Built to Innovate: How Cactus Wash
Is Taking Unattended Payments in New Directions
From automated car washes to cashless donations, Austin Kunz is showing what ISVs can build when payment technology gives them the flexibility to think differently.
Meet Austin Kunz, founder and CEO of Cactus Wash Systems and one of Dejavoo’s newest ISV partners.
Austin came to Dejavoo looking for an unattended payment solution flexible enough to support the self-service and automated car wash experience he wanted to build. What he found was a technology stack that could do much more.
Today, Cactus Wash is leveraging Dejavoo technology across multiple unattended applications — from car and dog washes to TipBox, an innovative new solution designed to make cashless tipping and charitable donations fast, simple, and portable.
We talked with Austin about what he’s building, why flexibility matters, and how the right payments technology can open the door to entirely new opportunities.
Tell us a little about Cactus Wash Systems and Tip Box two very different markets for Unattended integrations with Dejavoo.
Cactus Wash provides a solution for Self-Service and In-Bay Automatic car washes. We were building out a custom solution for car washes and dog washes for subscription management.
We first approached Nayax and Cryptopay, the dominant credit card terminals in this space, but we couldn’t get what we needed in order to provide a robust solution. Dejavoo helped us fill that gap.
TipBox will provide a tipping and donation solution. Yes, they are two distinct markets, but they leverage the same underlying technology.
Compared with other solutions you have worked with or evaluated, what stands out to you about Dejavoo’s Unattended offering?
The key for Dejavoo is the flexibility that lets us innovate in ways competitors can’t. They are locked into old systems without the ability to modernize their offerings.
Which parts of the Dejavoo technology stack have been most valuable in helping you build and bring your solutions to market?
We are leveraging the entire Dejavoo technology stack, including the unattended QD3 UPT Mini terminals, IPOSpays, Freedom to Design, Merchant Onboarding, and FEED, but the main thing for us has been the Deep Linking integration. Deep Linking lets us own the overall user experience, while Dejavoo helps manage the complexities of payment compliance.
What has working with Dejavoo allowed Cactus Wash to do differently — whether in terms of flexibility, speed, customer experience, or the types of solutions you can offer?
By leveraging Dejavoo’s entire technology stack, we were able to roll out our own payment solution and retire our subscription processor, Stripe. We have also been able to quickly innovate as new
opportunities arise, such as with our new Tip or Donation solution.
Tell us where the idea for Tip or Donation Box came from.
Like a lot of business ideas, it came from the golf course. I am an avid golfer, and I participate in a lot of charity golf tournaments. A lot of these events have a big corporate presence, which means a lot of company credit cards. I don’t carry much cash (if any) these days, so you’re usually stuck with a random app or sketchy QR codes.
Our Donation Box will use the Dejavoo QD3 Mini unattended terminal in a custom enclosure powered by USB-C. That means it’s easily portable, works in any environment, and can be powered from an outlet, power brick, or even your cell phone.
So, if a charity is doing a beat the golf pro hole at a charity event (where you need to try to get closer to the hole than the pro golfer), you could easily set the amount, what it is being used for, and give the donor the option to cover the fee. All without slowing down the hole or requiring cash. Tap to Tee in less than 5 seconds!
We are also testing the Dejavoo P12 for people who want a battery-powered, small, and lightweight solution for a school fundraiser or a church.
For an ISV or business considering an unattended solution, what would you tell them about Dejavoo based on your experience so far?
Dejavoo has a robust partner network; we have had several customer introductions from other Dejavoo partners and Dejavoo themselves. Combine that with the depth of Dejavoo’s offering and any ISV/ Business would be foolish not to look at Dejavoo.
Cactus Wash Systems started with a specific challenge: finding unattended payment technology flexible enough to support the experience Austin Kunz wanted to create.
But perhaps the more interesting story is what happened next.
With a flexible technology foundation in place, one solution led to another — from self-service car washes to subscriptions, tipping and charitable giving.
That’s the opportunity behind Dejavoo
Unattended: giving ISVs the technology,
tools and flexibility to build the experience
they envision — and the freedom to keep
asking, “What can we build next?”
Coming in January is the next version of Cactus Wash – Stinky Cactus.
(www.stinkycactus.com)
T: 312-810-7515
[email protected]
https://www.cactuswashsystems.com
T: 844-698-1331
[email protected]
https://www.tipboxhq.com/
Ready to build your unattended solution?
