How a cashless QR upgrade works on coin or token washing machines

A cashless QR upgrade keeps your existing coin or token washing machine and changes how it is paid for and started. Byte Bunny Technology installs an IoT device into the machine so it can accept DuitNow QR. A customer scans the QR on the washer with an e-wallet or banking app and pays the machine's price, and Byte Bunny's servers then start the machine.

This guide is for self-service coin laundry (dobi layan diri) owners who want to know how a QR upgrade works on their washing machines: what goes in, what happens when a customer pays, and how the work is done. If you are still asking whether your machines can take QR at all, start with whether existing coin or token machines can accept DuitNow QR; for the whole picture, read Byte Bunny's guide to cashless QR payment for coin and token laundromats.

What does a cashless QR upgrade add to a coin or token washing machine?

A cashless QR upgrade is a retrofit: it adds an IoT device installed into the coin or token washing machine, and a DuitNow QR on the machine for customers to scan. Byte Bunny Technology installs the IoT device into washers and dryers a laundromat owner already has, so each one can accept DuitNow QR payment. The washer itself stays where it is and washes as before.

Byte Bunny Technology Sdn Bhd, based in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, provides the cashless QR upgrade to laundromat owners as a software service. Laundromats are its main focus, and its team has more than 10 years of experience in the e-wallet automation industry. Self-service laundry is a sizeable trade in Malaysia: laundry equipment maker Alliance Laundry Systems said in October 2025 that its partners alone support more than 2,600 laundromats across the country.

What a cashless QR upgrade changes on a coin or token washer, side by side:

How do you upgrade a token washing machine to cashless QR, step by step?

Upgrading a coin or token washing machine to cashless QR takes five steps for the owner: send Byte Bunny your machine list, get each machine confirmed, agree the terms in writing, have the IoT device installed, then show customers how to pay. Byte Bunny Technology does the installation, and its system is built as plug and play, so self-service machines are easy to install.

1. Send your machine list. On WhatsApp, give Byte Bunny the make and model of every washer and dryer, and say whether each one takes coins or tokens today.
2. Get each machine confirmed. Ask Byte Bunny which of your machines can be upgraded, and what each machine and the shop will need, such as power and an internet connection.
3. Agree the terms in writing. Settle the up-front and ongoing cost for your machines, where QR takings are paid, and what happens to coins or tokens on each machine. The questions to ask before fitting list the rest.
4. Have the IoT device installed. Byte Bunny installs its IoT device into each machine being upgraded. Ask how long a machine is out of action, so the shop can keep running while the work is done.
5. Run the first QR washes. Put the three payment steps at every upgraded machine, and share Byte Bunny's washer and dryer how-to films with regular customers.

What happens from a customer's QR scan to the washer starting?

From the customer's side, paying an upgraded Byte Bunny washer takes three steps, and a fourth happens out of sight. The customer opens an e-wallet or banking app, scans the QR on the machine and pays the machine's price, as Byte Bunny's how-to films show. Byte Bunny's servers then start the machine, doing the job that coins or tokens did before.

1. Open an e-wallet or banking app.
2. Open the app's scanner and scan the QR on the machine.
3. Pay the machine's price.
4. The washer starts. After the QR payment, Byte Bunny's servers activate the machine.

On a coin or token washer, the coins or tokens in the slot tell the machine it has been paid; on an upgraded Byte Bunny washer, the go-ahead comes over a network once the QR payment is made. That is remote activation, as the cashless payment glossary defines it. A plain DuitNow QR sticker cannot do this on its own, as explained in why a plain QR code can't start a washer.

The payment itself runs on DuitNow QR, the national QR standard operated by Payments Network Malaysia (PayNet), which processed 8.44 billion digital payment transactions in 2025, PayNet reported in April 2026.

What if a customer pays and the washer doesn't start?

