the needle. According to Laundroworks platform data, operators who display the registration prompt on the kiosk screen are seeing roughly 90 percent of new cardholders sign up, which turns anonymous visitors into customers you can actually reach and market to.

• Act on customer feedback faster: Laundroworks gives operators real-time feedback visibility so you can catch problems before they become negative reviews. Google reviews influence foot traffic more than ever, and getting ahead of issues early is worth a lot.

Run Your Business More Efficiently

The problem:

Operators running manual processes, coin collection, handwritten maintenance logs, spreadsheet-based revenue tracking, spend hours every week on tasks that a modern system handles automatically. That time has a real cost, especially for anyone running multiple locations or looking to grow.

Here is a useful way to think about it. When a customer puts $20 into a coin changer and gets $20 in quarters back, you have net-zeroed before a single machine runs. When that same $20 goes onto a loyalty card, it is capital inside your business. It earns float, builds a customer profile, and creates a reason for that person to come back.

The solution:

• Centralize everything in one dashboard: Laundroworks brings payments, machine data, customer activity, and inventory into one view. No juggling multiple tools, no manual reconciliation at the end of the day.

• Think of it as an operating system, not just a payment system: When you ask long-term Laundroworks users why they love the platform, they rarely talk about payment types. What they say is that their customers are happier, they understand their business better, and they are making more money in less time. The payment piece gets you in the door. The data and visibility are what actually change how you run the business.

• Understand the full customer journey: When Laundroworks data connects with the broader Cents platform, operators get a complete view of their customers across self-serve, drop-off, and pickup and delivery. A customer who starts as a self-serve visitor can grow into a drop-off regular, and you will be able to see that shift and respond to it.

Keep Up with the Competition

The problem:

The competitive landscape for laundromats has gotten more serious. New operators are opening with modern equipment and digital-first setups from day one. Established laundromats that got into technology earlier, contactless payments, loyalty programs, pickup and delivery, are holding onto a larger share of repeat customers.

The gap between a connected laundromat and a coin-only one is not just about how customers pay. It is about data. The operators winning in competitive markets are the ones who can look at their numbers every week, see which customers are coming back, and act on that information. That capability starts with getting off coin.

The solution:

• Offer the full payment stack: Digital payments, loyalty programs, and NFC-enabled machines are now the baseline. Laundroworks helps you deploy all of them without patching together multiple vendors.

• Add pickup and delivery to capture more revenue: Pickup and delivery has shifted from a nice differentiator to something customers expect in many markets. Laundroworks integrates with Cents Dispatch, giving operators a clear path to launch and manage delivery routes alongside their self-serve business.

• Build recurring revenue with memberships: The operators growing fastest right now are not just running machines. They are building predictable monthly income through membership plans. Laundroworks integrates with Cents Memberships so you can offer subscriptions that keep customers committed to your location.

The Hidden Costs of Staying Coin-Only

The problem:

On the surface, coin-only looks cheaper. No processing fees, no hardware investment. But the real costs add up quietly: staff time counting and bagging coins, bank transportation, coin jam maintenance, and lost revenue every time a machine is out of service. When operators actually run the numbers, the math often flips.

The solution:

• Recover staff time right away: Digital payments process automatically. No counting, no bagging, no bank runs. That time goes back into running your business.

• Reduce mechanical failures: Coin mechanisms are one of the most common failure points on older machines. Moving to digital payment reduces wear and cuts down on maintenance calls.

• Get paid faster and more accurately: Laundroworks processes payments in real time and reconciles automatically, which means fewer errors and a clear picture of daily revenue without the end-of-day manual work.

• Float adds up and works for you: According to Laundroworks operator data, laundromats running loyalty card systems typically hold 5 to 10 percent of annual self-serve revenue in card float at any given time. A store doing $300,000 a year is holding $15,000 to $30,000 in loaded card balances. That capital drives return visits because customers come back to use what is already on their card.

How Digital Payments Help You Track and Grow Your Business

The problem:

When customers use only coins, tracking revenue and machine usage is nearly impossible. Without tracking, laundromat owners may miss chances to make their business run better.

The solution:

• See your full business in real time: Laundroworks tracks revenue, customer activity, and machine performance across your location so you can make decisions based on actual data. One tip: look at your numbers weekly, not just monthly. Monthly figures can swing a lot depending on how many Sundays fall in a given period, and that can make things look better or worse than they actually are.

