As financial institutions move away from many inefficient manual banking tasks, they start to seek cost-effective ways to improve their customers’ user experience. Teller cash recyclers (TCRs) are becoming a necessary addition to bank branch transformation in accomplishing this goal. But is it worth it to continue to improve physical operations in an increasingly digital world?
Even as more and more bank customers rely on online banking for many day-to-day tasks, experts at Deloitte remain confident that physical bank branches will remain relevant and important to the customer experience in the future. In fact, cash deposits are one of the important banking tasks that often still require an in-person transaction.
Unfortunately, small and mid-size FIs that fail to keep up with the latest technologies may face consequences for inaction. Rising labor costs accompanied with a decline in branch visits can have a big impact on overall profitability, particularly as smaller banks compete with larger industry players. Banks aren’t the only establishments that can benefit from essential technological upgrades either—retailers that handle large cash volumes can equally improve operations with the fast cash recycling offered by TCRs.
If you’re looking for how to improve operational efficiency and bank branch performance, this post is for you. We’ll explore the top teller cash recycler benefits, highlighting seven key ways upgraded equipment like modern TCRs are bridging the gap between the traditional banking structure and our technology-first future.
Enhanced Customer Experience
TCRs automate the process of cash handling, from counting and sorting to bundling and storage, significantly reducing the time spent on manual tasks and freeing up staff to focus on customer service or other high-value tasks.
By improving transaction speed and allowing tellers to focus on customer service, TCRs contribute to a better overall customer experience in other ways. Shorter teller lines and wait times mean a faster and more efficient customer experience, resulting in increased customer satisfaction and loyalty. On average, bank tellers with access to TCRs spend an average of 60-90 more minutes per day interacting with customers, which equates to a 12-18% increase in availability.
Increased Cash Security
Not all advances in technology lead to heightened security, but today’s bank and retailer cash recyclers offer a number of protective measures that minimize the risks of cash handling.
- External Theft: TCRs provide a secure repository for cash, minimizing the risk of theft. Cash recycling units come with various security features from security cameras to alarm systems to deter any potential external security breaches.
- Internal Theft: TCRs also prevent internal theft. Equipped with biometric access controls, the system can detect who is accessing cash at any point. The result is greater accountability, promoting a secure environment.
- Reduced Cash Exposure: By automating the cash handling process, TCRs limit the exposure of cash, reducing the risk of theft both from within and outside the bank. Cash is stored securely within the machine and is only dispensed when needed.
Improved Accuracy
Counting cash by hand, especially in front-facing positions when also engaging with customers, often results in costly mistakes or longer transaction times.
TCRs count, sort, and validate banknotes with a high degree of precision—boasting over 99.99% accuracy—virtually eliminating the errors associated with manual cash handling. With TCRs, discrepancies in cash transactions are reduced to a statistical anomaly.
Greater Efficiency
As we discussed above, teller cash recyclers serve to automate the process of cash handling, resulting in faster cash recycling. From counting to sorting, bundling, and storage, TCR machines can drastically cut the time your tellers spend on manual cash processing tasks, freeing up staff time and energy to rededicate to customer service and other high-value tasks. And when you decrease the burden on your hardworking staff, you’ll not only see improved customer service, you’ll also see an increase in employee satisfaction.
Impressive ROI
Whenever considering any upgrades to day-to-day task management, it’s crucial to consider your return on investment. TCRs can reduce costs in many ways.
Employee Retention and Training
As bank turnover rates reached an alarming 23.4% in 2022, banks are increasingly forced to find ways to retain employees and lower training costs. TCRs can do both. Firstly, TCRs can help remove tedious job requirements like money counting responsibilities from the teller’s job description, allowing your bank’s job openings to be more competitive and lead to a larger applicant pool. Moreover, TCRs are easy to operate and training is not only simple, but supported by ample instruction resources. When you use TCRs over manual cash sorting and counting, you can streamline your teller training.
Environmental Sustainability
The flipside to cash-in-transit efficiency is a boost to your sustainable practices. When you reduce your need for cash pickups and deliveries, you effectively decrease your carbon footprint. Additionally, modern teller cash recycler machines with energy-saving features can reduce your in-house energy consumption over older models. Lastly, TCRs help to support a circular economy, keeping currency in circulation longer by reducing the wear-and-tear of traditional cash handling.
As we wrote in our recent post, Driving Sustainability in Banking: How Teller Cash Recyclers Promote Green Initiatives, modern TCR machines can be an integral part of aligning the operations of your financial institution with your goals for environmental responsibility.
Mitigating Regulatory Compliance Concerns
Compliance is a complex and time-consuming undertaking, made more difficult by manual tasks that require additional manual documentation. TCRs can make your compliance efforts simpler and more robust by using cutting-edge software to facilitate the process.
TCR software effectively maintains a real-time audit trail of all transactions, eliminating the need for additional accounting, simplifying the process of reporting, and helping ensure compliance with cash handling regulations and guidelines. Shields Business Solutions also supplies regular updates so that your machines always possess current compliance features. When you work with us, rest assured that your banking equipment meets necessary governmental requirements.
Modernize Your Cash Handling with Shields Business Solutions
When you need a dependable, regionally-based partner to facilitate your branch or retail modernization, turn to Shields. From energy and time-efficient Teller Cash Recyclers to ITMs that offer an enhanced customer experience, we offer an array of advanced products and services that can keep your branch competitive.
Ready to transform your bank branch operations in New Jersey, Eastern and Central PA, Delaware, or New York? Shields can help. Speak to a member of our team to learn more about our extensive banknote recycler product offerings, as well as other products and services that can help your branch better meet customer expectations for efficiency and convenience.
