Bringing cashless catering solutions under one roof
In a digitally dominated world that has accelerated during COVID-19, the desire to move various processes online and become familiar with multiple online systems is commonplace amongst many industries, including the education sector.
In the past year, the education industry has seen a rising demand for digital solutions for various functionalities, such as lunch orders, parent communications, and reporting.
With schools relying on digital solutions for many purposes, when it comes to lunchtime, it is more vital than ever to adopt a fully integrated cashless system from one provider for the benefit of all those involved: pupils, school staff and parents/guardians.
Everything under one roof
Each school across the UK has faced unique challenges over the past year, with necessary changes to ensure pupil safety amongst various school closures and reopens. During this period and post-COVID-19, having a fully integrated cashless system would provide schools with a straightforward cashless solution that works for each establishment.
For example, schools using CRB Cunningham's cashless solutions have access to iPay online payments, Fusion cashless catering, contactless cards, smart boards, Fusion Online pre-order meal app and more, seamlessly integrating and bringing everything under one roof.
Decreased admin time and costs
When schools use online payment and cashless catering solutions from separate providers, this often increases admin costs and time. Using an integrated cashless system from one company streamlines the process and ensures that schools can get the most out of their cashless system.
For example, schools using Fusion that require a pre-order app can turn on the Fusion Online feature in their cashless system. Schools that need a central database to manage a wide variety of information can also connect to iDStore. See our Campbell College case study to learn more about their experience of implementing a fully integrated cashless system.
When schools use a cashless system from one provider, they ensure that they can utilise the extensive offering depending on their needs, eliminating the need to implement an entirely new system from multiple providers.
A fully contactless lunchtime experience
As the school lunchtime experience has seen a drastic change in the past year, the need for a safe and contactless lunch solution has been evident in schools globally. To ensure that pupils can order, pay, and collect their school lunches safely and efficiently, schools can opt for a complete cashless solution such as CRB Cunningham’s offering.
These solutions include iPayimpact online payments, Fusion cashless catering and pre-ordering, and iDStore ID management, which has proven vital for councils with access to multiple school databases.
Outside schools, contactless transactions are on the rise. Whether in supermarkets, retail stores or takeaways, reducing physical cash wherever possible is on the rise, and schools are no different.
A 2020 study by Mastercard found that nearly 8 in 10 consumers say they use contactless payments, with 74 per cent stating that they will continue to use contactless methods after the pandemic. With this rising change in consumer purchase habits, schools must follow suit.
Schools only opting for an online payment solution cannot eliminate cash from the dining hall, potentially increasing the risk of free school meal stigma, particularly when pupils rely on using separate cards to complete the meal transaction.
By opting for a fully integrated cashless solution, schools can remove cash entirely from the dining hall and offer pupils various solutions, depending on individual requirements.
Safety and compliance
Using a cashless catering provider that is fully compliant is essential for schools to maintain pupil and parent data security, especially concerning online payments. A compliant online payment provider will be regulated by the relevant governing bodies, serving the best interest of the school and parents.
For example, schools using a non-FCA regulated online payment provider whilst utilising a compliant cashless catering system still pose a risk to the school.
For example, this would be like using an ATOL protected website to book holiday accommodation, whilst using a non-ATOL protected company to book flights.
To ensure full compliance, the CRB Cunninghams integrated cashless system is fully compliant with GDPR and the Data Protection Act, which includes the likes of an FCA-regulated online payment provider, iPayimpact.
One point of contact
School administrators are often responsible for balancing various tasks. When it comes to contacting support teams for queries, using multiple solutions from one provider resolves issues from one point of contact.
At CRB Cunninghams, we have a dedicated support team to assist schools with any questions about their cashless systems. Therefore, if schools using our fully integrated cashless systems have queries about several of their software solutions, they can contact our support team for assistance, saving time and enabling a straightforward resolution process.
As schools move various processes online, simplifying how systems work together must mean bringing all cashless catering solutions under one roof. With a range of solutions to suit schools, contact CRB Cunninghams to learn more about our fully integrated cashless system offering.