• Know your two most important numbers: The metrics that most new Laundroworks operators underuse are new cards dispensed and active accounts per week. New cards dispensed tells you how many new customers walked through your door. Active accounts tells you how many are coming back. When both numbers are growing, your business is on the right trajectory. When either one flattens, you know to act.

• Understand who is actually driving your revenue: According to Laundroworks platform data, roughly 40 percent of customers represent about 90 percent of lifetime self-serve revenue. Identifying and taking care of that core group through loyalty incentives, targeted promotions, and a consistently good experience is the most direct path to building a stable, growing business.

• Price smarter with dynamic promotions: Use off-peak pricing or targeted promotions during slower hours to keep machines running throughout the day. Laundroworks makes it easy to set these up and let the system run them without any manual work on your end.

Hybrid Payment Options: The Best of Both Worlds

The problem:

Some laundromat owners fear that customers who prefer cash might struggle with digital laundromat payment methods options. While more people prefer cashless laundry payment systems, some still rely on cash. Only offering one payment method could drive customers away.

The solution:

• Offer both coin and digital payments: Some people prefer coins, while others like digital payments. Laundroworks lets laundromats accept both.

• Provide an easy transition: Customers who still prefer cash can load money onto a laundry card at a kiosk, reducing reliance on quarters while keeping the option available.

• Ensure uninterrupted service: With both options available, customers are never stuck. Cents Penny readers can run alongside coin mechanisms, which gives operators full flexibility in how they phase the rollout.

How one operator did it: Queen City Laundry started with Cents Penny readers at their machines, credit card only, no kiosk. The response was immediate. Customers started asking why it was not in every location. They added QR and mobile payments next, then Laundroworks VAC kiosks with a 25 percent load bonus to drive early adoption. By the time they were ready to go fully coinless at their first location, their customers were already asking for it.

How to Make Customers Choose You Every Time

The problem:

Bad experiences make people switch laundromats. If they deal with long waits, broken washers, or payment problems, they may go elsewhere.

The solution:

• Build loyalty through the LaundryCat app: Reward repeat customers with points, reload bonuses, or loyalty tiers, all managed through Laundroworks without any manual tracking.

• Run targeted promotions automatically: Schedule promotions for slow periods, first-time visits, or win-back campaigns. The "double your money" load bonus is one of the most effective tools operators use at launch because it creates an immediate reason to return and starts building the habit of loading value. It is less of a marketing tactic and more of an investment in the relationship. Laundroworks lets you configure it once and let the system handle the rest.

• Create recurring revenue with membership plans: Memberships are how leading operators lock in monthly revenue and reduce churn. Laundroworks integrates with Cents Memberships so you can offer subscription plans alongside your self-serve and loyalty programs.

The Future of Laundromats: Why Upgrading Now is Essential

The problem:

The direction of the industry is clear. AI-assisted operations, data-driven pricing, mobile-first customer experiences, and recurring revenue models are no longer early-adopter territory. They are becoming standard. Operators who build these capabilities now are compounding their advantage while operators who wait are narrowing the window to catch up.

Machine pricing, for example, has always been an educated guess. AI is starting to make it a science by surfacing the right price point based on machine type, time of day, and local market conditions. That kind of intelligence is only available to operators already running connected systems.

The solution:

• Act now and compete on your terms: Operators who upgrade first set the standard in their market. Laundroworks gives you the payment infrastructure, customer tools, and data visibility to build from, not catch up to.

• Grow revenue across multiple streams: A Laundroworks loyalty card balance can be used for vending, drop-off orders, and pickup and delivery, not just self-serve machines. That means every dollar loaded at the kiosk can go further for your customer and stay longer in your business.

• Build a business that scales: Laundroworks works for operators running one location or many. The same system that helps you upgrade a single store gives you the foundation to expand with consistent data, consistent customer experience, and centralized management across every location.

Conclusion

The laundry industry rewards operators who move with intention. Contactless payments, real-time machine data, customer loyalty tools, and recurring revenue are not coming soon. They are already what the best-performing laundromats are running today.

Laundroworks, powered by Cents, gives you the platform to make that transition at your own pace, whether you are starting with a payment upgrade or building toward a fully connected operation. The operators getting the most out of these tools are not just keeping up. They are pulling ahead.

Ready to See What's Possible?

Schedule a demo with a Laundroworks laundromat expert today. See exactly how Laundroworks can modernize your payment system, give you real-time visibility into your operation, and help you grow.