Of all the problems money poses in the business world and beyond, one in particular is the scourge of bank tellers and business clerks everywhere: counting the money. Though we may not think about counting money as a “serious” problem, for those in the financial industry, accurately accounting for actual money, both bills and coins, is a serious undertaking. Before the advent of currency counter machines, money had to be counting manually by hand. The process usually involved several people and could take hours, and even days, to complete. And even then, human error can account for grievous counting mistakes, which are especially serious in the world of business.
That is why cash management systems are so critical to the day-to-day financial services we use and take for granted. Not only do currency machines save banks and businesses considerable time and effort, many of them are able to detect fraudulent currency. Counterfeit currency has historically been a formidable problem that banks, businesses, consumers, and governments had to face. Especially up through the early 20th century, in which banks were allowed to print their own currency (which is why they are known as “bank notes”), counterfeit currency presented serious impediments to the value of legitimate currency. In fact, counterfeiting became so bad in the 19th century that in 1865, the famous United States Secret Service was founded to investigate counterfeiting operations, a mission they carry on today on top of their more well-known duties of protecting the U.S. President and other government officials.
Needless to say, cash management systems have proven invaluable for financial institutions and their customers ever since the first electronic money counter machines were released in 1980. They have enabled these institutions to count money quickly, efficiently, and effectively, and have helped them and government agencies track down counterfeit currency. There value cannot be overstated.