The staff at the average bank branch are under a lot of pressure. They’re expected to accurately count and sort cash at lightning speed, in addition to answering customer questions and even performing more complex transactions. They must do all that while keeping the lines moving and the customers happy.
Even with a dip in branch traffic over the years, largely thanks to fintech, bank branch staff may still feel the pressure to move quickly. This harried environment means they’re more likely to make mistakes, which can be costly for the branch. If a wait is too long or your staff member makes an error because they’re rushing, it could cost you a customer. If the team has to stay late and sort cash, it could cost you in a different way.
Accounting errors, missing money, sloppy organization, poor storage and more are all problems that could arise when your team can’t sort cash effectively in your branch.
If this sounds familiar, then it might be time to discover a more effective cash management system for your branch. No matter what you’re working with right now, improving your cash sorting can be as easy as 1-2-3.
1. Outline Procedures for Effectively Sorting Cash
The first thing you need to do is outline how your team should be sorting cash. This will depend in part on what you have in place. Your procedure will look quite different if you’ve installed coin and banknote recyclers than if your tellers are still sorting everything by hand.
No matter what system you’re using, though, there are still some best practices to follow. Having tellers sort cash after a certain dollar threshold is reached or at certain times of day may be one.
If you’re not sure what efficient cash sorting could look like, talk to your tellers. They probably have a good idea of what’s working and what isn’t. You can integrate their advice with best practices to create better policies and deliver more accurate results.
2. Automate the Sorting Process
Bank branches may handle less cash than in the past, but that doesn’t mean the job of sorting out bills and coins is any less difficult. Manual counting used to be the only option you had. Today, you can opt for more speed and accuracy.
If you’re not using one already, it’s time to invest in a cash sorter. For most banks, though, this simplistic solution isn’t robust enough. Your team might still end up counting the sorted cash.
Instead, you might want to consider a currency recycler. This solution helps you sort, count, store, dispense, and record your cash. This frees tellers from needing to divide their attention. They can focus on the customer while the machine does the tedious job of sorting and counting.
Better yet, the machine is faster and more accurate. Once it’s finished counting and sorting, your cash is ready to be dispensed again. The machine also keeps track of ins and outs, so it always has an accurate tally of what’s sitting in its vault.
Other technological solutions help you do more. Some might come equipped with counterfeit detection. Some can sort out damaged notes or bent coins. You may even be able to find a machine that bags and rolls coins.
3. Store Your Currency Properly and Securely
Once you’re finished counting and sorting cash, you need to think about where it’s stored. Chances are you move cash to a safe. What if you could upgrade the security on your safe though? A smart safe could help you. Smart safes keep track of deposits into the vault. They also create logs of who has accessed the machine.
A currency recycler can also be used for secure storage of cash. When every dollar is accounted for, wrapped up, and recorded, you can ensure that your money is exactly where it is supposed to be.
