One of the first questions most business owners ask when they consider buying an ATM to generate income is how the machine is filled with cash. Knowing this is obviously essential to owning an ATM. If you own an ATM, you do have the option of filling it with your own cash, but you could also choose to contract with a vault cash management service to supply the cash for your ATM. Let’s look at some of the differences.
Using Your Own Cash
Using your own money to fill your ATM can be beneficial, but it can also be complicated. For starters, you always need to make sure that the machine has enough money in it. This means tracking it closely so you can refill it before it runs out. It also means having thousands of dollars in cash on hand every time you refill it. Exactly how much money you put in the machine and how often you refill it depends on how much use it gets. However, even if your ATM only gets used a few times a day, you’ll need at least a couple thousand dollars every time the machine is refilled.
Security is another issue when it comes to filling an ATM with your own money. You’ll need to refill the machine at a time when no one else is around to ensure nothing goes wrong, which can be a hassle. There’s also some degree of risk with using your own money because if the machine is broken into or something goes wrong while you’re filling it, you could potentially lose thousands of dollars.
Cash Service
The alternative is hiring a vault cash management company to take care of everything. They will provide the money that goes into the ATM and can work with you to set up a schedule for refilling the machine.
The downside of this is that it will take away some of the profits you make from your ATM. However, the process is more secure, as the vault management company will likely have insurance on the money and have professionals handling the refilling. You also don’t have to worry about putting so much of your own money in the machine, freeing up capital for other projects.
So, to answer the original question: you don’t have to fill your ATM with your own money; there are other options. Using your own money will take up more time and add to the risk, but it will also lead to more profits. On the other hand, hiring a service will cost you more but may provide you with a little more peace-of-mind. The choice is yours.
Contact National ATM Wholesale today to learn more about our vault cash options.