Coin money is a cost-covering product at the Stadtsparkasse Magdeburg
Coin money still means very high expenses for many financial institutions: merchant queues at the bank, stressed employees at the counter, error-prone manual processes, and high costs in coin money processing - challenges that belong to the past at the Stadtsparkasse Magdeburg.
The Stadtsparkasse Magdeburg has brought coin money out of the red with an innovative digital model. Business customers of the Stadtsparkasse Magdeburg conveniently order their coin money via the company website. After a one-time and free registration, customers log into the portal and effortlessly enter their order. This also works from mobile devices such as smartphones. After payment by prepayment, the delivery status is communicated to customers via email. Customers pick up their coins at the branch of their choice or have them delivered directly to their business by DHL.
The customers are satisfied. Waiting at the counter is a thing of the past; they receive their paid and unopened package of coins quickly and effortlessly - saving time. The savings bank employees no longer have individual coin rolls at the counter, and customer discussions about fees are a thing of the past.
How does it work? Kirstin Kretschmer, Cash Manager of the Stadtsparkasse Magdeburg, explains the process: "The merchant orders the rolls with different denominations online via www.sparkasse-magdeburg.de/.... They transfer the purchase price to the recipient account stored in the online portal. Our value service provider, who is also digitally connected, packages the coin packages and delivers them to one of our five branches. The coin money order can also, of course, be delivered via DHL at the customer's expense. With an online coin money order on a bank working day until 10:00 AM and same-day payment receipt until 12:30 PM, the coin money order is ready for pickup within two bank working days. The handover of the coin money then takes place upon presentation of the order confirmation and a legitimation document (e.g., ID card). Collection by a representative is also possible with the order confirmation and a power of attorney from the coin buyer. This way, representatives of a merchant chain also receive their reserved package at the counter." About 80 percent of customers pick up their coin money package directly at the branch. Business customers from remote areas are more likely to use the DHL service.
This not only made coin money ordering significantly easier for the customers but also for the Stadtsparkasse Magdeburg, which thus automated the consistent collection of fees.
This solution became technologically possible through a clear process description at the Stadtsparkasse and cooperation with ALVARA Cash Management Group AG from Leipzig. Here, the team led by board member Bernd Hohlfeld developed an innovative platform, the ALVARA Coin Marketplace, which brings together coin money providers and searching merchants on an internet platform easily and 24 hours a day - even outside the savings bank's opening hours. Banks, service providers, and trading companies were shown a future-oriented perspective for cash handling and thus provided an alternative for efficient, cost-covering cash supply. With the ALVARA Coin Marketplace, which was adapted to the strategy of the Stadtsparkasse Magdeburg, the fees are one hundred percent covered. The savings bank determines the scope of services for its customers itself, thanks to the Coin Marketplace, and can price it accordingly. Employees at the counter are relieved by the introduction of standardized processes. Kirstin Kretschmer assesses: "The cooperation with the ALVARA team has taken us significantly further in the digitalization of coin handling. Initial customer feedback confirms that we are on the right track."
The digitalization of processes thus became a key for cost reduction and more customer service in coin handling. This benefits all actors from the end customer in the store, who still mainly pays in cash, to the savings bank. The Stadtsparkasse Magdeburg looked beyond its horizons and mastered the balancing act between customer satisfaction and cost reduction through the optimization and simplification of processes as well as the integration of an innovative digital solution.