linked to the Eftpos unit. “Once a sale is complete, we press Eftpos on our scales and it sends the total to the unit, then the customer either swipes, pay waves, or inserts the card to complete the sale,” explained Canning. With the business expanding, Canning wanted a way to streamline and simplify finances. He also had concerns about the hygiene risks involved with handling cash. Canning says he’s seen many benefits since going cashless, including better hygiene practices, speed of transactions, and store security. “One benefit has been hygiene,” says Canning. “We don’t need to touch money anymore, we don’t even need to touch people’s cards, because our pod systems are integrated”. Speed is another advantage of the new payment system. “It’s so quick, it’s a one second transaction. We don’t need to count money, we don’t have to go to the bank for deposits, we don’t have a change float, and our tils balance to the cent every night,” he said. A third benefit is store security, as there is no longer any cash on the premises, eliminating the risk of robberies. “Not that we’ve ever been robbed, but the security side of it is that we are 100 per cent secure,” he said. The concept has been well received by loyal customers, says Canning, with only about 0.5 per cent boycotting the business. “I thought it was going to be about one or two per cent. “When I say 0.5 per cent, I think that is actually lost customers, so we probably won’t get them back, but that might not be long term.” This article first appeared in Inside Retail PREMIUM issue 2002. Images: Sharyn Cairns