Prepaid Wallet and Membership for a Gaming Cafe
A prepaid wallet lets a customer pay once and spend later on sessions, snacks or packages. To keep it safe, record every top-up and spend as a separate line that is never edited, calculate the balance from those lines, keep paid money separate from free bonus credit, and decide your expiry and refund rules in writing before you launch.
Wallets bring customers back and cut cash handling at the counter. They also create a liability - you are holding money that customers expect to use. This guide covers the design choices that matter.
What is a prepaid wallet in a gaming cafe?
It is a balance linked to a customer, usually a mobile number. The customer tops up (for example by cash or UPI), and each session or purchase reduces the balance. A good system shows the customer and the staff the same number, and can show how that number was reached.
How should a wallet balance be stored?
Public documentation from cafe-software vendors shows a common safe pattern. HandyCafe's docs describe prepaid balances stored as separate credit entries rather than one running total, where each entry can carry its own expiry and category, and the member's total is the sum of the active entries. It also supports keeping promotional bonus separate from paid funds.
The idea is simple:
- Never overwrite a balance. Add a new line for every change.
- To fix a mistake, add a reversing line. Do not edit the old one.
- The balance is the sum of the lines, so anyone can check it.
Wallet design choices at a glance
| Decision | Safer choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Storing the balance | Sum of dated lines, not one editable number | You can audit it |
| Paid money vs bonus | Keep them separate | Bonus can expire, paid money may not |
| Fixing a mistake | Reversing line with a reason | History stays intact |
| Duplicate taps | Unique request key per top-up | Stops double credit |
| Negative balance | Off by default | Avoids unpaid play |
| Expiry | Decide in advance, show it to the customer | Avoids disputes |
| Multi-outlet | One wallet across outlets, or per outlet, chosen deliberately | Affects reports and cash |
Should wallet credit expire?
It is your policy decision, and also a customer-trust decision. Playtomic's club software, for example, lets venues set top-up expiry in days or months, uses the credit closest to expiry first, and leaves expiry off by default. No India-specific gaming rule was found in this research, and consumer-protection or payment rules on prepaid balances were not checked - ask your CA or a lawyer before putting expiry or refund terms in front of customers.
How do refunds from a wallet work?
Policies differ between venues, and no standard was found in the sources checked. The practical point is to write your policy (what is refundable, to where, and who approves it) and make staff request approval for refunds above a limit. In some cafe systems a refund is a staff adjustment on the balance, which is why approval and a reason matter. The same cash-control discipline applies to shift handover and billing more broadly.
How do memberships and loyalty points fit in?
- Membership: a plan with a price, a period and a benefit, such as a lower hourly rate. Record the start and end date.
- Loyalty points or coins: points earned per rupee spent and redeemed for a value. Set the earning rate, the redeem rate, a minimum to redeem and an expiry. Treat points like money in your controls, because staff will treat them that way.
- Coupons: limit usage per customer and per period.
Start small. A wallet and one simple membership are enough for the first month.
Wallet launch checklist
- [ ] Written terms: top-up, expiry, refund, transfer
- [ ] Staff know how to top up and how to correct a mistake
- [ ] Refunds and large adjustments need a second person
- [ ] Daily check: total of wallet top-ups equals cash plus UPI received for top-ups
- [ ] Customer can see their balance and last transactions
- [ ] Monthly report of total wallet liability
How Anant AGI helps
Anant AGI's game-zone pack includes a wallet block built on these rules: an append-only ledger for prepaid balance and loyalty coins, holds that can be released, reversals linked to the original entry, a unique key to stop duplicate requests, negative balances off by default, and optional loyalty rules that are off until turned on. In the current code these blocks are tested on a scratch database but are not yet browser-tested or deployed, so treat them as in-progress.
FAQ
Can customers use one wallet at many outlets?
It can be designed either way. A shared wallet is convenient for customers but needs clear outlet-wise reporting.
What if a customer says the balance is wrong?
Show the list of top-ups and spends. If the balance is a sum of lines, the difference can be found quickly.
Is loyalty coin the same as wallet money?
They should be separate balances, because coins have a different value and rules.
Should staff be allowed to add free credit?
Only with a reason, and preferably with approval above a limit. Free credit is the easiest place for leakage.
Do wallet top-ups need a GST invoice?
This was not confirmed in this research - ask your CA about GST treatment of prepaid top-ups.
Sources
- HandyCafe, member wallet docs: cdn.handycafe.com
- Playtomic, club wallet top-up expiration: helpmanager.playtomic.com
- iCafeCloud wiki, refunds as staff adjustments: wiki.icafecloud.com