How will a new pound coin affect vending?

In his 2014 budget, Chancellor George Osborne announced the launch of a new £1 coin in 2017. There are 1.538 billion £1 coins in circulation, of which 3.1 per cent are counterfeit. The value of these counterfeit coins is estimated to be £47.7 million, and counterfeit is on the rise – last year, the Royal Mint took £1.7 million in counterfeit coins out of circulation. The coin’s design is 30 years old, and so precedes modern counterfeiting technology.

Why does it need to be changed?
The level of counterfeits is rising and the integrity of the coinage must be protected. A new, secure coin should remove this cost from business, although vending does not suffer too badly from this because rogue coins are rejected and consumers tend to use them elsewhere.

How will it affect the vending industry ?
It will mean all vending machines which accept coins will have to be altered.

How will the vending machine accept the new pound coin ?
An engineer will need to visit each machine and upgrade the software within the coin mechanism.

How much will it cost ?
From £50.00 depending on how many vending machines on one site.

Will it happen overnight ?
No as the new pound coin will be phased in as the old coins are returned to the Royal Mint. It may take 2 years for the old coin to replaced.