It Happened. (At Another Bank!)

Guys, bottom line is that coin machines burn money for the bank. It is a service that has run out of time. It is only a matter of when, not if, the banks do away with them. They are going to continue to offer a form of service but it will not be nearly as enjoyable for those of us bringing in coins. Most banks do not roll their own coins anymore, too labor intensive and all banks are trying to eliminate labor. This is why the big push for on line banking and the likes. Today, most banks use a coin service. They pickup the bulk bags of coins that have ran thru the counter and deliver boxes of coins.

So, how is this going to change? I have a good friend who is a VP of commercial loans at our PNC bank region. He knows that I sort cents and bring them into the bank for counting. He informed me a few days ago that the branches in our area with coin counters will continue to offer the service only until they break again, at that time they will be removed and not replaced. I jokingly told him I would have to take my accounts somewhere else and he rather bluntly told me that if that is the case he could not help it. Now, understand I own two business here and run all my business accounts thru them. Needless to say, we have a substantial amount of money in their bank at any given time. If they are not worried about us, how much do you think they care about someone with a few dollars in a savings account. I was informed that they would continue to serve my needs, just in a different way. They are going to give me the bags they use and I am to put my coins in the bag and bring them in. They will send them along with theirs to the coin handling co and they will count for them. I will see a deposit in my account in about 3 working days.

I am not sure what I am going to do, but the writing is on the wall. We are a cost to the bank that they see as unnecessary, the coin counting machines require extensive cleaning for the junk that goes thru with the coins, they now have a viable option offered by the coin handling companies and they can cut labor. We might as well just get thick skinned and start planning for change.

Jim

Some banks won't take pre-rolled coins from a customer, and if they get rid of free counting machines for account holders, they shouldn't be in business, imho. They need to take one or the other.

Banks made their money in the old days buy lending to the community, (think Bailey's Savings and loan in it's a wonderful life). They used account holders money to fund the loans, and paid a interest on it for the use. Now however it is no longer enough to make a profit, with steady long term growth, but PROFIT, and heck with the future. Back when banks first started charging for ATM usage, I heard of one that planned on charging a fee on customers if they accessed their account more than 5 times a month, via ATM OR Clerk. Who does that affect? Perhaps a bartender or waitress who doesn't like to keep their tips around the house, but not "important people".
Cole, I agree you should close your account with a smile, after saving up a LARGE amount of coins. I don't think however that writing a letter will help, the powers that be will not care, because if their profits fall next quarter, they can lay off more employees (further degrading morale of the ones remaining) or figure out a few new fees to tack on to the remaining customers to make up the lost revenue.

That's what I figured, but I don't look at it as a "restrictive" thing at all. Maybe it flies in the face of the American notion of free enterprise and all that, but the idea has always been to protect the customer, the existence of FDIC insurance and it's Canadian equivalent notwithstanding.

One other plus is our Interac system -- I can use my bank card at any store anywhere in the country that allows payment using my ATM card, which automatically deducts the funds needed right from my account. Because there are so few banking establishments, having such a system is a cinch. It seems that almost every store has an Interac terminal, which means not having to worry about having actual cash on hand for everything.

I have been roll hunting for many years now and have not had any experience this bad. My bank has many branches in my town and I always bought my rolls from 4 branches and dumped them all at one other branch. The worst I ran into was when I was told by my account manager at the branch I use for my business that the regional manager wants me to start using the branch with my business accounts only. So now the branch with my business account will order me rolls and give me their bags to put the coins in to send them back to Brinks. I keep loose coins around so when I pull a coin from a roll I replace it then throw the loose roll into the bag. That way the amount in the bag is always the amount from the box. If I take a bag of $100 of nickels to the bank they immediately deposit the money into my account, no waiting. It's a nice system for me and in return every couple of months I ask my account manager what would be a god day to bring pizza in and supply 2 large pizzas for the girls that day. It makes for a nice relationship. Reading this thread makes me appreciate my branch even more.

Huh, used gum.

I was 16 once. No, honest!

They don't even sell gum at Disneyland. Anyone care to tell why?

Uh, near the main entrance or in their parking lot........

So YOUR the one looking through all the rolls in florida!! I live in winter springs and also look through rolls, lol

Dropping coin counters is just one of the many ways the banks will cut costs.

All banks in our area do not answer direct customer phone calls -- too labor intensive. Each has a central call center (800 number) that handles calls. And even then, you must wade through all the computer options to get to a human being. If you get that far, you can then try to get that human being to transfer your call to a human being at the branch that you deal with. If they refuse to pickup, you must email or leave a message.

Do banks really have the right to refuse US currency?