In layman's terms, what is the Cents Penny?

The Cents Penny is a touchscreen card reader that is attached to the front of your washers and dryers. Using the Penny device and its seamless integration with the Cents business manager, a laundromat can remotely start machines, access runtime insights, and provide users a means of paying for and starting a machine via credit card.

In technical terms, what is the Cents Penny?

The penny is a user-facing device with touchscreen and EMV reader. It communicates to the cloud via WiFi/MQTT and controls machines via GPIO (pulse) and serial communications, depending on the machine type. It is powered via machine power (12-24 VAC/VDC) and mounted on the front of a laundry machine for user accessibility.

How big is the Penny?

The penny is approximately 3.5in x 3.5in x 1.5in.

What payment methods are accepted with the Penny?

Does the Penny accept all cards?

It accepts all major cards: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover.

Does the Penny accept Google Pay and Apple Pay?

Although we do not have Google Pay or Apple Pay options on the device itself, we do offer machine QR code stickers that enable your customers to load funds via these means on the Live Link (LL). See more information here.

How does the Penny connect to the internet?

The Penny device connects to wifi via a built-in WiFi antenna.

What if my store WiFi weak?

We deploy a unique WiFi network in each laundromat using high powered access points (AP). It is necessary to provide robust ISP-level service to the laundromat, having a speed of at least 100 MBps download and 20 MBps upload.

How is the Penny installed?

We will help you connect with your distributor to facilitate the installation. A distributor will bring the Pennies to your store and install them using the directions provided to them here.

How long does installation take?

It can take between 10-20 minutes to install and provision one Penny, depending on experience. In general, Cents recommends maintaining coin payments on the machine in addition to card payments via the Penny. For card-only installations, depending on machine types in the store, Cents has various brackets available for device mounting. Note that not all machine types are supported, and that not all machine types have brackets available. For card and coin installations, it is necessary to drill five holes on the machine to mount the device.

How are payouts handled?

Payroc/Worldnet Payments serves as our designated payment processor and gateway for all payouts related to device-side transactions. These lump sums will be deposited into your account daily on business days under the payment descriptor "Merchant Services." If you also utilize machine QR codes via the Live Link, these transactions will be processed through Stripe and can be conveniently verified using the Cents Online Payouts Breakdown report.

Can I refund a self serve customer?

Yes, please contact our support team with the card holder name or number as well as transaction date/time in the case that a refund is necessary.

Are there any basic troubleshooting steps I can take if a Penny goes down?

Power cycle the washer or dryer, as the Penny draws its power from the machine. You can also restart your wifi router if it’s a connectivity issue. See the troubleshooting article here for further information.

How will reporting on sales work?

You’ll be able to run a wide variety of reports on the Cents Business Manager, which can be accessed anywhere in the world from a browser via admin.trycents.com

Can the Penny control all aspects of a vend cycle?

Depending on machine type, the Penny may or may not read various communications from the machine such as cycle type, cycle cost, cycle time, etc. Consult Cents support with specific questions about each machine type in your store. Ultimately, though, the Penny device will allow machines to be remotely started.

What kinds of machines does the Penny currently support?

Right now we support all Alliance machines, as well as a majority of Dexter and Electrolux models. Reach out to your account manager with complete model numbers for each of your relevant machines to confirm compatibility!

How do I get more Pennies?

Reach out to your account manager who will be happy to help!

How am I billed for the Pennies?

Please speak with your distributor about this.

Is the Penny PCI Compliant?

Yes, Cents handles a PCI application on behalf of each of our operators to ensure they remain PCI compliant overtime. Note that the Penny device does not directly handle user card data. All transactions are end-to-end encrypted and no customer information is ever stored on the device.

What do I do in the case of a chargeback?

While we strive to minimize chargebacks through various preventive measures, once a chargeback is initiated, our options become limited. If you reach out to our support team, however, we can track down the customer associated with the disputed transaction, as well as the date and time of the transaction so you can understand the circumstances surrounding the chargeback.

Does the Penny device use pre-authorization where a hold on the customer account is created?

Cents does not use pre-authorization, and as such no customer account holds are ever used. Instead, we utilize incremental authorization. Whenever a customer processes a transaction, they are charged only for the amount shown on the machine and device.

Note that on the customers bank or card statement, all transactions in a given day will be aggregated together, like a bar tab. If a customer performs a $5.00 wash and $1.50 dry, there will ultimately be one charge for $6.50.

Do you offer laundry cards or a kiosk?

This is on our product roadmap, however, it is not currently available.

Do you accept SNAP/EBT?

This is on our product roadmap, however, it is not currently available.