How to choose between laundry payment systems

If you run a laundry business, whether it’s a coin-operated laundry or a service collecting people's laundry from their homes and cleaning it for them, you need to offer the latest laundry payment solutions in order to attract the maximum number of customers. 

In the modern era, customers are used to using digital payment systems to pay for almost everything, from their taxis to their groceries and their cinema tickets. Your laundry payment systems need to offer the same kind of flexibility as online retailers, for example, enabling customers to choose between a range of digital payment methods and use the one which best suits their own tastes and requirements.

As well as making it easier for customers to pay you, the laundry payment system will make it easier for you to monitor your cash flow, keep detailed records of your revenue streams and profits and plan for the future growth of your business on the basis of current income. In this article we’ll look at some of the laundry payment solutions on offer. 

Coin operated laundry

The traditional model of a laundry is one in which customers feed coins into machines to operate them. In the post-covid era, however, many customers may feel uncomfortable using cash or quite simply not carry much cash on them. Other disadvantages include the fact that all the cash fed into laundry machines in the form of coins will then have to be taken out, counted and banked – a long, slow process which will make it harder to keep accurate up to date records. 

Laundry card system 

A laundry card system will make it possible for people to pay for their laundry using a credit or debit card. This could apply whether you operate a laundry to which people bring their washing, or provide a service taking people’s laundry away with you. In order to provide a service of this kind you’ll need to choose a credit card machine and a payment processor. Working with GoCardless takes a lot of the work out of choosing, as we are a global payment processing solution which can automate payment collection and offers a range of options for both one-off and recurring payments. 

A laundry payment app

A laundry payment app can be downloaded by your customers to enable them to make instant payments directly from their bank account to yours. Online mobile apps can be tailored to meet the specific demands of your laundry payment systems, and will integrate seamlessly with any other software you use, such as accounting or banking software. Taking digital payments in this way will make it easy to keep records of how much money you take and any which you’re still owed, enabling forward planning and tax efficiency.      

Recurring payments

If you run a laundry business which takes in washing and ironing on behalf of other people and businesses then there’s a very good chance that you’ll need to ask for recurring payments. You may handle the laundry for a hotel, for example, in return for a set monthly payment. GoCardless enables you to set up a Direct Debit payment, which means that the hotel chooses a set date and payment amount each month and the money is transferred directly from their bank account to yours without either of you having to do any work. We also offer a recurring payment service which is flexible and reduces the failed payments and costs associated with traditional card payment systems. If a one-off payment arises, then you can use the Instant Bank Pay system, which involves sending a link to the client which they can use to make a payment direct to your bank account. 

We can help

GoCardless is a global payments solution that helps you automate payment collection, cutting down on the amount of financial admin your team needs to deal with. Find out how GoCardless can help you with one-off or recurring payments.