Increasing Convenience and Customer Service By Going Cashless

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Margarita Uricoechea owns and operates Snap Crepes, a creperie in the Georgetown area of Washington, DC. The neighborhood restaurant serves up French crepes and specialty items, such as bubble tea and Belgian frites. Since opening in August 2005, Snap Crepes has quickly become a favorite among the young professionals and students who live in the area, who enjoy its tasty meals at moderate prices (the average purchase is around $10-11).

Cashless Purchases Simplify Operations

In April 2006, Uricoechea made the decision to implement a “no cash” policy. Previously, approximately 30 percent of purchases were made on a debit or credit card. Under this new “plastic-only” policy, Snap Crepes customers can only use payment cards to pay for their meal. Uricoechea saw that making the shift from a predominantly cash-based business to a cashless business would simplify the restaurant’s operations considerably. By going cashless, employees would no longer have to spend time managing cash flows and going to the bank to make deposits. Now, Snap Crepes staff can fully focus on serving their customers quickly and not have to worry about making cash or coin change.

Uricoechea points out that the shift to accepting payment cards only has alleviated some of the theft and security concerns faced by business owners, particularly in cash-heavy categories like restaurants. For example, Snap Crepes is open until 10 pm on weeknights, and until midnight on weekends. By accepting payment cards instead of cash, employees don’t have to worry about their personal safety and the security of the restaurant and cash register when closing each night. In addition, Uricoechea notes that she has an accurate representation of the number of transactions and revenues, and doesn’t have to track cash and reconcile bank statements.

Snap Crepes also relies on a Visa Business Check card linked to the business’s checking account for the majority of purchases – from recipe ingredients to equipment. While Uricoechea has both a debit and credit card for business expenses, she favors her debit card. She notes that while writing checks is cumbersome, the debit card enables her to make purchases easily and monitor business expenses, so that she always knows the amount of money in Snap Crepes’ account.

Purchases in a Snap

The decision to go cashless has been well received by Snap Crepes' customer base. According to Uricoechea, “Customers are often happily surprised when we tell them we only accept plastic. Many are happy not to have to deal with cash."

Snap Crepes' plastic-only business practice is not only innovative, but it’s a win-win all around. For Uricoechea and her employees, it streamlines the day-to-day operations so they can focus on what matters most: great food and customer service. For customers, it means that they can get their meal quickly and easily, by making purchases with their cards – and not having to worry about digging cash out of their wallet.