NAYAX and ePort for Unitec Wash Select II (Self Service Bays coming soon)

[MANLO]

I’ve been working on a credit card solution for my car wash for the past year and want to share what I’ve come up with so far.

My objective was to come up with a solution that is not expensive, is an entire site solution, is easy to install and maintain and is a reliable long term solution.

I started with the USA Technologies ePort, but I switched to NAYAX. I’ve chosen NAYAX because they supports EMV (Chip Cards), includes a loyalty program via Smart Phone App (MONYX), has good customer support and has recently partnered with a more robust customer loyalty service (Beacon Mobile). The solution will work with both NAYAX and ePort.

Right now the solution allows for using NAYAX (and ePort) with the Unitec Wash Select II (WS). The solution is a circuit board that is mounted within the WS. The NAYAX modem is mounted inside the WS and eight wire connections need to be made to WS CPU and I/O board. The NAYAX reader mounts to the door of the WS using a stainless steel bracket that fits in the existing WS credit card bracket holes. The installation takes 30 to 60 minutes depending upon how familiar the user is with the WS. Both NAYAX and ePort have been in use at washes for the past 6-months and are working well. The circuit board has been built with additional features in mind. The additional features are tracking cash (and coin) that is accepted into the WS and change that is dropped from the hopper. This is working now, but there are some issues that need to be worked out. The person, John, that built the WS circuit board is working on a solution that will work with the Hamilton Gold Line. I’m not sure when he will have something to test out, but he is working on it.

No modifications need to be made to the WS door and no WS functions are disabled (the receipt printer still works). Unitec VIP cards are not supported, but pre-paid/fleet cards can be used with NAYAX (purchased through NAYAX or 3rd party). Fleet (and loyalty) can also be done via the NAYAX loyalty program Phone App –(MONYX). Beacon Mobile also supports fleet and loyalty (and much more). ePort supports pre-paid cards and also has a loyalty program (MORE), but the loyalty program must be purchased and there are transaction fees.

I have a solution for using NAYAX in my self-serve bays in count up mode (count down will work too, but it isn’t ideal). The self serve solution I have takes some work to install, so I’ve asked John to come up with a solution that is easier to install and provides functions that operators want. Some of the functions John is working on include:, count up or count down, initial start up cost and corresponding time, tracking cash and coin in, key fob for adding time and/or wash down.

I’ve included a comparison chart that shows the differences between NAYAX and ePort.

I’m happy to provide more information about these solutions if you’d like to contact me via the forum.

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[APW]

Are you going to have a booth at the Car Wash Show? Can you post a video of the process.

 

[MANLO]

I'm not planning on going to the Car Wash Show, but I'll ask John if he is interested. I'll make a video this evening and post it on youtube. It works in one of two ways. 1. Customer selects the Wash Package and then inserts (chip), swipes or taps to pay. I've got my NAYAX (the one in the picture) defaulted to insert/chip. 2. Customer inserts, swipes or taps to pay and then selects the Wash Package. #2 results in a call from the customer once in a while, because the customer's card is pre-authorized for the cost of the highest price wash package. Once the customer selects the wash package they are charged for the actual cost of the package, so that needs to be explained occasionally. Working on a sticker that explains this to the customer. Have received a few of these calls in the past six months, so adding sticker would be up to the operator. John will include the sticker in the package and leave it up to the operator. I don't like putting a lot of instructions...would rather that things be intuitive to the customer (that might qualify as an oxymoron...."intuitive customer").

Thanks

 

[GoBuckeyes]

Thats very interesting Manlo. Two questions....you mentioned he is working on a Hamilton Gold Line Kit. What are the odds of a kit for a Hamilton ACW5? Second, are you saying the all in fees would be 2.5% not including the $8 monthly fee? That would be really good!

 

[OurTown]

If I remember right the monthly fee is per unit. If so then an entire site with vending, vacs, SS, and auto(s) would add up pretty quick.

 

[MANLO]

I think that the odds that John would work on a board for the ACW5 would be pretty good. He would need an operator with an ACW5 to help him work through some electrical testing. Yes to the 2.5% (not including the $8 monthly fee). OurTown is correct, the fee is per unit and by my way of thinking it covers the verizon wireless service, customer service/support and reporting via the web portal and the smart phone app. I can and should break down the total percentage over time including the monthly fee. I'll take a look at that and report back. I listened to the experienced operators and got credit card acceptance in place as fast as I could. It is a must in my opinion. I went with the ePort which I could never get to work in count up. I've asked John to make sure that the ePort will work in count up mode since I agree with the operators who have found that count up is better than count down.

John is coming to visit me/my site in a couple of weeks. One thing that I've asked him is to think about a way to allow co-located vacs share the same credit card reader. I tried this on a larger scale and failed, but maybe two vacs to one reader will work.

