Payments

Cashless payments dominate self-service retail, Cantaloupe report finds

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April 24, 2025

A report from Cantaloupe, Inc. indicates a significant shift towards cashless payments in self-service retail. The company's 2025 Micropayment Trends Report, analyzing 2024 transaction data across vending machines, micro markets, amusement machines and Smart Stores, reveals that consumers are increasingly choosing credit cards and digital wallets over cash, according to a press release.

The report highlights that 96% of micro market transactions and 100% of Smart Store transactions were cashless in 2024, while 77% of vending transactions also utilized cashless methods. The data suggests that embracing cashless payment technology leads to increased revenue for operators.

"This year's data confirms what we've been seeing across our network — the shift toward cashless and smart retail continues to accelerate," Ravi Venkatesan, CEO of Cantaloupe, Inc., said in the release.

The report also found that consumers spend significantly more per transaction at micro markets and Smart Stores compared to traditional vending machines. Despite inflation, self-service sales remained strong, with food and beverage vending exceeding $3.5 billion and micro market sales topping $1 billion in 2024. Contactless payment methods continue to gain popularity in these environments.

Based on these trends, Cantaloupe predicts continued sales growth for food and beverage vending machines (8%) and micro markets (40%) in the coming year, anticipating further adoption of Smart Store technology.