Laundromat Kiosks vs. Mobile App Payments: Why You Don't Have to Choose

Two customers walk into the same store. One's been coming for ten years and always pays cash. The other found you on Google Maps last week and pays for everything with their phone. Most payment setups force you to pick which one you're building for. Laundroworks doesn't, because the kiosk and the app aren't separate systems competing for the same customer. They're two ways into the same account.

That's the case with the Value Add Center (VAC) kiosk and the Mobile App for Customers, called LaundryCat. Here's why they end up running together, and what each one is actually doing for you.

The kiosk handles what the app can't: cash

The VAC is a physical, wall-mounted kiosk that acts as the central payment hub for your store. It's the piece of hardware every customer, cash or card, eventually touches.

What it does:

• Dispenses new laundry cards and reloads existing ones at the touch of a screen

• Wirelessly orchestrates every card reader on the floor, so pricing, promos, and machine state stay in sync

• Accepts cash, credit, debit, Apple Pay, and Google Pay, holding roughly 1,000 bills before it needs emptying

• Supports English, Spanish, and French with a one-tap language toggle

• Lets customers register a card to their name or phone number, so a lost card can be replaced with the old balance still intact, no attendant needed

• Handles refunds directly through a management card or app, or remotely through LaundroPortal

Cash still accounts for a meaningful share of revenue at most U.S. laundromats, and the VAC is the only piece of the system built to take a $20 bill and turn it into digital balance. It's also the fallback if the internet goes down: card readers on the machines keep working, and customers can still reload with cash at the kiosk. No app can replace that.

The app handles what the kiosk can't: speed and reach

The Mobile App for Customers, LaundryCat, is the software-only side of the equation. There's no hardware to install per customer, just an app on a phone they already own.

What it does:

• Tap-to-pay via NFC, completing transactions in under a second, no QR codes to scan or stickers to manage

• Uses the same underlying payment technology as the laundry cards, so it works with your existing card readers

• Lets customers reload their balance in-app anytime, or with cash at a VAC kiosk if one's on-site

• Sends push notifications and a live time-remaining display for each cycle

• Offers a white-label option for operators who want their own branding on the app experience

For customers who already live on their phones, opening an app and tapping is faster than digging out a card, and it removes the "where's my card" friction entirely. But the app was never meant to replace the kiosk. It was built to plug into the same balance and reader network the VAC already runs, extending your reach to a customer who'd rather not carry a card at all.

Same system, two front doors

The VAC needs hardware and a footprint in your store; the app needs nothing but a phone your customer already owns. The VAC takes cash; the app doesn't, though it can be reloaded with cash right back at the kiosk. The VAC works for anyone who walks in, smartphone or not; the app only works once someone's downloaded it. On paper, that reads like a trade-off list. In practice, both run on the exact same balance system, the same card readers, and the same LaundroPortal reporting.

That's the part that matters. There's no data silo, no separate reconciliation, no customer who's "on the app system" versus "on the kiosk system." A customer can fund their card at the kiosk on Monday and tap their phone on Wednesday, and it's the same account either time.

Laundroworks was built around this, not bolted together

This isn't an accident of product roadmaps colliding. Laundroworks' implementation types formalize exactly this idea, that a store's payment setup is a mix, not a single choice:

• No Coin: a fully cashless setup built around the VAC and card/app payments

• Hybrid Card+Coin: keeps coin drops in place alongside card and app options, for stores easing into a cashless model

• Mobile Implementation: leans on the app as the primary payment path, with a VAC available for cash reloads

• Penny Readers: standalone card readers at each machine, which can also pair with a VAC to accept loyalty cards, credit, and debit right at the machine

Notice that even the "Mobile Implementation" option still includes a VAC. There's no configuration where the app stands entirely on its own, because cash customers don't disappear just because you added an app. Operators running No Coin or Mobile setups typically deploy two VACs for redundancy (only one is required with Penny), so there's always a cash on-ramp even if one kiosk is busy or offline.

What this means for your store

You don't need to figure out which customer segment to prioritize and write off the other. Start with the VAC if you're going coinless for the first time, since it covers every customer regardless of what they're carrying. Layer in LaundryCat once you want to give your regulars a faster path and start promoting it in-store. Either way, you're not building two systems, you're rolling out one system in stages.

Getting started

Both the VAC and the Mobile App for Customers integrate with your existing Laundroworks card readers. Talk to your distributor about hardware and installation, or reach out to our team directly to see a demo of both in action.