VMC Cashless Catering

VMC (UK) Ltd builds and installs cashless payment and EPOS systems for catering, and this page covers its education offer for schools, colleges and universities. Pupils and students pay by ID card, contactless or mobile app from a pre-loaded account, and free school meal entitlements are applied at the till. VMC writes the software and fits the tills itself, and says it has done so since 1991.

Last reviewed

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Best for
Schools and multi-academy trusts, Colleges and universities
Pricing
Quote only
Runs on
Web, iOS, Android

Who it is for

  • Schools and multi-academy trusts

    Handles free school meal entitlements at the till, parent top-ups online or in the app, and one setup across several schools with central finance reporting.

  • Colleges and universities

    One student account can cover catering, library printing, laundry, car park and vending, and open contactless suits older students.

  • Workplace and leisure catering

    VMC also lists corporate catering, manufacturing, holiday parks, retail and healthcare among its markets.

What it does

  • Cashless accounts

    Closed-loop pre-loaded accounts tied to the ID card, badge or wristband the site already uses.

  • Open contactless and mobile payments

    Bank card and phone payments run alongside cashless accounts, and a site can use one or all three methods.

  • Free school meal management

    Meal allowances are applied automatically at the point of sale, with support for daily allowances, restricted products and audit reporting.

  • Online and app top-ups

    Parents and relatives add funds online or in the app, with auto top-up and low-balance alerts depending on setup.

  • Management Portal reporting

    Sales by till, day and item in a cloud portal, used to plan production and staffing.

  • Import from school records

    Pupil records and free meal eligibility can be imported from the school's management information system.

  • Fixed, mobile and self-service tills

    Fixed, portable and self-service EPOS tills with meal deals, promotions and loyalty.

  • Online pre-ordering

    Web-based ordering for same-day or advance orders, with click and collect or delivery and a cap on orders per time slot.

  • Mobile app

    Payments, pre-ordering, loyalty, promotions and account management, with the operator's own branding.

  • Offline operation

    The vendor says the Flex wallet keeps trading without a network connection.

  • Vending card readers

    Cashless and contactless readers for vending machines on the same account.

Pricing

Pricing model
Quote only

No prices are published. The education page offers a free consultation and a callback, and the after-sales page mentions a support contract without giving its cost.

How it compares

Compared with the 23 products in School, Hospital & Contract Food Service that have a profile on this site. These figures describe the category. They are not a recommendation.

  • Names 2 integrations. The median in this category is 2.
  • One of 10 products in this category with an iOS app. One of 8 products in this category with an Android app. 23 products in this category state their platforms.

Works with

Payments
WorldpayGlobal Payments

VMC names Worldpay and Global Payments as payment service providers and says it can integrate with a school's management information system and existing till, vending and back-end systems, but names no such products.

Where and how it runs

Customers in
United Kingdom
Platforms
Web, iOS, Android
Apps
VMC Mobile App: Payments, pre-ordering, loyalty and account management for pupils and customers
Hardware
VMC manufactures its own tills, self-service kiosks, card readers and payment hardware and installs them. It reads existing ID cards; card technology from Legic, NXP and HID is named.

The vendor describes itself as built and supported in the UK, and all customers and case studies shown are UK. No sales territory list is published.

The company

Company
VMC (UK) Ltd
Founded
1991
Headquarters
Southam, United Kingdom
Customers named by the vendor
Danesfield School, City of Bristol College, University of Brighton, Nottingham Trent University, Aldi, Olympus, The Romo Group

Security and support

Security and compliance
ISO 27001:2013, PCI DSS (assessed by an external QSA, with Attestation of Compliance), P2PE enhanced payment hardware, SafeContractor accreditation
Support
A technical helpdesk is open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm and arranges engineer visits. The support contract includes preventative maintenance and extra training days.

Listing details

Vendor
VMC
Built for
Contract food service
Focus
Food-specific
Status
Active
Website
vmcltd.co.uk

Alternatives to VMC Cashless Catering

See all 26 in School, Hospital & Contract Food Service

  • Nutrislice

    Nutrislice is a cloud platform for institutional foodservice that publishes menus with nutrition and allergen data to websites, mobile apps, digital signage and e-ink food labels, and adds mobile ordering.

    Listed as best for: K-12 school districts; Colleges and universities.

  • Civica Catering Management

    Civica Catering Management (formerly Saffron) is cloud software for caterers that covers menu and recipe planning, procurement and stock control, allergen and nutrition tracking, and reporting.

    Runs on Web, against Web, iOS and Android for VMC Cashless Catering.

  • Cypad

    Cypad is a cloud catering management suite sold by ParentPay Group for school and college caterers, councils and multi-academy trusts.

    Runs on Web, against Web, iOS and Android for VMC Cashless Catering.

  • MealSuite

    MealSuite is foodservice software for senior living and healthcare communities.

    Runs on Web, against Web, iOS and Android for VMC Cashless Catering.

Compare VMC Cashless Catering

Side-by-side tables built from the same profile data.

What we could not confirm

These points were not confirmed when this page was written.

  • Any price, licence or support contract cost
  • Contract term and renewal
  • Named integrations with school management information systems or third-party tills
  • Employee count, funding and registered company number
  • Interface languages
  • Countries outside the UK where it sells

Sources

Facts on this page come from the pages below, checked on 29 September 2026. Prices and features change, so confirm with the vendor before you buy.

  1. Education offer, FAQ, securityhttps://www.vmcltd.co.uk/cashless-catering-for-education/
  2. Company, payment partnershttps://www.vmcltd.co.uk/about-us/
  3. Till options and marketshttps://www.vmcltd.co.uk/tills/
  4. Online orderinghttps://www.vmcltd.co.uk/online-ordering/
  5. Mobile apphttps://www.vmcltd.co.uk/mobile-app/
  6. Flex wallet, customershttps://www.vmcltd.co.uk/flex-wallet/
  7. Certificationshttps://www.vmcltd.co.uk/about-us/accreditations-compliance/
  8. Support hourshttps://www.vmcltd.co.uk/about-us/after-sales-support/
  9. Address and contactshttps://www.vmcltd.co.uk/contact/
  10. School case studyhttps://www.vmcltd.co.uk/2025/07/danesfield-school/