Cash Recycling Delivers Cash Process Efficiency

"With this system in place, proper control of the process is possible"

Background

Hermitage Amsterdam lies in the heart of the Dutch capital and ranks among the most visited museums in the Netherlands.

Unlike most museums, the Hermitage itself has no artwork or permanent collection. Instead it organises two exhibitions a year with items from the 3.5 million works of art housed by its parent museum, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The Hermitage attracts an average of 420, 000 visitors each year, including many students from schools who are offered free art lessons.

Challenge

The Hermitage has grown in recent years particularly since the opening of a restaurant in 2015. Together with the ticket office and shop, this meant the addition of a third area where the museum was taking payments. Overall 25% of visitors were paying with cash – less than the national average of 40% (2018) – so it was essential for the Hermitage to organise cash operations efficiently.

Solution

It was necessary for the museum to keep the cash coming in from the different payment areas separate, so a Gunnebo SafeRecycling solution for notes and coins was the ideal option. Not only does it track the amount being deposited by employee, but this data is easily visible and can be checked online using Gunnebo’s CashControl software.

“Human error is not uncommon so cash automation naturally saves us time. With this system in place, proper control of the process is possible,” comments Finance Manager, Peter.

The recycling system is accurate and cash differences come to light automatically.

“This saves a lot of time and frustration as you do not have to re-count the money manually,” Peter adds.

Benefits

When employees deposit cash, it is first sorted and then used to replenish the float. If there is an overflow of money, it is stored in the back office ready to be collected by CIT services. To make back-office processes as self-sufficient as possible – and to avoid having to order too many coins from the CIT company – staff return the overflow cassette with coins to the SafeRecycling unit.

“It is nice that the Gunnebo SafeRecycling solution has a large capacity, otherwise we would have to re-order coins much more often,” states Peter.

In the past, cash payments were also made by the Hermitage. There was an employee who managed the cash and made sure that cash was available. Because Gunnebo SafeRecycling can issue the deposited coins and notes, the museum has been able to cancel this internal cash register and effectively create its own ATM.

According to Peter, Gunnebo was the obvious choice. In his role as Finance Manager, safety, reliability and efficiency are always a major focus – and Gunnebo was able to deliver on all three.

“We sat down together to find an efficient solution to fit within our own processes without compromising on security,” concludes Peter. “I had faith in Gunnebo as we collaborated at every stage, including post-installation support. I am still very happy with our choice!”