Most laundry companies post their name somewhere in the laundry room, so users can call for refunds, report non-operating equipment, etc. They usually have contracts that include providing, installation and maintenance of the equipment, collecting the money and paying the commission, and periods can run from a couple of years to 8 or 10 years.
It is probably not cost effective to retrofit the old machines for cards.
New machines are generally high efficiency front loaded washers and dryers that use less electricity, gas, water and soap. They also may take longer to wash and dry, and can be set up to run with card payments. Gas, water and electricity are usually provided and paid for by the building. Various card options are available. The simplest uses $5, $10 or $20 bills in a machine to add value to a laundry card, which is then used in the laundry machines. Other systems accept credit cards directly into the laundry machines, or into the machine used to add value to laundry cards. These options will require at minimum, an internet connection. A number of the laundry companies in the NY area have merged over the last several years, and there is some competition in securing a new contract. You can get some upgrades to the laundry room - painting, new floor, chairs, tv?, some offer internet updates as the washer or dryer load is finished, etc. In my building, we installed water meters on the hot and cold lines to see how much water we're using. I want do the same for the gas and electric, to see what we are spending to have the equipment and how the commission offsets the costs. Do a web search and check out the companies, you should be able to find articles on the HabitatMag.com web site as well - search on 'laundry'. Many companies are represented at the annual Coop Expo sponsored by Habitat in the Spring.

whatever you do ,do not let them put in a credit/debit card only payment for the laundry cards. we had cash payment for the cards, but it was changed to credit/debit only. this opens the residents up to all kinds of ID and credit card theft.
I had to get a prepaid debit card to avoid opening myself up to credit card theft.

Both these comments are very helpful. Thank you!

Both these comments are very helpful. Thank you!

Both these comments are very helpful. Thank you!

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Apropos to Tumbler's comments about ID theft from a credit/debit card-only system, you're at least protected against loss if you use a credit card. Debit cards are sketchy under any circumstances.

The upside to a card-only system is there's no temptation for anyone to jack open the box for all those tempting $10's and $20's.

I've seen new systems that allow the user to refill their laundry card from a smartphone app. I'm not sure how it works, but it eliminates the filling station entirely. Hercules is one of the companies I saw recently offering it.

We are a 12-unit co-op and our laundry facilities have been provided by Automatic Industries (https://www.automaticindustries.com) for almost 40 years at a very reasonable rate. Last year, we got new machines from them and converted to smart cards and are very happy with how the system works. They are a family-run operation and are very quick to deal with any problems that arise.