With PayPal, Google Pay, Apple Pay, and Cash App leading the revolution, our wallets moved from purses and the back pocket to our phones in two decades. These digital wallets offer a level of convenience unimaginable just a few decades ago. As their uptake increases, more retail outlets are incorporating them as payment methods, and vending machines have not been left behind. Ina fact, many dispensing stations already turned into cashless vending machines.
Yes, you can pay for products using Cash App on vending machines. Cash App makes it incredibly easy to pay for products at your favorite retail outlets using the phone Cash App or the Cash Card. In this post, I will show you how to use Cash App on cashless vending machines or any vending machine that can accept Cash App payments or mobile payments.
Do Vending Machines Take Cash App Cards?
Yes, vending machines that take Visa cards will accept your Cash App card, also known as Cash Card. The Cash Card works like any typical Visa debit card would at a vending machine; you can use it at any retail outlet that takes Visa. The money for your order will be taken from your Cash App balance.
How to Use a Cash App Card on a Vending Machine
You can pay on vending machines using your Cash App Debit Card, but you must first confirm that the vending machine takes Visa debit/credit cards. Not all vending machines accept cards. You're safe with cashless vending machines, but other vending machines must have a card reader installed to take a Cash Card. Further, the vending machine should have a Visa symbol on it, for Visa is the network Cash App uses to process such transactions. Follow the steps below to pay using a Cash Card on vending machines.
- Select Desired Products at a Vending Machine
After confirming that you can pay using your Cash Card on the vending machine, you can now select the products you want. Most vending machines now allow you to put several items in a bundle/cart to check out at once. If this is not an option, select the products you want one by one and pay for them individually.
- Insert Your Cash Card (Use Cash App Card)
There will be a sign on the card reader on how you should swipe the card at vending machines. Some vending machine card readers will require you to swipe with the card’s magnetic strip to the right, while some will require that it be to the left. The right way to use Cash App card, or any card for that matter, is to swipe it from the top to the bottom of the reader.
Check this piece to find out how vending machine card readers operate.
The vending machine’s card reader will show you a message stating whether or not it has approved the transaction. If approved, there will be a temporary authorization hold on your account, and money amounting to the order will be deducted from your Cash App balance later in the day.
Do not be alarmed if you see that you were charged ‘twice’ for your vending machine order. When you swipe the card, the money is not sent to the vendor immediately. Instead, a temporary hold is put on your Cash App balance on the amount equal to your order. Later in the day, when the vending machine operator submits their due card payments, the amount is deducted from your account. The temporary hold on the amount due to the vending machine operator ensures you don’t max out your balance when you use Cash App card before they get their money. When you check your statements, you may see both the hold and the actual charge, but it is effectively just one payment.
- End the Vending Machine Transaction by Pressing ‘End’
To ensure no unauthorized person uses your Cash App card on the particular vending machine, it is critical that you press ‘End’ on the card reader after completing your purchase. This is important to remember, especially if it is your first time using a card to pay on a cashless vending machine.
In the unlikely event of unauthorized usage, log into the Cash App and pause the Cash Card. You can then report the issue to Cash App to resolve it.
How to Use Cash App without the Card on Vending Machines
Many vending machines now support contactless payments, and you can use Cash App without a card on such vending machines. On the display of cashless vending machines, there will be a QR code that you can scan with your phone to initiate payment. The vending machine will also tell you the digital wallets it takes, with Google Pay, Apple Pay, PayPal, and Cash App being the most commonly supported wallets.
Cash App payments without a Cash Card are facilitated by Cash App Pay, which is standard on your Cash App phone app. The company rolled out the Cash App Pay feature in September 2021, and many merchants now accept it.
Follow the steps below to pay with Cash App Pay on cashless vending machines without a card.
- Select Desired Products
First, select the products you want as you would normally do when shopping with cash or a card. You can put all the products you want in a cart and check out at once in many vending machines. This will likely be the case in a smart vending machine that can take Cash App.
- Locate the QR Scanner on the App
Open the Cash App application on your phone and log into your account. While still on the home screen, locate the ‘scan icon.’ It is on the top left corner of the screen. When you click the scan icon, it will open your camera app. Now, you can scan the QR code on the vending machine and follow the prompts to pay for your order.
You can also initiate the process by going to your profile tab. Click on the profile tab icon on the top right corner of the home screen. Once on your profile tab, you will see a square QR scan icon in the top right corner. Click on the icon to launch the scanner. You can then scan the QR code on the vending machine and follow the prompts to complete your vending machine purchase.
What to Do When You Encounter Problems with the App
When you want to pay for your vending machine products with Cash App and the application won’t launch or work properly, you can troubleshoot the problem by doing the following.
- Check your internet connection. You must have an internet connection to pay with the Cash App phone application at a vending machine. Turn on your cellular data or connect to a Wi-Fi network.
