The primary challenges of the teller line revolve around handling transactions that involve cash while still maintaining focus on the customer and achieving referral goals. This combination of required tasks creates a higher likelihood of mistakes happening when authenticating cash.
So, how can you impact teller line operations and create a high level of customer service?
When you implement a cash recycler in your teller line, you allow this tool to handle the bulk of the counting and authenticating, while the teller can focus on the most important thing: the customer!
Here is how a Cash Recycler will help your teller line operate more efficiently and effectively:
Mixed Currency Authentication
One of the toughest types of transactions for tellers to handle on a daily basis are the deposits that come in from retailers and commercial accounts. Typically, these types of deposits have large amounts of mixed cash and total note volume compared to other transactions.
Customers deliver these deposits 2 ways: 1) Night drop bag or 2) Over the counter. When a commercial deposit is presented over the counter, it typically slows down the throughput of the teller line as it requires a lot of time and resources to verify the deposit.
By implementing a cash recycler, the teller is able to work more effectively on mixed currency authentication by:
- Being able to drop bundles of mixed cash directly into the machine for verification and stay focused on engaging the customer while the machine in processing the cash. The recycler is counting, sorting and looking for counterfeit bills all at the same time, making an extremely efficient process for counting and storing mixed cash.
- By storing that cash in the machine, it also enables the teller to use it on demand for other customer transactions, streamlining and speeding up the rate and accuracy of cash returned.
Vault Cash Management
Another major pain point on the teller line is maintaining drawer levels in compliance with managing cash out on the line versus the vault. Many of our clients ask us for help when their head teller is spending more time managing the tellers’ cash levels and running back and forth to the vault than doing more important customer-facing tasks such as overrides and referral management.
When a cash recycler is implemented, we usually see the following improvements in vault cash management:
- It typically automates 2 tellers for every single transaction involving cash and also acts as a digital vault for all other tellers to buy from and sell to. By reducing the number of transactions requiring dual control, because the machine is acting as the second control, it frees up the head teller to spend their time managing the line and handling customers instead of cash.
- Most of our clients see a 90% efficiency gain in the head teller’s time in dealing with vault transactions. The recycler may also reduce cross-shipment or ordering issues that can cost the bank fees.
Cash Out Accuracy and Speed
One of the great advantages of the cash recycler is that it automates both sides of the cash transaction for the teller. We have shown the value in automating cash in transactions, but there is also great value in automating the cash out transactions via the recycler.
Many institutions have found great success by implementing cash dispensers to speed up and increase the accuracy for a cash out. The recycler builds on its own value by automating this side of the transaction as well.
By having cash stored in it from other transactions, the teller can cash checks and give out withdrawals at a push of a button; therefore eliminating 2-3 counts of the cash and again allowing the teller to focus on engaging the customer instead of cash handling.
As you can tell, most of the benefits of automating your teller line with recyclers revolve around creating a better, more engaging customer experience. By better managing, the branch’s cash and the resource-intensive transactions involving cash, the staff can now focus on the customers who will drive the growth of the institution. Also, utilizing a recycler allows for less staff required to handle the same amount of work which creates an attractive ROI that any leader can appreciate.
If you want to learn more about how brining in new technology can benefit your organization, read our free guide, Think Big: Transform Your Branch.
