Businesses need to limit the risk of handling cash at premises

Kabir Dhupelia from FNB Cash Solutions.

In general, businesses are increasingly exposed to risks associated with handling cash, leading to the need for comprehensive insurance cover which consumes a sizeable amount of business profits.

According to Kabir Dhupelia from FNB Cash Solutions, businesses should make use of new and advanced solutions to protect themselves when handling cash.

“Even though there has been a universal drive to encourage the use alternatives payment methods, the reality is that cash is still a predominant form of payment. The prevalent use of cash places greater responsibility on businesses to safeguard the money against common risks such as business robberies.

“Cash related risks remain a challenge for businesses whether big or small, hence we are advising our clients to adopt advanced cash management solutions,” he says.

Dhupelia advises businesses to adopt some of the following measures to reduce the risk of handling cash at their premises:

Use bank guaranteed cash management solutions

• Instead of storing cash at your premises, arrange for your cash to be frequently collected from your premises and delivered to your bank’s cash centres, where it will be counted and credited to your account immediately.

Use SmartBOXTM solution

• If you require a more advanced approach to your cash management offering and immediate deposits into account, you could go for a SmartBOXTM - which is a highly secure, cash accepting device. If a business uses a SmartBOXTM their cash is guaranteed by the bank even in the event of theft. Furthermore, your cash will be accessible via your bank account as soon as cash in transit collection occurs, so you do not even have to wait for the cash in transit vehicle to arrive at your bank’s cash centre before you have access to your money.

Make use of Automated Depositor Terminals (ADT)

• Should you feel the need to physically deposit money into your account and receive immediate value, you could deposit your cash into one of the advanced ATMs which are available across many branches. You save time because you are no longer confined to the ordinary business hours of a branch, and you save money because cash deposit fees are cheaper in the advanced ATMs than when depositing inside a branch.

“By using some of these channels, you can mitigate risk, can save money, and improve efficiency. Cash related crime is a global problem and South Africa is not immune, however, the responsibility remains with businesses to minimise the cash-related risks by adopting safer cash management solution,” concludes Dhupelia.