In order to maintain a high standard of customer service while driving profitability, financial institutions (FIs) should always be searching for solutions that maximize their efficiency and help to keep costs under control.
One strategy that can help you to achieve these goals is cash recycling, a technology that can be integrated into your ATM network to make a big difference to branch performance and the customer experience.
Making cash recycling part of the ATM channel
In its simplest form, cash recycling is an automated process that allows ATMs to validate and sort banknotes that are then made available for withdrawal, delivering benefits such as reduced cash replenishment costs and better service availability for the customer.
Cash recycling can also strengthen your defenses against fraud. The intelligent deposit function used by NCR, for example, is designed to identify counterfeit currency and take it out of circulation. This capability is present in machines like the SelfServ 84, which combines cash recycling with valuable consumer services like bill payment, check imaging and mobile phone top-up.
One of the biggest benefits of cash recycling is its potential to free up time for branch staff, which is a big issue for many banks.
A common question we receive is: How can I free up my branch employees’ time, so they can spend more time in front of the customer?” she said. “Quite often staff are so busy helping customers that refilling the ATM unfortunately, in some cases, receives secondary attention, which of course directly impacts consumers, who rely on the ATM channel for high-speed access to their cash.
As far as costs for your business are concerned, ATMs with cash recycling capabilities can reduce the need for physical cash movement to replenish the machine. In some cases, cash recycling has enabled ATMs to continue functioning for weeks without the need for replenishment.
More ways than ever to drive revenue and lower costs
FIs today have access to more solutions than ever to help them accelerate revenue generation and lower costs, particularly through the self-service channel.
Self-service kiosks, for example, can boost your branch efficiency and increase choice for customers by allowing them to bypass teller queues and use a banking kiosk to complete simple tasks, like managing their account, booking an appointment or researching new products.
Other solutions can enable your business to harness the power of your ATM channel for marketing purposes, making the most of the visibility and reach of machines that are used by millions of people every day. Displaying relevant, targeted on-screen messages can help you to strengthen the engagement of existing customers and attract new ones. Approaches such as personalized email marketing can also play an important role in getting your brand noticed.
With competition in the industry on the rise and consumers showing increasing demand for convenience and reliability in their banking services, we can expect strategies like cash recycling and self-service reinvention to become more important in the coming years. Concepts like these could prove to be the difference between truly innovative banks and those that are simply standing still.
Source: Bryan Peddie
