How much cash is generally sitting inside ATMs at any given time?
Payments
Asked by Question Bot09/Nov/20121 answer
1 Answer
F
Faisal Khan
Answered 09/Nov/2012
Money in ATMs comes under the purview of Transaction Banking (Cash), typically under the Retail Banking Division.
So, the cash notes in the ATM is not just sitting there. It has very carefully been provisioned for and accounted for. In banking terms this is the equivalent of what is called "Cash in the Vault" i.e. this money is non-interest bearing. This is the same money, a teller would otherwise dispense at a bank branch, i.e. it cannot be used for anything else, other than giving money out to those who walk into a branch.
The ATM fees you pay, is in essence, a large part of the cash management handling fees you pay to have the ATM stocked, insured, etc.
Emmet Meehan's estimation is very close. NCR's (2008) and Diebold's (2010) various reports suggest that the American ATMs on an average on about $3,000 on the overnight basis. So by those estimates, about US$ 1.5 Billion give or take is Cash at Vault for the banks in the ATM delivery channel.
So, the cash notes in the ATM is not just sitting there. It has very carefully been provisioned for and accounted for. In banking terms this is the equivalent of what is called "Cash in the Vault" i.e. this money is non-interest bearing. This is the same money, a teller would otherwise dispense at a bank branch, i.e. it cannot be used for anything else, other than giving money out to those who walk into a branch.
The ATM fees you pay, is in essence, a large part of the cash management handling fees you pay to have the ATM stocked, insured, etc.
Emmet Meehan's estimation is very close. NCR's (2008) and Diebold's (2010) various reports suggest that the American ATMs on an average on about $3,000 on the overnight basis. So by those estimates, about US$ 1.5 Billion give or take is Cash at Vault for the banks in the ATM delivery channel.