2008/05/08 – St. Louis, MO – According to the US Department of Justice, over 35,000 petty theft crimes are reported in America every day. Vending machines and Unattended Point of Sale Machines are easy targets for these attacks, because they are in fact, unattended. Thieves can pry the doors open and empty the machine of its products, and more importantly, its money. Vending operators lose anywhere from $50 to $1000 per incident; they need to stay one step ahead of the criminals to prevent further losses.
“The best deterrent is to take the cash away. We offer our clients a ‘cashless’ card system.” Says ITC Systems’ President Campbell Richardson.
Card vending terminals can be fit to any standard bill validator cut-out found in most vending machines. They enable the use of a vending machine through an encoded magnetic stripe card or smart card. The value of the purchase is deducted from the card or account and the product is dispensed. This solution gives thieves little incentive to vandalize as the vending machine doesn’t store any money.
“We have sold thousands of vending terminals to date, and we have yet to hear a single report of theft or vandalism” states Mr. Richardson.
Many College and University campuses across North America have recently switched to card based vending and have streamlined their cash flow, and increased sales volume and revenue. Users find a card based system more convenient as they don’t have to carry change.
ITC Systems, www.itcsystems.com is an international company specializing in cashless Integrated Transaction Control Systems. The firm designs, develops and implements state-of-the-art cash card management systems on university campuses and in public libraries, government departments, food service environments and other closed institutional settings. With offices in Toronto and St. Louis, and an extensive network of distributors, dealers, agents and service contractors, the organization offers the most flexible and comprehensive online and offline card systems on the market today.