Building a profitable Cash-in-Transit (CIT) organization is a difficult task. As with most businesses, there are plenty of factors that influence the bottom line and often, what works for a small operation doesn’t necessarily scale easily to a larger one.
<i’m a=”” affect=”” and=”” at=”” can=”” cit=”” company=”” going=”” how=”” it=”” look=”” of=”” one=”” piece=”” scalability=”” take=”” technology=”” to=””> </i’m>
There are three primary methods of collecting banknotes from a smart safe.
- LOOSE NOTE
Today, most smart safes are loose notes devices where bank notes fall like an autumn leaf into a canvas or plastic bag. This low-tech collection method was found in the original smart safes that flooded the market a few years back. The downside of loose note collection is that it creates physical space issues at the cash center. Very quickly, the space needed to organize cash can outpace capacity. This method also increases the time needed to prepare cash for the sorters. - CASSETTE-BASED
An alternative to loose note is cassette collection. By using metal or plastic cassettes, back office CIT operations are simplified. Efficiencies are gained due to more organized note storage both in the cassette and in the centralized facility. A primary problem with this method is that cassettes break and there is a cost to fix or replace them. Your armored car team is under pressure to visit customers in a timely and organized manner and performing a cassette switch impacts their schedule. There is the added cost of maintaining a spare inventory of cassettes for an inevitable breakage. - STACKING BAG
The third solution is a combination of the first two methods. It uses the simple, low budget plastic bag, however, stacks notes in an orderly method—not loose. This method removes the need for an inventory of cassettes, while also brings about the back office efficiency associated with stacking notes.
Each of these smart safe collection techniques have positives and negatives. In our research, we’ve found that CIT’s are able to cut cash counting costs to the retailer by 70% if they use the stacking plastic bag method. The key to CIT scalability lives in the ability to multiply the number of smart safes installed, without having to build new cash centers.