THE COST OF COIN
Since we were kids we’ve known that pennies are good luck…“Find a penny pick it up and all day long you’ll have good luck”. But today, they’re not worth much more than luck.
The problem
Taking in coin costs a lot of money! Coin is heavy, dirty and has to be stored. Every penny has to be accounted for daily and in order to cash in the coin, we have to pay a courier service a hefty fee to transport it for us. Not to mention the exorbitant cost of the coin machines and their service contracts. (We purchased two new machines back around 2007 and the coin counting fees we charged our members and non-members to help cover the costs of the machines was nowhere near what we needed.)
As of a few weeks ago, even after several attempts to fix it, our last working coin machine officially broke down for good.
The solution
As a cooperative, we wanted to get rid of the cost of coin to ensure we’re using our member’s money in a way that best benefits ALL members. Our solution, stop taking in coin. WHAT!? But you’re a Credit Union! Stick with us…we have a few options for you to get rid of your coin.
How you can get rid of your coins:
Example 1: I’ve got a ton of change I’d like to cash in but I don’t want to pay a fee, how can I do that?
Answer: We know a company that handles coin really well, it’s Coinstar, and they’re everywhere, including in most of the major grocery stores in our area- Walmart, Meijer & Kroger to name a few. But wait, don’t they charge you a fee? We looked into it…you can turn your coin into e-giftcards FOR FREE! There are over 20 merchants to choose from like amazon, starbucks, home depot, southwest airlines and more!! There are also several charities you can donate your change to through Coinstar for free.
Example 2: I want to cash my coins and get cash. I don’t care if there’s a fee, how do I do that?
Answer: You can get cash for your coin at one of our Shared Branching Locations for a 10% fee (which is less than Coinstar’s fee for getting cash). Visit Fort Financial on Spring Street and they’ll count your coin and cash it in for you, just remember to take your ID and account number with you.
Example 3: You have a check for $100.34 that you would like to cash, now what?
Answer: Do you really want the 34 cents in your purse, wallet, car console, junk drawer, or couch cushions? You can avoid collecting change that you’ll have to cash in later if we deposit it into your account for you instead.
And just like that, no more coin. We’ve eliminated the cost of taking in coin for our whole membership. Another way to avoid getting coin is to use a debit or credit card instead of cash, and we’d be happy to help you get one of those as well. There’s a solution to every problem, even if your problem is having too many lucky pennies.