As bankers, we all know that cash is not dead — in fact, despite the rise of technology and common misconceptions, the amount of cash in circulation continues to display positive trends. As of December 9, 2020, there was $2.02 trillion worth of Federal Reserve notes in circulation. As an industry, when it comes to cash, we have spent most of our time supporting our customers’ cash dispensing needs.
While ATMs continue to be an integral part of many of our customers’ businesses and revenues, we should also focus on supporting and automating their cash receipts. Businesses that collect cash are looking to save money, be more efficient with their time, enhance employee accountability, increase cash flow and manage risk. Providing a solution to these cash collection challenges is a combination of services collectively known as Remote Cash Capture (RCC). RCC takes the form of deploying cash-accepting devices in combination with a series of services, including armored carrier management and daily provisional credit. Knowing these are priorities for business owners, there are solutions we can offer that proactively mitigate any issues they might have with receiving and processing cash.
Providing customers with seamless cash logistics solutions will deliver valuable results to them while adding a new revenue stream for banks, enabling them to enter new markets and focus on areas of growth while continuing to keep customers top of mind. An end-to-end outsourced solution partner can help your bank service your end-customers, offering them a one-stop solution for their cash logistics needs.
Remote Cash Capture Solutions Benefit the Customer and the Bank
Remote Cash Capture (RCC) solutions improve customers’ experience and increase your bank’s bottom line. RCC is the deployment of secure, validating currency-accepting and recycling equipment — like smart safes and cash recyclers — at merchant locations, coupled with armored carrier transportation, remote device management, information reporting and provisional credit systems.
RCC solutions provide customers with the following benefits:
- Reduced armored carrier fees
- Same-day provisional credit
- Simplified in-store cash operations
- Increased security and efficiency of transactions
- Every cash transaction is tracked by individual employee and is reportable
- Employees never have to leave the store to either make a deposit or pick up change
Simultaneously, there are also many benefits for the financial institution, including:
- Generating fee income
- Streamlined processing
- Improve competitiveness — manage more aspects of the cash relationship
- Vault optimization
- Reduced risk and costs at bank branches by eliminating high-volume cash transactions
However, it is nearly impossible for financial institutions to implement and manage RCC solutions on their own. Often, banks don’t have the infrastructure in place to support these types of solutions. This is where an expert partner in RCC solutions can assist. By outsourcing these services to a full-service cash logistics provider, there are even more benefits to the financial institution, such as:
- Elimination of vaults and dead cash
- The financial institution is no longer responsible for filing Currency Transaction Reports
- A solid provider can offer support to customers in 48 states for no additional cost
- An outsourcing partner manages armored carrier services for the banks and the customers
Knowing there are benefits to implementing outsourced RCC solutions for both parties, let’s evaluate the different solutions available and assess which is the best fit for you and your customers.
Smart Safes
In a recent
While this is an investment, customers who have implemented RCC solutions have reaped the benefits tenfold.
“As we expanded our business operations at Bob’s Stores it became obvious that our standard practices weren’t enough to maintain efficiency when it came to cash management. Managing cash can be costly, time consuming and risky, so we took the opportunity to operationalize with the right partner and free employees to focus on customer service,” said Kerry Williams, Manager of Treasury and Accounts Payable, Bob’s Stores & EMS. “Our partnership with
As a bank, there are also benefits to offering a smart safe solution. Mainly, it makes the cash cycle easier for the customer. This means they are more likely to continue banking with you in the future because of ease and efficiency, and they are more likely to continue to accept cash as a payment method in addition to digital payments — keeping the end-user happy. You already have relationships with merchants and are their trusted source for cash and payments solutions. Smart safes enable you to leverage those relationships for cross-selling opportunities and create a significant, new recurring revenue stream while also meeting your merchants’ need for better cash flow management. A smart safe solution deployment also supports your branch transformation and efficiency goals by keeping disruptive and costly high-volume cash transactions from ever reaching your branches.
Cash Recyclers
Cash recyclers take cash automation technology to the next level. Our customers benefit from automating as many tasks as possible, especially those relating to cash. With rising labor costs and labor shortages, it is more important than ever to offer solutions that help our customers optimize operations while reducing labor spent on cash management.
A cash recycler is a system that automates the process of accepting and dispensing cash, while keeping an accurate account of cash on hand. Cash recyclers provide unique features that enable convenient automation of back-office cash processes. While this might sound like a smart safe, a cash recycler enables cash to be dispensed for future transactions and till management. Typically, customers will keep the bigger bills for depositing and “recycle” the smaller currency and coin denominations.
As a bank, the benefit of a fully automated cash recycler is like that of a smart safe, since it enables customers to process cash more easily. However, unlike a smart safe, it also enables customers to directly manage their change orders because they are storing the currency and coin required to support their cashiering function on the premises, removing the risk associated with visiting a bank to procure cash and change for till management.
Everyone is trying to do more with less. Cash handling, trips to the bank and theft from shrinkage all weigh heavy on merchant efficiency. These solutions enable banks to offer merchants a way to streamline operations and run a more productive business.
While there are only a few trusted end-to-end cash logistics companies, outsourcing RCC solutions is key to both the bank’s and merchants’ success. With a trusted partner, you can expand your company’s offerings and increase the bottom line, while continuing to support your customers as they grow their own businesses.
John Clatworthy, SVP and Chief Customer and Strategy Officer at Cash Connect, a Division of WSFS Bank
