Considerations For Buying a Smart Safe For Your Business

Technology in the retail industry is continuously changing, especially when you think about the technology powering smart safes. So what are the considerations for buying a smart safe?

The fact is that the methods used to manage retail businesses are evolving daily, including smart safe technology, which is one of the biggest game-changers for any business that accepts cash today. A smart safe is exactly what it sounds like — a "smart" method for handling cash.

Smart safes store cash and help your employees manage that cash in the most efficient and safest ways possible. They often are equipped with bill validators and can dispense change for your customers. This solves three of the most significant issues faced by cash accepting businesses; theft, poor cash handling practices, and acceptance of counterfeit bills.

There are many factors to consider when purchasing a smart safe, but here are the most important.

Functionality. A smart safe keeps your cash safe and locked down, making theft much more difficult. They can also help your employees work more efficiently. Instead of focusing on counting cash, they can focus on providing excellent customer service. You’ll want a smart safe with a bill validator that will help to prevent the acceptance of counterfeit bills. Counterfeiting is always becoming more and more complex, but bill validators are an excellent way to combat it.

Service Support. Most businesses can't afford their cash management infrastructure to be down for a period of time, waiting for a service technician to arrive to fix an issue. The most common service requests for smart safes pertain to note jams in the bill validator, which are often caused by worn or dirty notes. A smart safe built with serviceability in mind should be designed in such a way that the note validator can be easily removed to clear a note jam, by an authorized store employee, without providing access to the safe funds. (QSR Magazine).

Connectivity. Cellular connectivity can be more reliable, easier, and safer than other internet connection options. Choosing a fully-managed service provider like OptConnect will provide the greatest level of security and reliability. With a connected smart safe, you are able to receive real-time fraud detection and alerts, real-time reporting and reconciliation, and an automatic paper trail of all cash going in and out of the smart safe.

Many variables go into making the decision about whether or not to incorporate a smart safe into your retail operations. The options and features of smart safes vary greatly from large, robust safes to small, simple solutions, but the benefits are many and very enticing. When your organization makes the decision to move forward with a smart safe, OptConnect will be there to make sure it stays connected reliabily to the internet so you can benefit from all of its features while also providing the security you demand for you and your customers.

To learn more about OptConnect’s connectivity solutions for smart safes, click here.