"Branches physically are changing — they're becoming smaller and the technology is moving to the front of the branch," Gordon Smith, the CEO of Consumer and Community Banking at JPMorgan Chase, said during at keynote address at an industry conference in the USA last year. "The tellers behind the [counter] are moving out into the branch."
But, in the African context, there is so much more to it!
In South Africa, Cash Connect recently unveiled a self-service bulk deposit acceptor (BDA) ATM, developed to take branch banking to the next level.
The Bulk Deposit ATM or BDA for short, was designed to provide the walk-in bulk deposit customer with a service that is effectively six times faster than a traditional, manual bulk-teller experience, as exists in most commercial banking environments today, whilst all but eliminating time-consuming, inefficient and costly branch treasury, double-count processes. This self-service or teller assist model introduced by the BDA enhances the customer ‘in-branch’ experience when depositing large amounts of cash. Queues are significantly reduced resulting in a material time saving and a pleasurable branch experience.
It is in the South African context however, that the BDA comes into its own by offering the possibility of a broadened reach for expanded banking services, previously denied to a substantial portion of the population, (the “unbanked”) by reducing the need for traditional, capital intensive, bricks and mortar branch infrastructure.
Current deposit-taking ATM’s (ATD’s), whilst suited for cash-neutral environments within well-serviced and generally metropolitan areas, provide a limited cash deposit facility and cause a veritable logistical headache for non-neutral cash environments especially in rural areas where a largely cash-intensive demographic resides and transacts. Invariably, ATD’s in these environments typically need to be supported by a robust cash replenishment strategy as the generally lower quality and value of individual notes being deposited simply does not enable effective recycling of cash.”
However, when an ATM is deployed in conjunction / combination with a BDA, the true potential of the solution manifests in the delivery of a highly cost-effective means of reaching the four corners of the country, bringing basic banking services to all.
The bulk deposit ATM (BDA) allows bulk note and coin deposits to be processed simultaneously. The BDA can take a deposit of 800 notes and 800 coins per minute. Automated cash management eliminates the need for manual paperwork and reconciliations, and drastically reduces incidences of human error.
It is designed for application in a banking hall in a thru-the-wall installation where it offers measurable benefits to customer and bank branch alike.
In summary, automation replaces manual banking, reduces queues, extends deposit hours and significantly improves the overall client experience. It removes the double count and streamlines the teller to treasury workflow, creating major savings to the bank in the provision of a substantially enhanced service through better use of technology.
As part and parcel of the strategy to expand and diversify payments solutions and in response to a demand from within the Commercial Banking sector, the BDA provides the following features:
- Optional PCI/EMV compliance.
- Operates in a ‘Customer facing’, teller- assist and or self-managed deposit environment.
- Counts, validates and accepts a mixed banknote deposit through a high-speed, dual CIS-sensor equipped note counter, capable of processing up to 800 units per minute including long-edge presentation and any orientation.
- A note hopper which can hold up to 400 notes, can be continuously replenished and a reject pocket capable of holding up to 50 notes.
- Simultaneously counts, validates and accepts mixed coins through a high-speed coin counter at up to 800 coins per minute into a separate heat-sealed bag with a capacity of 20 Kilograms of coins.
- A separate disposable, barcoded bag holding a maximum of 10,000 bank notes is located inside a cash vault that is built to minimum SABS, category 4 standards.
- Presents a 17-inch touch screen interface for ease of operation.
- Provides a customisable integration into different back-end infrastructures to facilitate the provision of value-added services such as the immediate transfer of value for cash deposits into a customer’s selected accounts.
The technology behind the BDA allows for various forms of depositor identification including an optional biometric identification system.
Retailers' cash is guaranteed through a system that identifies people, assigns accountability and eliminates cash shrinkage.
Following a successful deposit, the depositor is presented with a deposit slip which can be supported by electronic SMS notification and the money is dropped into a cash vault. Simultaneously all deposits are saved in the cloud and the value is credited immediately to the selected account.
Once all the day’s money is safely dropped in the vault, it is heat sealed in a disposable barcoded bag which allows for ease of tracking along the logistics chain to the cash centre where the count is reconciled to the transmitted bag value.
It is common cause that manual processing is slow and costly and can lead to discrepancies and a high error rate. Automation is fast, accurate and materially less expensive and improves the customer experience.
The fear of automation causing catastrophic job losses has been universally discounted in numerous studies and is particularly relevant in the South African environment. The demand to rapidly expand commercial banking services into new urban economic hubs and rural areas where the presence of bank branches is poor, lends itself to the reallocation of existing human resource in support of the introduction of valuable automated basic banking services.
A recent study suggested that headcount did not necessarily correlate with efficiencies gained by technology because tasks, rather than jobs, were automated. There seems to be consensus that as customers at retail branches spend more time interacting with machines for their day-to-day needs, branch staff will start to promote sales and services like personal and business lending.
Richard Phillips
Joint CEO – Cash Connect Management Solutions
The Bulk Deposit Acceptor is on display to the public for the first time on the Bytes Managed Services & Cash Connect stand (stand 64) at the Seamless Africa Conference & Expo 2018 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CITCC), 5-6 March 2018.
Interested? Book your seat by sending us an email at info@cashconnect.co.za, alternatively contact Richard Phillips on 082 890 4999.