Big banks drop aging coin-change machines
Republic coiners "still a traffic driver"
Coin machines, pioneered locally by Vernon Hill's former Commerce Bank, have been vanishing from Commerce successor TD Bank, rival PNC Bank and other branches since Stu Bykofsky's 2010 Daily News expose was followed by this and this recent confirmation that machines like TD's Penny Arcade aren't always to-the-penny accurate.
But coin machines are still "a traffic driver for Republic Bank," where Hill, of Moorestown, is a leading investor, Republic said in an emailed statement. After expanding in South Jersey recently, the bank has 18 "stores," from Center City to Plymouth Meeting and Media, with 5 more scheduled for the Jersey side over the next year. Republic's machines are serviced by Arkeyo, a U.K. company with local offices in Doylestown. American Heritage Federal Credit Union has also kept the machines in its branches.
Big banks are unimpressed: "It is difficult to ensure a consistently great experience for our customers," and "the usage of our coin-counting machines has declined steadily," TD consumer-banking chief Michael Rhodes says here.
"Low customer use" also fed PNC's decision to scrap the machines, spokeswoman Marcey Zwiebel told me. "Last month, we made the decision to take all remaining coin counting machines out of service. Complementary coin wrappers are available" in branches. Tellers still wrap coins for PNC account-holders.
Republic owner Republic First Bancorp (FRBK)'s shares, long depressed, are up one-third since last Spring, amid a wave of local-bank mergers and acquisitions. The bank will likely decide soon whether to raise more money for further expansion, or seek a merger partner, analyst Jason O'Donnell of Bluestone Capital said here.
Republic isn't just counting pennies: The bank is among the major purveyors of Small Business Administration-backed loans in the region.
