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Press Contact: Pamela Hoy Pendum 1-877-692-1500 pamela.hoy@pendum.com |
Emerging Technology Brings Efficiency, Cost-Savings, and Enhanced Customer Service to Bank Branches
WESTMONT, IL – February 13, 2007– Pendum, Inc. (formerly EFMARK-Bantek), the nation’s largest independent provider of ATM maintenance and armored service, today announced an expansion of its existing portfolio to include teller cash recyclers and dispensers.
Pendum will be a primary reseller of cash recycling devices from manufacturer ArcaTech Systems, and also will provide comprehensive installation and maintenance services for the equipment.
Cash recycling technology allows bank and credit union branches to handle cash in a new and simpler way, increasing teller efficiency and streamlining the branch’s cash management process. As financial institutions continue to build new branches and upgrade existing facilities, an increasing number are putting cash recyclers at the center of their plans.
“Cash recycling technology supports banks’ evolving initiatives, as they constantly work to improve transaction volumes, customer service, and security,” said Robert Malik, executive vice president of Sales and Marketing for Pendum. “As a company that specializes in servicing banking equipment, cash recyclers are a natural extension of our ATM and desktop computer expertise.”
Installing the compact cash recycling machines requires minimal modifications to the branch’s teller line, and enables a number of important benefits that financial institutions can realize immediately:
- Increased teller efficiency: Using traditional methods, bank tellers spend an average of two hours a day manually counting cash and making transactions with the bank vault. Cash recyclers improve this process by counting and dispensing cash electronically. The machines store all incoming cash in secure modules at the point where cash enters the branch, and the same cash that is accepted in one transaction can be dispensed in the next transaction. As a result, cash recyclers allow tellers to spend more time serving customers, and less time counting cash.
- Simplified cash management: With traditional cash handling methods, predicting the required cash inventory for the bank branch can be an imprecise guessing game. To avoid being caught short of customer demands, branches often stock their vaults with more cash than necessary, which drives up their cost of currency. Cash recyclers help to alleviate this problem by storing cash in fewer locations and producing more accurate electronic reports.
- Increased security: Cash recyclers can significantly reduce the amount of exposed cash in the bank branch, which decreases the potential for internal and external security breaches. The machines also reduce the need for “dual control” procedures, which require two tellers to count cash or visit the vault together – another drain on employee productivity.
Minnesota-based TCF Bank, an existing Pendum customer with 452 banking locations, realized similar benefits in a trial of cash recyclers in one of its Michigan branches. TCF found that tellers could serve more customers in less time, and their transactions were more consistently accurate. Recycling also freed up TCF supervisors since they had to make fewer trips to the vault. Based on the results, the bank chose to deploy additional machines in five branches.
While the industry supports multiple manufacturers of cash automation equipment, Pendum chose to partner with ArcaTech Systems for its product superiority and value-added services such as training and consulting. ArcaTech machines are known for their smaller footprints, quiet operation, and proven reliability, making cash recycling a more cost-effective and customer-friendly solution.
“While many banks are handling cash the same way they did 100 years ago, ArcaTech is pleased to join forces with Pendum to bring proven cash automation technology to the growing number of financial institutions that are seeking new and better ways to serve their customers,” said Aubrey Meador, vice president of ArcaTech Systems.
In addition to its immediate benefits, cash recycling technologies also present several possibilities for more long-term improvements. For example, cash recyclers may help banks reduce employee turnover, since tellers are under less pressure to count cash manually. Branches may also be able to expand their pool of hirable job candidates, as extensive cash handling experience is no longer a requirement for tellers.
Furthermore, cash recyclers may provide an additional motivation for financial institutions to reimagine the design of new retail branches. Without the risks posed by exposed cash, branch layouts can become more open and inviting to customers, presenting new opportunities for branding and cross-selling.
Cash recyclers, as well as the simpler cash dispenser units, are available today to new and existing Pendum customers in the financial industry. In addition, cash recyclers and dispensers present similar productivity and security benefits for gaming establishments and retail stores, two high-growth areas of service for Pendum.
About Pendum
Created through the 2006 merger of EFMARK Premium Armored and Bantek West, Pendum, Inc. is the nation’s largest independent service company for ATMs and other transaction terminals. Pendum provides financial institutions and other equipment owners with a single-source solution for hardware sales, maintenance, cash management and armored cash handling. The company services more than 100,000 ATMs and transaction terminals in 43 states, enhancing profitability and performance for more than 2,000 customers. For additional information, visit www.pendum.com.
About ArcaTech Systems
ArcaTech provides automation solutions for financial institutions, specializing in currency recycling and dispensing technology. Strategically headquartered near North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park, the company began in 1998 and has offices in Scotland, Russia, Germany and India.
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