By Mark Kawalya
G4S has rolled out a new business-to-bank cash transfer system using smart safes. The Deposita® Protector 10 000d-s4 is an ordinary-looking, sturdy black box measuring 1 meter in height and half a meter in width that verifies, secures, and instantly credits cash into a designated business bank account. The introduction of the smart safe will revolutionize the manner in which cash circulates in Ugandan businesses, where physical cash usage remains relatively high.
G4S has entered partnerships with eight banks to introduce this technology to their commercial clients, which makes it necessary for the smart safes to be installed at their business premises.
Benefits to businesses.
Businesses often have cash flow needs that make it necessary for them to access money quickly. Deposita makes it possible for cash to be credited to their bank accounts and remain available on their physical premises for future use, such as clearing new stock or paying for other business-related expenses.
Additionally, many businesses use overdrafts in their operations, and high interest rates (17% currently) can make fees escalate quickly. Quick access to cash will enable businesses to save some of these fees.
The smart safe reduces the expenses and the effort involved in preparing cash for banking by cutting out processes like tallying up generated cash and organizing for banking.
G4S insures cash once it is deposited in the smart safe as a guarantee to clients, reducing the number of cash collections that businesses have to pay for.
The Deposita smart safe can also be used as both an internal and external fraud deterrent system. Businesses can have their clients pay for products or services directly into the safe, which validates the bank notes using infrared and UV sensors, detecting counterfeit and damaged notes. This reduces the opportunity for cashiers to engage in theft because they do not have to tally daily cash inflows.
The integration process.
Before installation, an integration test is done with each bank to ensure that Deposita can be fully synced with the bank’s operating system. The safes are tamper-proof, fitted with security features, and can be programmed to handle different currencies. So far, more than 20 safes have been set up in different parts of the country, including Kampala, Jinja, and Lira.
Allen Ssebugwawo, the Managing Director of G4S in Uganda, says: “In addition, using Deposita instills financial discipline because funds for a particular business line are banked in the specific bank account for it. This reduces the risk of funds being diverted to other businesses, which could impact the original distribution business.”
