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Pay people to exchange bills for coins

Coins are costly: Pay people for taking them away
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Banks, supermarkets, etc. often have coin counters which let people dump in a bunch of unsorted loose change in return for dollar bills (or cash vouchers). There is usually a fee to do this, say 6¢ or 8¢ per dollar.

In order to get rid of the heavy, unwieldy currency thus collected, I propose that these machines also offer the reverse option: to spew out mixed, unsorted coins in return for the same amount in paper money, and in fact, pay whomever is willing to do this a bonus (2¢ or 3¢ on the dollar) for doing so.

After all, when coins are taken home to people's houses in buckets and plastic containers, they are reducing the processor's/bank's costs associated with physically transporting and processing the heavy coins.

Usage of the reverse coin machine would require a minimum transaction of $100, for efficiency purposes and to make the payment bonus worthwhile. Users can supply their own jars/containers, or standard ones can be purchased at the bank/supermarket for a small charge. The machine dispenses whatever types of coins it has a surplus of, with distributions skewed towards pennies and nickels. This prevents people from turning around and buying things and paying with the change they just got. Well, not *prevents*, but makes it unwieldy.

phundug, May 25 2013

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       After reading the idea and finding no thank you I felt used and under appreciated.
rcarty, May 25 2013
  

       They have these machines in amusment arcades,without the fee and said 'whomever'   

       However,you'll rarely have the opportune to take the coins home as they never leave the arcade.
skinflaps, May 25 2013
  

       //After all, when coins are taken home to people's houses in buckets and plastic containers, they are reducing the processor's/bank's costs associated with physically transporting and processing the heavy coins.//   

       Actually, notes come in and coins go out. When you're taking money from the general public, they tend to pay with notes and receive coins in change. Coin handling fees are associated with collecting the supply of coins from the bank so you can make change from the notes.   

       So the coin counting machines in their present form tend to reduce costs by providing a supply of coins on the premises, and paying people to take coins away will actually leave you worse off as you'll have to pay the bank to give you more coins to replace them.
Wrongfellow, May 25 2013
  

       What [wrong] said. Shops start the day with a drawer full of coins and a few bills, and end the day with the reverse. So they are already doing what you propose without having to pay people for it as part of their normal operations.
MechE, May 25 2013
  

       I think that if these are the Coinstar machines, the owners of the premises do not get the coins in the machines nor the premium paid, but rather receive rent from the owners of these machines.
bungston, May 25 2013
  

       Sorry [rcarty], I thought it was too wordy as it was. Thank you.
phundug, May 25 2013
  


 

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