Innovation

7 cash management, recycler strategies to follow

Many Teller Cash Recycler brands have become obsolete with limited parts. Some are even at end of life and are a security risk. Here are seven tips for how to keep them up to date.

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June 18, 2024 by Scott Fieber — Chief Strategy Officer, Cook Solutions Group

Many Teller Cash Recycler brands have become obsolete with limited parts. Some are even at end of life and are a security risk.

When it comes to lobby teller cash recyclers not much has changed over the last decade when they released. When implementing this technology in the branch, people often overlook the strategic possibilities of recyclers.

For years we loved the implementation of a dispenser that would replace our traditional teller cash drawer and allow for a safe and automated way to handle cash at the teller line. It helped us avoid cash counting mistakes and made the overall branch operation flow in a smoother way. When the technology advanced to full cash recycling which enabled the ability to not only dispense cash but also accept it; we felt like we arrived at the finish line!

The full circle of the cash journey in the branch was now complete with a single piece of technology! No more need for a vault, cash drawers, and time-consuming cash audits; the list of benefits went on forever. This technology has been so successful that it is very rare to find any financial institution today that doesn't have this technology deployed. Finally, technology has caught up with the Financial Industry.

The technology caught on so quickly that it has slowly become an afterthought. If you were to pick a black hole of technology within a financial institution, teller cash recyclers would fit that bill better than maybe any other technology.

When deploying the first unit, so much planning and testing went into it. Once the rollout to the entire branch footprint was completed it hasn't seen a second look.

To my surprise, my initial feeling was completely wrong. This technology has not stopped evolving over the years. Many financial institutions are caught in a comfortable spot but quickly get behind unknowingly.

I have seven teller cash recycling strategies worth a re-look. I want to share some thoughts that would be worth asking yourself when looking at your current cash recycling technology to see if you are staying current.

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1. Rolled Storage Modules (RSM) are outdated: This has quickly become a technology of the past. RSMs limit your cash capacity, transaction speed, and more importantly ability to audit and share cash between devices. INTEROPERABILITY is becoming a bigger and bigger need. If you can't share your cash from device to device without touching it physically, you're missing the boat.
2. Self-Audits are now automated: Still counting cash with dual control by hand to make sure your units are in balance? STOP! Today's technology is way past those days.
3. Capacity has increased: Cassette-based recyclers provide close to double the capacity compared to an RSM recycler. Odds are with a cassette-based recycler you can reduce the number of machines you need to buy and maintain to stay profitable. No one wants to run out of cash or a denomination, doubling up your available currency levels brings that peace of mind and exceptional consumer experience.
4. Open platforms for integration: Do your recyclers run closed proprietary software that inhibits software collaboration with older branch technology? If so ask yourself why? Integrating your recyclers to AI platforms, branch surveillance systems for dispute tracking, remote resolution software that the servicer of your choice can use, the list goes on. Don't give up your freedom by deploying a recycler that doesn't offer an open platform to collaborate with your other technology partners.
5. Price has come down: Let us be real, recyclers should not be the same price as an ATM. If you haven't shopped for upgraded technology lately you will be surprised that you were likely overpaying for subpar technology.
6. Cash handling ecosystem: This is not just a teller cash recycling conversation. This should be part of a greater conversation around how you need to handle your cash distribution channels available to you. There are several pieces to this puzzle, making sure they fit is important. Do not make a siloed decision solely around the safe behind teller row.
7. Secure/certified service provider with remote security patching capabilities: In the era of increased cyberattacks, you can't afford to overlook this point. All this new technology is only as good as the service provider keeping it hardened, secure, and stable. Make sure your service provider is SOC 2 Type II certified, does not sub the maintenance out to a non-secure provider and can provide critical remote security patches, cyber threat monitoring, and maximize remote fixes.

Although teller cash recyclers have been around for a while you shouldn't wait to enhance your deployment strategy. We need more out of the technology we have already before we add new technology. Open platforms give you a starting chance.

About Scott Fieber

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Scott Fieber is the Chief Strategy Officer at Cook Solution Group in Portland Oregon and has worked with Financial Institutions for over 13 years assisting them with strategic direction. Prior to getting into the Financial Industry, Scott worked as the Systems Administrator for a criminal defense agency in Utah. His experience in technology and banking leads to a unique skill set which is needed when working with ever changing financial technology and consumers. He started his career in the financial sector with the founding company of Interactive Teller Machines, uGenius Technology

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