Banks chasing small change to boost market share
Nearly everyone has spare change piling up in a jar or piggy bank, or lurking beneath the couch cushions. Now two major banks are starting to fight over those pennies in an effort to get you to switch accounts.
Following the Toronto-Dominion Bank’s installation of automated coin-counting machines at 13 of its Ontario branches, Bank of Montreal is following suit, unveiling a plan to introduce dozens of the machines in new and renovated branches across Canada.
It’s not a new idea, of course. Lots of TD’s U.S. branches have “Penny Arcade” machines located inside bank branches.
The machines are the legacy of TD’s acquisition of Commerce Bancorp, which actually introduced them more than 10 years ago. The machines are quite popular and TD is hoping to replicate that success north of the border.
However, unlike the Canadian coin counters which resemble ATMs, those Arcade machines are geared toward children with sound effects and bright colours.
The Canadian machines don’t charge fees or take a percentage of the haul the way most generic coin counters in supermarkets and malls do, nor do they care if you're a customer (TD’s U.S. machines do, however, since they now ding non-customers). The catch is that you have to take your receipt to the teller in order to get paid.
At that point, bank staff will pitch you on opening an account, assuming you aren’t already a customer, or talk to you about making the bigger deposits needed to fund the lending operations that bring in higher-margin revenues.
If that friendly chat doesn’t appeal to you, local fundraising drives, especially school campaigns, are always looking for donors' spare change. And Tim Hortons depends heavily on those on point-of-sale coin collection boxes to fund its Children's Foundation. You can also use Coinstar machines to give to a number of charities.
What do you do with your loose change? Will you take it to the bank as these new machines roll out? Or do you haver other plans?
By Gordon Powers, MSN Money
Posted by: Craig | Mar 29, 2021 11:41:03 AM
i saw that at the BMO in Barrie and was quite impressed. i would switch banks if a local branch did that...
Posted by: Jeff | Mar 29, 2021 2:08:14 PM
They had a coin counting machine at a local credit union several years ago and, for a while, at a local Safeway Store. I liked them since it is much easier than counting and rolling change. I hope that TD brings them out in BC.
Posted by: Matt | Mar 29, 2021 2:21:41 PM
I just found a website called TorontoCoins.com who I emailed about the coins I had, he quickly came and purchased my silver coins and some of my older nickels and I pocketed a nice bankroll for stuff that was just sitting in my closet.
Sure beat listening to a bank teller whine about how I should open another high fee account at their branch.
MA
Posted by: Ben | Mar 29, 2021 3:21:33 PM
This has nothing to do with the banks getting you to open up an account with them!!! The reason they are doing this is to get all the coins that Canadians are hoarding. The Royal Canadian Mint has been shipping all coins to a warehouse in Montreal for the past several years where they are keeping all pre 2001 coins and are melting them to get the copper and nickel out of them since the price has skyrocketed. Don't be fooled into thinking that the banks are doing this for our sake. The Governement does not want us to know about this. They are the ones installing these machines to re-coup their coins. Keep your coins because pretty soon there will not be any pre 2001 coins in circulation, and your coins will be worth something!
Posted by: Dave | Mar 29, 2021 5:23:37 PM
I save my change and always pay with bills regardless of whether or not I have change in my pocket. Once a year I roll it up and usually have a trip saved up to the Carribien in the month of March. In fact I leave for Cuba tomorrow, courtesy of a year of saving my change, the banks are welcome to have it back. And after the winter we've been having in Edmonton, I'm glad to be going.
Posted by: Marvin Crawford | Mar 29, 2021 8:03:48 PM
We live in a border city (Windsor) and are dumb-founded that BMO banks DO NOT have U.S. ATM's like the CIBC does. Very poor management decision.
Posted by: RON | Apr 1, 2021 11:45:34 AM
I HAVE SAVED PENNIES FOR OVER 30 YEAR,I HAVE 6 TWO LITRE POP BOTTLE FULL.I ASKED AT THE LOCAL ROYAL BANK,HE TOLD ME TO TAKE THEM YO THE CASINO.THATS HOW THEY TREAT YOU IN NORTHERN MB.
Posted by: creditfree | Apr 1, 2021 7:34:06 PM
@Ben
Thanks for the insight. To take it one step further, I wonder if the agenda involving the already minted Amero has a role in the introduction of these machines. The politicians embezzling and extorting money from the people of Canada wouldn't dare do the right thing and inform people of such things. What's in it for them?
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