How Do Money Counters Work?

Quick, accurate, and pain-free. It’s what everyone loves about their cash counter. Simply slip a bundle of cash into the hopper, press the button, and there you go… neatly counted and sorted notes in the blink of an eye! For the curious among you, however, you may be wondering how these machines actually do it. Can you rely on the amounts tallied up so fast? Is it too easy to be a good thing? Whether you’re concerned about using a money counting machine in your business, or simply curious as to how they work, today LJ International will be taking you on a quick and simple tour of cash machines and their inner workings.

So How Do Cash Counters Work?

At its simplest, the tech works by pulling a stack of bills into the machine via the hopper or slide tray. Then it will flick through each bill individually, checking for inconsistencies and certain counterfeit triggers. It can do this so fast because there’s an optical beam (fancy talk for a light) that gets interrupted as each bill passes through, allowing the digital scale to accurately assess and count the bill- even at lightning speed! Because everything operates on precision measurements, there’s no concern about miscounts, and any potentially problematic notes are detected immediately. If there’s counterfeit detection built in, these same checks are run as the notes are sorted.

So How Do Coin Counters Work?

If most note counters rely on the fast movement of the notes through the machine, and an optical beam to assess them, how then do coin counters work? Remember that each coin in South Africa (and, indeed, worldwide) has a specific shape and size. Coin sorting machines typically operate by dropping the collection of coins through a series of holes, sized precisely to the dimensions of each legal coin.

More advanced coin counters will count the value of the coins, as well as sort them.This can be done again through meticulous measurement of dimensions and weight, often using optical beams for extra speed once again.

How Does Mixed Value Note Sorting Work?

The most advanced money counters don’t require you to sort through the bills before you run the count. Typically these use colour image sensors to better sort the notes- remember, cash notes are also differently sized, and have other detection features built-in by the reserve bank. A combination of UV, magnetic, and infrared assessment at the same time helps detect frauds and fakes. 

Fascinating, right? While you don’t have to understand the inner workings of your currency counters to get immense value from them, understanding how they get the job done can be very useful when it comes to better using and maintaining your machine. Remember, fi you have any questions about note and coin counters, the helpful LJ International team are always happy to assist!