Counterfeit Detectors- Your Tool for Greater Cash Safety

Every business owner knows the sinking feeling of finding a fake note in their carefully earned revenue for the day. While the world is embracing digital payment options, cash is still king in many businesses. Today, LJ International looks at how you can boost your cash handling safety with a counterfeit detector, often integrated into your money counting machines.

Counterfeiting Woes

We tend to falsely imagine counterfeiting as an older scam, but it’s been on the rise again globally over the last few years. One of the most common methods of counterfeiting notes involves ‘redying’ low-denomination notes as higher denominations, so they can be brutally difficult to detect by the naked eye, too. Despite the many in-built safety features the reserve bank adds to our currencies to help with counterfeit detection, you don’t want to slow customers at your till points or rely solely on your rushed cashiers. Fortunately, a counterfeit detecting machine can help you speed up identification of dud notes, as well as improve your safety net.

Deciding Between Counterfeit Detectors

Of course, price will determine how many bells and whistles come with your new tool, but it’s not always necessary to spend a huge amount, especially for smaller businesses with lower cash flow volumes. Simply make sure you spend a lot of time with the spec sheet to find the best unit for your needs. 

Manual counterfeit detectors require you (or the teller) to scan every note by hand. This can be a great solution for low cash turnover, but can start to get unwieldy in other businesses. They also require staff to be well trained in spotting the signs the machine gives them.

Automatic counterfeit detection is built into many more sophisticated coin handling machines and note counters. It scans the coins or bills as it counts, bringing a convenient two-in-one solution to the table. 

Detecting Counterfeits by Machine

All legal tender has a variety of safety checks to help detect counterfeits. Many cheaper machines only flag on one or two of these, while more sophisticated units check over a wider spectrum. We would always suggest investing in a machine that checks at least two or three features for the most safety.

Of course, there’s also convenience and speed to consider. The larger your enterprise, or the larger the volume of cash you handle, the quicker and more fluid the process needs to be. Even seemingly small features- like the ability to insert notes in any direction rather than having to orientate them- can make the process vastly quicker and easier. 

While not relevant to every business, you may also need your unit to pick up multiple currencies, or easily move between till points, depending on your business setup.

If your business handles cash regularly, then investing in a counterfeit detector, or ensuring your money counter of choice is also fitted with counterfeit detection, is a business essential. These convenient and easy-to-use tools will help you run a safer business, and identify problematic notes before they become your fiscal responsibility. If you’re in the market for a counterfeit detecting solution, the helpful LJ International team is here to help you find the very best match for your business.