Leisure centre coin locks are they a ticking time bomb

Leisure centre coin locks

In 2017 there will be a new one pound coin issued. The new £1 coin will have the same shape as the 12-sided three pence piece or ‘threepenny bit’.

What effect will this have most leisure centre coin locks are designed to use the current round 22.5mm coin. When the new coin is released, it is highly likely your locks will not work with the new coin.

Will I need to change my coin locks

There is currently only one manufacturer of locks that can be adjusted so that they can be used with the new coin. This manufacturer is Ojmar and not all there locks are adjustable.

The remaining lock manufacturers do not have firm plans in place to deal with this. Some will produce conversion kits some will factory rework the locks.

Action needed to prevent unbudgeted costs

• Audit your locks and establish what action is required
• Put a plan in place
• Don’t leave it to the last minute, there is likely to be a massive demand
• Budget for the expenditure

Don’t wait too long

When the coin is released there is likely to be a massive demand that the lock manufacturers can’t cope with. Coin lock lead-times are normally  4 working weeks and this will only increase nearer the coin release date. Finding that your lockers will no longer work with the new coin will generate massive logistic issues within the leisure centre.

Is there a get out of jail card?

You can always purchase a large number of £1 sized tokens, though controlling issue or getting your customers to purchase them will bring its own issues.

Can we get help?

Yes, Total Locker Service will be happy to carry out an audit of your locker locks and advise you on your options.

About the new coin

The proposed new coin will be roughly the same size as the £1 coin, and has a number of features which the Royal Mint confirms will make it the most secure coin in the world. These features include:

• a bi-metalic construction, of two colours
• 12-sided design
• the inclusion of the Royal Mint’s new iSIS technology, (Integrated Secure Identification System), which incorporates three tiers of banknote-strength security and can be authenticated via high-speed automated detection at all points within the cash cycle

The proposed new coin represents a great success for UK science and manufacturing. The new, world leading iSIS technology has been entirely developed in-house at the Royal Mint’s headquarters in South Wales.