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

With the recent changes in the TCR industry, it’s important to review your current Teller Cash Recycler fleet.

When it comes to lobby teller cash recyclers, not much has changed over the last decade. The emergence of teller cash dispensers as an alternative to traditional teller cash drawers allowed for a safe, automated way to dispense cash at the teller line, avoid cash counting mistakes and make the overall branch operation flow more smoothly. When the technology advanced to full cash recycling with the ability to both dispense and accept cash, it felt like the cash journey in the branch was complete with a single piece of technology. No more need for a vault, cash drawers and time-consuming cash audits. It’s rare to find a financial institution today that hasn’t deployed this technology. It seemed that the financial services industry was finally caught up technology-wise.

Unfortunately, the technology that caught on so quickly 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. Substantial planning and testing went into deploying the first units, but once branch rollouts were complete, most financial institutions haven’t really given their cash recyclers a second thought.

Of course, this technology has not stopped evolving over the years. Your financial institution might not be aware of features and functionality that have changed since the introduction of TCRs. It’s worth taking a moment to assess your current cash recycling technology to see if your organization has fallen behind the technology curve.

7 Points to Consider Regarding Teller Cash Management and Recyclers

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 Rolled Storage Modules (RSM) Are Outdated: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, the ability to audit and share cash between devices. INTEROPERABILITY is critical. If you can’t share your cash from device to device without physically touching it, you’re missing out on key functionality.
   
   
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 can do it for you.
   
   
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 purchase and maintain, which can net significant savings at a time when it is becoming more and more challenging to turn a profit. No one wants to run out of cash or a specific denomination. Doubling your available currency can eliminate that worry.
   
   
4. Open Platforms for Integration:
   Do your recyclers run closed proprietary software that prevents software collaboration with older branch technology? New technology allows you to integrate your recyclers to AI platforms, branch surveillance systems for dispute tracking, remote resolution software that the servicer of your choice can use and so much more. Don’t compromise your consumer experience by deploying a recycler that doesn’t offer an open platform to integrate with your other existing technology.
   
   
5. Price Has Come Down:
   Recyclers should not be the same price as an ATM. If you haven’t shopped for upgraded technology lately, you may be overpaying for subpar technology. Couple that with reducing the number of machines you need to operate your branch, and you have a recipe for some significant savings.
   
   
6. Cash Handling Ecosystem:
   This is not just a teller cash recycling conversation. This should be part of a greater conversation about handling your cash distribution and the channels available to you. There are several pieces to this puzzle, so making sure they fit within your technology infrastructure is important.
   
   
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 secure and stable. Make sure your service provider is SOC 2 Type II certified, does not source the maintenance out to a non-secure provider, and can provide critical remote security patches, cyber threat monitoring and maximize remote fixes.

Teller cash recyclers have been around for a while now. It might be time to take another look at the technology and your deployment strategy so you can get more out of the technology you already have before adding new technology. Open platforms give you a head start. Cook Solutions Group can help you start the discussion around a vendor-agnostic approach that truly fits your growing needs.

TCR fleet audits and assessments are available upon request from Cook
Solutions Group. To ensure your fleet is not end of life, obsolete or a security risk, visit www.cooksolutionsgroup.com.