Made some videos of the circuit board solution. Photos and video are not a strength of mine....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqZb7H9b4OQ - Video of what comes with the circuit board (Circuit Board, Two Wire Harnesses, Mounting Bracket and Gasket, 24 Volt Transformer, Nuts and Stand Offs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6FDtddwXL8 - Video of circuit board installation inside of Wash Select.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8wEG-1RmsQ - Video of card operation when customer selects wash package and then inserts or swipes card.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WApm71vhmA - Video of card operation when customer inserts or swipes card and then selects wash package.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwEoF50HZRE - Video of NAYAX in self serve bay setup for count up.

 

[MANLO]

I spoke with John about the ACW4 and ACW5 and he is willing to work on it. I'm hoping to get feedback on what is the greatest need from the community/other operators. I suggested to John that the most pressing need for operators is to simply be able to accept credit card payment in a simple, reliable and cost affordable way. John suggested putting added functionality (tracking cash in and out and dex reporting) on the back burner - at least for now - and focusing on a solution for the ACW 4, ACW 5, Goldline and other Auto Cashiers that could use this solution. I personally like that idea. It seems like a lot of operators need to transition from dial-up and solutions that don't handle EMV (Chip and Pin) and Pay by Phone (Mobile App), so having this work for a larger number of auto cashiers will accomplish my primary goal of helping guys like me. Simple and effective is always better in my opinion. Doing this should also speed up the testing and availability of the self serve bay solution. Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks

 

[APW]

I have Cryptopay on my Wash Selects and I loose a lot of customers because their card will not work. It will say bad card swipe and not take it. I have looked at some of the cards and there will not be a scratch on it so I am not sure why it won't read it. I want a system that will take all the cards so I don't leave money on the table. That is my biggest concern.

 

[GoBuckeyes]

Manlo, are you and John still working on this project? I just went back to re-watch the videos and they are no longer available?

Thanks

 

[Car Wash Corral]

I’ve been working on a credit card solution for my car wash for the past year and want to share what I’ve come up with so far.

My objective was to come up with a solution that is not expensive, is an entire site solution, is easy to install and maintain and is a reliable long term solution.

I started with the USA Technologies ePort, but I switched to NAYAX. I’ve chosen NAYAX because they supports EMV (Chip Cards), includes a loyalty program via Smart Phone App (MONYX), has good customer support and has recently partnered with a more robust customer loyalty service (Beacon Mobile). The solution will work with both NAYAX and ePort.

Right now the solution allows for using NAYAX (and ePort) with the Unitec Wash Select II (WS). The solution is a circuit board that is mounted within the WS. The NAYAX modem is mounted inside the WS and eight wire connections need to be made to WS CPU and I/O board. The NAYAX reader mounts to the door of the WS using a stainless steel bracket that fits in the existing WS credit card bracket holes. The installation takes 30 to 60 minutes depending upon how familiar the user is with the WS. Both NAYAX and ePort have been in use at washes for the past 6-months and are working well. The circuit board has been built with additional features in mind. The additional features are tracking cash (and coin) that is accepted into the WS and change that is dropped from the hopper. This is working now, but there are some issues that need to be worked out. The person, John, that built the WS circuit board is working on a solution that will work with the Hamilton Gold Line. I’m not sure when he will have something to test out, but he is working on it.

No modifications need to be made to the WS door and no WS functions are disabled (the receipt printer still works). Unitec VIP cards are not supported, but pre-paid/fleet cards can be used with NAYAX (purchased through NAYAX or 3rd party). Fleet (and loyalty) can also be done via the NAYAX loyalty program Phone App –(MONYX). Beacon Mobile also supports fleet and loyalty (and much more). ePort supports pre-paid cards and also has a loyalty program (MORE), but the loyalty program must be purchased and there are transaction fees.

I have a solution for using NAYAX in my self-serve bays in count up mode (count down will work too, but it isn’t ideal). The self serve solution I have takes some work to install, so I’ve asked John to come up with a solution that is easier to install and provides functions that operators want. Some of the functions John is working on include:, count up or count down, initial start up cost and corresponding time, tracking cash and coin in, key fob for adding time and/or wash down.

I’ve included a comparison chart that shows the differences between NAYAX and ePort.

I’m happy to provide more information about these solutions if you’d like to contact me via the forum.

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Hello,
I am in Alberta Canada and just purchased test units from a distributor to hook up to our automatic wash select 2 and wash pay self serve. The distributor and installer do not have any experience with unitec. They have only installed Nayax units in vending machines, there is a pdf with wiring for the ws2 but have not got it working yet. Is it possible for you to share your knowledge on how you hooked up to the wash select and wash pay units. I tried the links to your youtube videos but they do not work. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, Thank in advance.

 

[MANLO]

Manlo, are you and John still working on this project? I just went back to re-watch the videos and they are no longer available?

Thanks

Sorry about the broken links. I updated the videos and posted them at:

We are still working on this. The board that works with the Wash Select II is working great. We found an issue with the board not resetting itself after a cash transaction and John has fixed that with version 7 of the software. I've got the NAYAX reader set up to expect that chip cards will be inserted/used by default. APW pointed out that this might be confusing to customers, so I had some stickers made to point out where to insert the chip card. I do think that APW is correct, but I'm confident that the sticker mostly resolves the issue.

