For many businesses, the typical banking hours just don't work for them, as they are open late into the evening. They are then stuck with the decision of what to do to ensure their nightly deposits are safe until they can make it into the bank.Keeping the money in their store location without a night drop safe onsite, puts the location at a danger for robberies or employee theft. Two options are either using an ATM to deposit their money or utilizing a night deposit drop. This article will point out the differences between the two options, so that you can make the best decision for your business.
ATM deposits are often a convenient way to deposit money into your business account, as ATM's are very prevalent, and in some cases, you can drive right up to them. By depositing money into an ATM, the funds deposited are often available right away and post to your account the same day, if deposited before the bank's same-day cutoff time. Banks are required by the FDIC to clearly post their same-day cut off times on their ATM's. However, if you deposit into an offsite ATM, the funds will not be posted to your account until the day of pickup, and not the day of the deposit. ATM deposits do have some drawbacks though. Coins are not allowed to be deposited into ATM's, and there may be a limit to the number of checks, or amount of bills deposited at one time. Your bank may also charge you a per transaction fee after a certain number of ATM transactions per month. There are also some security concerns when utilizing ATM machines, as it is not uncommon for criminals to target people at ATM machines, so it is very important to be aware of your surroundings at all times.
Most banks offer the option of using a night deposit drop box located either on the outside of the bank, or within a 24hour accessible vestibule. These boxes are usually only able to be opened outside of regular banking hours, with a key that the bank will give to you if you have a business account through them and request this service. There is generally a monthly fee associated with having this service. Making a deposit in a night deposit drop box is relatively quick, easy and very secure. You will have all your information on your deposit slip all filled out and sealed in your clearly filled out deposit bag prior to arriving at the location, and just simply unlock the box and drop your deposit in. As always though, it is important to exercise caution when using the night drop to make sure there is nobody lurking to try and rob you. Using the safety in numbers rule, it is always best to have two people take the money to the bank, and always good practice to have two people witness the drop. Some banks require a particular type of deposit bag is used, so you would need to check with your bank. These deposits end up in a safe once dropped, and the safe is opened by a bank employee the next day. Depending on your arrangement with the bank, you can either let them open the bags and deposit the money to your account right away, or you can request that they wait until you can be present at the bank and open the deposit bag together, to ensure there are no disputes or banking errors.
Whichever way you decide is best for your business to deposit your nightly cash drop, just be sure you have trusted employees making your deposits, and be sure to take safety precautions to protect both your employees and your money.