Coin-only laundromats exclude 7.1M unbanked households from cashless upgrades

Over 50% of U.S. self-service laundromats are still coin-only, but quarters are increasingly hard to obtain because the post-pandemic coin circulation disruption never fully resolved. Banks limit quarter purchases to $200 per visit and many branches refuse coin requests from non-account holders. Meanwhile, the laundromats that DO upgrade to app-based payment systems (now ~35% of the market) often go fully cashless, cutting out the 7.1 million U.S. households that are unbanked and the elderly population that lacks smartphones. So the industry is bifurcating: coin-only shops can't get enough quarters to operate reliably, and cashless shops exclude the most vulnerable customers who depend on laundromats the most. This persists because payment system vendors (PayRange, LaundryCard, ShinePay) optimize for operator revenue and theft reduction, not for customer accessibility, and there's no regulatory requirement to maintain cash acceptance in laundry facilities.