News

Payphone Pain Felt as New £1 Coin Impacts Market

Distributors
The arrival of a new ‘super secure’ £1 coin earlier this year has had a significant impact on payphones across the country – combined with the end of legal tender status for the original round pound in October. An estimated one in 30 old £1 coins were fake so the Royal Mint created a new 12 sided version hailed as the most secure in the world.

Distributor Nimans, the exclusive UK supplier of Solitaire payphones is advising resellers that’s it’s not too late to adapt customers’ devices – with help and advice available if required.

All New Solitaire Payphones supplied since January 2016 will accept the revised £1 coin but existing models already on-site will need updating, points out Solitaire’s Managing Director Jeff Wilkes.

“We estimate that from around 500,000 Solitaire payphones sold in the UK around 50,000 are still in service,” he explained. “Some older units will need to be replaced but many others need updating either on-site or returned to us.”

Jeff concluded: “Demand for payphones remains strong in niche areas and the new £1 coin is having a big impact. It’s not too late for resellers to adapt machines. There’s a lot of activity going on and requests are still coming in everyday for updates. Hospitals are some of the most popular sites just now and help is available for resellers if needed.

“As part of the New £1 update project we have travelled from Tresco on the Scilly Isles , to Northumberland , West Wales , Norwich and Bexhill and all points of the compass in between. Barnsley, Tameside Warrington and Stafford are next on the agenda. There’s still plenty of work to do.”