- Check if Cash App is down. It could be that the Cash App servers are down, affecting service availability for every user. To check if Cash App Pay is down whils you're paying at a vending machine, go here.
- Restart the Cash App. Quitting the app and opening it again may resolve some issues. To do this, go to the App Switcher, find the Cash App, and swipe up on it. You can then reopen the app to see if the issue is resolved.
- Update the Cash App. Check for any pending updates and update to the latest version of the app.
- Restart the phone. Restarting your phone can solve several in-app Cash App problems and restore connectivity with a vending machine.
- Clear app data by deleting the Cash App. Deleting and reinstalling the Cash app will delete most of its data on the phone and solve most in-app problems. To delete the Cash App, go to Settings, navigate to General, go to Storage, and find the Cash App. Delete the App. Once deleted, go to the App Store and reinstall it.
- Check with your linked bank account. Vending mahcine payments may fail because the bank linked to your Cash App is blocking the transactions. Check if this is the case. Your bank may block the transactions for security precautions, insufficient funds, or other reasons.
- Check the rest on official cash app website. If there are more stubborn issues that persist, you can visit Cash App website or even check in with their customer support team.
- Fix too many transactions issue. If you've seen this issue when paying with a Cash App, then you should probably read this piece on how to fix too many transactions issue.
Is Cash App Payment Method Secure?
Cash App Pay is generally secure. The company employs a number of security measures to keep your money and data safe when paying at cashless vending machines. Below are some of the security features.
- Encryption. Cash App ensures your data is safe by employing cutting-edge encryption technology. The company has a PCI-DSS level 1 certification, the highest security standard in the payment card industry.
- Security locks. Cash App gives you several security lock options to ensure no one else accesses your account on your devices. You can use face ID verification, Touch ID, or PIN entry.
- Pause the card instantly. If you lose your Cash App Card or leave it somewhere unsafe, you can log into your Cash App phone application and pause the card instantly.
- Account Notification. Cash App notifies you by email and text whenever your account is charged. This way, you are always on top of your account usage when using vending machines.
- Protection from unauthorized charges. Cash App has fraud detection systems that can flag unauthorized charges. This real-time protection comes with little friction and rarely affects your card usage.
While Cash App takes steps to ensure your account is safe, it is important that you do your part to keep your data and money safe - especially when paying at vending machines. For instance, you should avoid deals that are just too good to be true - it’s probably a scam. Regardless if it's at vending machines or an online store. Also, do not share your PIN with anyone. The Cash App team will never ask you for your PIN or password or request you to complete a test transaction. Notably, all legitimate Cash App emails come from @cash.app, @squareup.com, or @square.com. Do not click links on suspect emails.
Further, you should quickly secure your Cash App account whenever you detect any suspicious activity. If your card gets charged and you're not using it at a cashless vending machine, log into the Cash App immediately and pause your Cash Card. CashApp will also send you a one-time use code when you want to log into your account. If you get a code but haven’t attempted a login, someone may be trying to gain access to your account. Change your password as soon as possible.
In addition to the above, you can take the following steps to ensure Cash App payment is always secure with your Cash App account:
- Log out every time you sign into the Cash App account on a device that isn’t yours
- Change settings to require a PIN, Face ID, or Touch ID for every Cash App payment
- Enable text and email notifications through Cash App account
- In the Cash App account, on the Cash App Card tab, hide your virtual card information
- Since the app sits on your mobile device, it always helps to have a passcode for your phone
- Secure the email associated with your Cash App account by enabling two-factor authentication
- Never disclose your SSN outside the Cash App, including to people claiming to be Cash App support staff
How Do You Use Your Phone to Pay on a Vending Machine?
You can use your phone to pay on cashless vending machines with the ability to accept digital wallets. First, you need a digital wallet to pay for products on such a vending machine. Cash App is one such wallet, but you can also use Google Pay, Apple Pay, PayPal, Venmo, or Samsung Wallet to buy products at a vending machine.
Usually, a QR code will be scanned on the cashless vending machine to initiate payment. Go to the app you want to pay with and navigate to the QR code scan symbol to launch the scan feature. On Cash App, you will find this icon on the home screen in the top left corner.
Closing Thoughts
You can pay using Cash App on vending machines. Cash App allows you to pay with either a card (the Cash Card) or the phone app. To pay with your phone, the vending machine must support contactless payments - usually with the help of a QR code. You can launch the QR code scan directly from the Cash App application by navigating to the home screen and clicking the scan symbol in the top right corner.
If you are a vending machine operator and don’t have contactless payment options such as Cash App enabled yet, you should consider incorporating them at a vending machine. These payment options offer several benefits, including improved hygiene, more sales, greater security, and attracting new customers who primarily use digital wallets to shop. Moreover, insights gleaned from records of cashless transactions will help you understand how your customers shop and assist you in putting together an in-demand vending machine product selection.
Keep reading to munch on more informative content about the vending machine industry.
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