The uneasy truce between coins and tickets continues, but edges ever more steadily in the direction of the cashless option. Ian Donegan asks what are the recent changes in the industry
The world of payments has never been more complex, especially where the games and gaming industry is concerned. Casinos are moving towards tickets, while arcades are going for debit cards and the street market largely stays with coins. But with tap ‘n’ go the debit card is now bypassing coins, so where does that lead the industry? It could easily be argued that cash is no longer king, as contactless payments soar in the UK and Scandinavia continues to blaze a trail towards a cashless society. Meanwhile, South Korea has leapt forward on this score. Last year it became the first country in the world to start planning to become a cashless nation, because it is reportedly among the least cash-dependent countries. Pre-paid cards are already widely used to pay for public transportation and taxi rides. Only around 20 per cent of Korean payments are made using paper money, according to the Bank of Korea. The country spent KRW53.7bn ($47m) on producing coins in 2016. Some of the benefits seen on a national scale can also be seen on a micro level, in the form of an amusement operation.
