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Self-service coin counters give banks a customer engagement edge

When banks add intuitive, convenient customer service options like self-service coin counters to their array of services, they add another reason for customers to visit brick-and-mortar branches. The major shift in consumer preferences seen in the rise of online banking - and the longer-term proliferation of standalone ATMs - means many financial institutions are implementing new strategies in terms of how they operate branch offices.

While many banks are cutting down on the number of branches they have and placing them in more strategic locations, they don't want to eliminate these facilities entirely because of the potential benefits they provide. Including coin counters at branches is one way to entice customers to visit these locations and expose them to the many other services your branches offer.

A shifting coin counter landscape

For many decades, financial institutions were the preferred, and sometimes only, destination for customers who wanted to exchange their coins for more convenient bills. The service was frequently provided free of charge and some banks even had tellers perform the manual labor of counting and rolling the change. Now, there's a more diverse market for coin-counting services, with machines present in a number of other businesses, including supermarkets, convenience stores and big box stores, as highlighted in a recent Bankrate article.

Additionally, some banks have moved away from offering coin counting to their customers or require a higher level of self-service labor from them to complete the transaction. In bank branches without self-service coin counters, it's common for tellers to provide empty rolls to customers but offer no further assistance beyond exchanging those filled tubes for cash at the end of the process. This has reduced the appeal of the service, as it requires significantly more time and effort on the part of customers.

Banks that want to appeal to customers on the local, neighborhood level should consider the power of self-service coin counters. With these machines in place, customers have an attractive option to convert their change into paper money. The use of use for customers can't be overstated, either. By offering this convenience, banks have a powerful opportunity to highlight their other products and services. Additionally, depending on strategy, financial institutions can reach out to those who don't currently bank with them, along with current customers.

September 16, 2016