Why does the ATM not run out of cash even if the bank is closed? Know the ‘secret system’ that never lets you return empty handed

New Delhi. Be it Diwali, Holi or a long weekend – you never face any problem in withdrawing money from ATM even during bank holidays. Have you ever wondered how cash remains in the ATM even when the bank is closed? A very advanced and very few people know secret system works behind this.

Banks themselves do not fill cash in ATMs, these companies do this work.

You will be surprised to know that most of the banks in the country no longer fill cash in ATMs themselves. For this, they hand over this responsibility to cash management companies i.e. CMC. In India, companies like CMS Info Systems, Brink’s, Hitachi Payment Services and SIS Prosegur manage this network. These companies work 365 days a year and 24 hours a day and they do not care about bank holidays or Sundays. These agencies take cash directly from the currency chest of banks i.e. the big vault where RBI money is deposited and deliver it to every ATM through secured vans.

Real-time monitoring – ATM itself tells you when cash is running low

Every ATM is directly connected to the bank’s central server and the control room of the cash agency. As soon as the balance of a machine goes below the prescribed limit, the agency immediately receives a ‘low cash’ alert. Before festivals and long holidays, these companies use data analytics to find out how much cash will be required in which area. After this, those ATMs are filled to their full capacity even before the holidays start.

Magic of Cassette Swap – Empty ATM gets transformed in minutes

The method of filling cash in ATM is also quite interesting. There are 3 to 4 iron boxes inside every machine which are called cassettes. In these, notes of 100, 200 and 500 rupees are kept separately. The agency staff remove the empty cassettes and replace them with new pre-filled cassettes. The entire process is monitored by armed guards and every step is monitored through digital tracking and e-surveillance.

Cash Recycler Machine – Your deposited money becomes someone else’s withdrawn note.

Nowadays many ATMs are ‘cash recycler’ machines which check and filter the notes deposited by customers and prepare them for giving to other customers. Due to this, availability of cash remains intact even when the bank is closed and the risk of the machine becoming empty is further reduced.