«Should we choose banking or private payment?» On a mixed site: hospital, university, train station, administration, the real answer is: neither one nor the other. Both, on the same reader. This is hybrid payment. A practical demonstration at a hospital.
Introduction: Why the «Open Loop vs. Closed Loop» Debate is Misguided
In the automatic payment market, the same question is still heard regularly: «should we choose banking or private?». The real answer, on the majority of mixed sites, is: neither one nor the other alone; both, on the same terminal. This is what is called the hybrid payment. And nowhere is the demonstration clearer than in a hospital.
This article explains why combining Open Loop (bank payment) and Closed Loop (private payment) on the same machine is today the most profitable model, using the concrete case of a hospital. The reasoning applies equally well to a university, a train station, an administration receiving the public, or any site that mixes occasional visitors with a recurring population.
1. Open Loop, Closed Loop, Hybrid: What They Mean
Open Loop – bank payment
The user pays with their contactless bank card, phone, or smartwatch. No registration, no card to carry. Universal, immediate, perfect for a one-time visitor. The downside: a bank fee for each transaction, and the manager knows nothing about the buyer.
Closed Loop – Private Payment
The user identifies themselves via a badge, an internal card, or a mobile application linked to a prepaid account. They recharge this account (online, by credit card, or via employer contribution), then make internal transactions without fees. This is the model for loyalty, personalized pricing, and fine-grained control.
Hybrid – one reader, two worlds
The hybrid payment enables both modes to coexist on the same reader, often with a third component: the ability to top up the private account directly by credit card at the machine. The user chooses their mode in one second. The operator retains all the benefits of each.
Open Loop only = you capture the passerby. Closed Loop only = you retain the regular customer. Hybrid = you do both, without compromise.
2. The Hospital Case: An Ideal Ground for Demonstrating the Value of Hybrid
A hospital is the archetype of a mixed site. It houses three populations that do not buy at all similarly:
- The staff (doctors, nurses, orderlies, administrative staff): present 5 to 7 days a week, often with staggered hours, consuming a lot of hot drinks and snacks.
- Hospitalized patients and their loved ones : Long presence, low mobility, high sensitivity to comfort.
- Occasional visitors families, service providers, external stakeholders, who may never return.
Three audiences, three payment logics: trying to cater to all with a single method is doomed to lose revenue on two-thirds of the user base. This is precisely what the hybrid model solves.
3. What a hospital loses by remaining in single mode
3.1 All in Open Loop: we pay the commission twice
A nurse who has 2 coffees and a sandwich per day, 5 days a week, totals 20 bank card transactions weekly. For 300 active employees, this represents several thousand micro-transactions per month, each reduced by a fixed plus variable bank fee. On this scale, it's a significant hidden cost.
3.2 Everything in the closed loop: we're missing visitors
Imposing a badge or prior registration for a loved one visiting a patient guarantees they'll get their coffee elsewhere. Most will simply abandon the machine. In a medium-sized hospital, this represents tens of thousands of euros in potential lost revenue each year.
3.3 No loyalty possible without closed loop
Partially subsidizing hot drinks for on-call staff, offering free coffee to night shifts, and applying preferential rates to apprentices: these social and operational levers are only possible with a private system that identifies the user.
4. What a hospital gains by going hybrid
Let's take the same hospital, this time equipped with hybrid readers (Open Loop + Closed Loop on the same terminal, plus a mobile application like Payzily).
4.1 Staff naturally shift to closed loop
The mobile app is linked to the internal directory. Top-ups are made online using a personal credit card. Employees automatically receive a preferential rate on hot beverages and a discount on the second item purchased that day. Typical result: 70 to 85% of personal purchases migrate to the closed-loop system in less than four months.
4.2 Visitors Keep the Open Loop
The occasional visitor pays with their contactless bank card in two seconds, with nothing to install. No barriers, no lost sales. The transition from one to the other is completely seamless for the user.
4.3 Machine recharge fills holes
A regular visitor (close to a long-term hospitalized patient, temporary staff, service provider) can switch to Closed Loop directly from the machine by recharging a balance via credit card. This is an extremely powerful tool for recapturing some of the semi-recurring revenue.
4.4 Site-wide unique supervision
Everything rolls up to the same platform: sales by machine, by payment method, by user profile, by schedule. The technical service sees breakdowns in real time, the purchasing department manages inventory, and HR visualizes the social usage of the device. In a hospital where each department has its own constraints, it's a simple and powerful governance tool.
5. Hybrid profitability calculation for a typical hospital
Let's consider a 500-bed facility with 1,200 active staff members and 12 vending machines (hot drinks, cold drinks, snacks, light meals). Here is the typical effect observed after 12 months of transitioning to a hybrid system.
| Indicator | Before (Open Loop only) | After (Hybrid) |
|---|---|---|
| Global monthly CA | Base 100 | 130 to 145 |
| Closed Loop Part in Revenue | 0 % | 60 to 75 % |
| Total bank fees | Base 100 | 30 to 45 |
| Treasury from top-ups | 0 | ~10% of monthly revenue |
| Employee Satisfaction (Barometer) | Base 100 | +15 to +25 points |
| Visits per month | Base 100 | 40 to 60 |
The full ROI of hybrid switching is generally measured between 12 and 20 months, incorporating increased sales, reduced commissions, and lower operating costs (collections, cash handling, incidents).
6. Beyond the Hospital: All Mixed-Use Sites
Reasoning applied at the hospital can be transferred to all sites where an identifiable recurring population and an open public coexist:
- Universities and Business Schools (students, staff, visitors).
- Stations, regional airports, service stations with on-site staff.
- Headquarters open to the public, co-working spaces.
- Public-facing administrations and those housing agents.
- Private clinics, nursing homes, multidisciplinary medical centers.
In each of these contexts, pure open loop leaves money on the table, pure closed loop creates friction, and the hybrid reconciles profitability and user experience.
7. How is a hybrid deployed in practice
- Machine audit MDB / Executive protocols compatibility, connectivity, location.
- User support options : existing professional badge, mobile app, purchase of dedicated badges, or a combination of these options.
- Pricing Grid Configuration Public rates (Open Loop) and private rates (Closed Loop) by profile and by schedule.
- Integration with HR or patient systems if relevant (directory, access control).
- Internal communication and support during deployment, which is essential for achieving 70% rapid adoption.
- Continuous piloting via the platform for supervision and price adjustments.
8. In summary
On any mixed-use site, and the hospital is the most striking illustration of this, hybrid payment is not a compromise: it's the solution that captures each type of user within their natural logic. Open Loop serves the visitor, Closed Loop retains the repeat customer, all on a single reader, single supervision, single contract. Result: higher revenue, lower transaction costs, and a frictionless user experience for everyone.
AZTEK designs and deploys hybrid solutions for healthcare sites, education, and multi-site operators in Europe. Request a demo and get an encrypted simulation on your actual configuration.