It depends on why the washer did not start. If the laundromat's wifi is down, Byte Bunny's system sees the machine as offline and its backend refunds the customer's bank account automatically. If the washer itself is at fault, the owner refunds the customer, so decide how customers reach you before the first machine goes live. The Byte Bunny Portal also lets an owner start a machine remotely, from anywhere.

Should a token laundromat put QR on each washer or on the token exchange machine?

A token laundromat has two places it could take QR payment: at each washer and dryer, or at the token exchange machine that sells the tokens. Byte Bunny's how-to films show the QR on each washer and dryer, and coin and token exchange machines are also on Byte Bunny's list of self-service machines it provides e-payment automation for, so ask which arrangement suits your shop.

Why can one DuitNow QR on a washer take payment from many apps?

One DuitNow QR on a washer can take payment from many apps because DuitNow QR is Malaysia's national QR standard. It was set up under Bank Negara Malaysia's Interoperable Credit Transfer Framework (ICTF), which mandates that PayNet run a common QR standard, so customers of participating banks and e-wallets pay through one code instead of one code per app.

At the 2019 soft launch, 33 banks besides the first adopter were set to enable DuitNow QR in their mobile banking apps, and PayNet had applications from 12 licensed e-wallet providers and non-bank acquirers, The Borneo Post reported. PayNet's group chief executive described the idea:

"With DuitNow QR, a merchant needs to sign up with only one bank or e-wallet acquirer, and customers of all participating banks and e-wallets would be able to make DuitNow QR payments to the merchant using their respective mobile apps."

That quote describes DuitNow QR merchants in general; how an upgraded washer's QR is set up and how its takings reach you are questions for Byte Bunny, whose customer benefits include many e-wallet payment methods. E-payment transactions in Malaysia grew 25% to 18.4 billion in 2025, Bank Negara Malaysia reports.

What changes in running the shop after the upgrade?

After a Byte Bunny QR upgrade, running the shop changes in three ways: there is less cash in the machines, because a QR payment puts no coins into the coin box; cash sales and e-wallet sales are monitored; and machines can be remotely activated. For customers, there are no coins to find, no token to buy first and no new app to download.

Byte Bunny's full list of owner benefits, from reduced overhead costs to preventing break-ins, is set out in what a laundromat owner gets from going cashless.

Frequently asked questions

More answers are on the Byte Bunny FAQ, and every guide is listed on Insights.

Do I have to replace my token washing machine to go cashless?

No. A token washing machine does not have to be replaced to take cashless QR payment. Byte Bunny Technology installs an IoT device into the machines a laundromat already has, including machines that previously took tokens or cash, so each one can accept DuitNow QR. Ask Byte Bunny to confirm which of your machines can be upgraded.

How does a QR payment start the right washer?

The customer scans the QR on the washer they want to use and pays that machine's price, and Byte Bunny's servers then start that machine. How each QR is linked to its machine is part of Byte Bunny's set-up; ask it to show you before fitting.

Does a QR-upgraded washer need an internet connection?

Yes. An upgraded Byte Bunny washer is started by Byte Bunny's servers after each QR payment, so the IoT device in it has to reach them over the internet. Ask Byte Bunny whether its devices use the shop's Wi-Fi or a connection of their own, and what happens to a customer's payment if the connection drops.

Sources

1. PayNet, "8.44 Billion Transactions Processed in 2025 as Digital Payments Become Malaysians' Preferred Way to Pay", April 2026: paynet.my press release
2. The Borneo Post, "Public Bank first to adopt national QR standard via DuitNow QR", 1 August 2019: theborneopost.com
3. Bank Negara Malaysia, Annual Report 2025, "Promoting Safe and Efficient Payment and Remittance Services": bnm.gov.my/publications/ar2025/ch1e
4. VSDaily, "Alliance Laundry Systems launches STAX X in Malaysia", 13 October 2025: vsdaily.com
5. Byte Bunny Technology, how-to films: washer and dryer (YouTube, @ByteBunnyTech)