John provided a prototype for using NAYAX and ePort in self serve bays. Kind of a proof of concept right now and John is working on the logic and functions that I've asked him for. Kind of pressed for time right now, but I'll post what I've asked for in case anyone wants to provide feedback. The basics are to allow the NAYAX or ePort to work in count up or count down mode, set a minimum start amount, end transaction in countdown and add money/time in count up.

 

[MANLO]

Hello,
I am in Alberta Canada and just purchased test units from a distributor to hook up to our automatic wash select 2 and wash pay self serve. The distributor and installer do not have any experience with unitec. They have only installed Nayax units in vending machines, there is a pdf with wiring for the ws2 but have not got it working yet. Is it possible for you to share your knowledge on how you hooked up to the wash select and wash pay units. I tried the links to your youtube videos but they do not work. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, Thank in advance.

I'll be glad to share what I've learned. The basic problem that John's circuit board solves is that the Wash Select II operates/communicates using electronic pulses while the NAYAX and ePort operate/communicate with the Multi Drop Bus (MDB) communication protocol. John's board translates between Pulse and MDB. I was able to make the NAYAX work with the Wash Select II using Pulse, but it was a terrible solution. It was not intuitive to the customer. The customer would have to select the wash, then select the corresponding amount to pay on the NAYAX reader. I tried to make this work for a couple of weeks and then I found John. I'll IM you, so you can give me a call and we can figure out where you and see how to make your system work.

 

[Dauwsy]

Hello, I'm interested in board as we have 1 Unitec wash select 2 and 2 United portal ti units.

Where can I purchase the pulse to mdb board?

 

[gpsoma]

Hi Manlo,
Thank you for all the information regarding the Wash Select 2/Nayax project. I have one Wash Select 2 and I am interested in John's board because I would be able to offer debit payment to my customers. Please let me know how I can contact John to discus further about this project and I am from Ontario, Canada. Thanks.

 

[MANLO]

Hi Manlo,
Thank you for all the information regarding the Wash Select 2/Nayax project. I have one Wash Select 2 and I am interested in John's board because I would be able to offer debit payment to my customers. Please let me know how I can contact John to discus further about this project and I am from Ontario, Canada. Thanks.

Please

Hi Manlo,
Thank you for all the information regarding the Wash Select 2/Nayax project. I have one Wash Select 2 and I am interested in John's board because I would be able to offer debit payment to my customers. Please let me know how I can contact John to discus further about this project and I am from Ontario, Canada. Thanks.

gpsoma, I've sent you a private message with some contact information.

 

[MANLO]

Please

gpsoma, I've sent you a private message with some contact information.

 

[gpsoma]

Thank you Manlo, I will get back to you soon.

 

[gpsoma]

Hi,
Are you still using John's board?. If so, please share your experience. I would like to know if the Nayax device working smoothly and if you encounter any issues on a regular basis please let us know. Thanks.

 

[GoBuckeyes]

I have two Nayax units and two of Johns boards and have yet to install them. The reason I have not installed them is two fold...

First, if you use Nayax to process the rate is extremely competitive at 2.5% regardless of if its is a rewards card, debit card, apple pay etc. Thats the good news. The bad news is it shows up on the customers credit card statement simply as 'Nayax Vending 34 Hunt Valley MD". I was unaware that my wash name would not appear. The reason for this is that Nayax is the holder of the merchant account, not you.

The second reason is that our wash prices range from $10 to $19. When a customer buys a wash the Nayax unit authorizes for the $19 regardless of whether they swiped first or chose a wash first. That is not how it was explained to me. If they choose the wash first, there is no reason to authorize for any other amount than that in my mind. The way people instantly check purchases on their smart phones makes this a problem.

Combine these two issues and I think I would be in for a litany of phone calls asking what is going on. So as of this moment I am still paying my two $7.50/mo fee for each unit until I can get back at it and figure something out. If one of these two issues could be resolved I might try it with added signage, but both, no way.

 

[MANLO]

I am using John’s board and there are about 35 to 40 in use. It works well for me. There is a setting that can be changed on the NAYAX side to turn off the pre-authorization issue that is described. I’ve got some directions for how to change the setting. I’ve personally not changed that setting and do get a call occasionally. It is a user preference. I’m not sure about the other issue described with the charge showing as NAYAX. I can check with NAYAX to see if that can be changed. If not, I can see if it something that NAYAX can and is willing to address. I got questions about this when I started using NAYAX. I have not had that question come up in the past several months. There have been a few issues that have been resolved over time. One site had an issue with signal strength and had to use a high gain antenna. That site has been working without issue for a couple of months now. There was a recent issue on three different units with not being able to print a receipt. Turned out to be a configuration setting on the Wash Select side. There is an issue that was just pointed out where the NAYAX will accept a payment when the wash is out of service. I talked to John about this yesterday and it is something that he can and will address.