Remember the days when you had to wait for a new bank, ID or membership card to arrive in the post?
Ok, trick question – in a lot of cases, that’s still the world we live in. But it doesn’t have to be that way any more.
Self-service kiosk technology has changed a lot of things. From payments and orders to making decisions and accessing information, to identifying ourselves for security, bookings, appointments or whatever – kiosks allow us to take charge of doing all of these things for ourselves across a wide range of environments, without having to seek assistance or wait in line.
Kiosks are best known as self-service POS solutions in retail and hospitality. But as we’re always at pains to point out here at Acante, that barely scratches the surface of what kiosks can be used for. One of the great strengths of kiosk technology is flexibility, the ability to extend and adjust functionality with the addition of new modules and components.
So back to our trick question. One of the lesser talked about use cases for kiosks is as a means of dispensing those cards that otherwise you might be waiting days (or more) for before they arrive in the post. We’ve written previously about the benefits of card-dispensing kiosks. But essentially, with our data chip and RFID-capable printing modules, you can offer instant self-servce card dispensing to cut costs, reduce wait times, and increase convenience.
So where are card-dispensing kiosks useful? The simple answer is, anywhere you need to issue cards in the first place! But here’s a list of examples.
8 card dispensing kiosk examples
Bank cards from ATMs: ATMs are one of the original examples of a self-service kiosk. But they don’t have to be restricted to withdrawing cash and checking balances. With modern card printing modules, bank customers can get new debit and credit cards dispensed in an instant, without having to wait for the post to arrive. Always handy when you’ve lost a card and don’t have any other way to pay for a few days!
Official ID card collection: Official ID cards such as driving licences have to go through a rigorous application and approval process. But as most of that is done online these days, once completed, kiosks in government and local authority buildings give people the option to have their cards printed in person.
Retail loyalty programs: Off-loading loyalty scheme sign-ups to kiosks is another way to avoid queues building up at checkout in shops and supermarkets.
Gift card purchases: Similarly, having gift cards dispensed at kiosks allows customers to personalise messages and pick how much they want to add to them in their own time, without a cashier having to do it while other customers wait.
Employee and Student ID cards: Distributing organisation ID cards through kiosks can save a lot of time and resources in the HR department, and also gives users the chance to print replacements or renewals outside office hours.
Transportation passes: Likewise, public transport authorities can utilise kiosks so passengers can collect travel passes without having to wait for a ticket office to open. It also means passes can be issued in more locations.
Hotel check-in: Key cards are now commonplace in the hospitality sector. The ability to print key cards at kiosks is an important part of self-service check-in.
Secure access cards: Likewise, kiosks are now widely used for issuing access cards for office buildings, education establishments, apartment blocks or anywhere else with card-based security systems.
Contact the Acante team to talk more about where card-dispensing kiosks can benefit your organisation.
