Taking a full wallet to a Geldmaat to deposit can end in disappointment. Vending machines where you can deposit bills are relatively often out of order. Figures that NOS collected with the regional broadcasters show that on average 1 in 12 is out of service in November.
This is annoying for, for example, retailers who want to deposit last weekend’s Sinterklaas turnover at a Geldmaat machine. “You go out with a lot of money from your store,” says Jacco Vonhof of MKB Nederland. “You want to pay it off quickly. If that is not possible, you drive around with money. If criminals know that you are out with that money, you run a risk.”
Most entrepreneurs use the seal bag machines for large amounts, where the number of malfunctions remains limited. To deposit loose notes, entrepreneurs have to rely on almost 1,500 deposit machines.
Geldmaat, which maintains the machines for the major banks, advises people to check in advance on their website whether the machine is working. The company promises that the biggest problems will be resolved during December. Cash is deposited and withdrawn more often around Christmas, often because people have received an end-of-year bonus.
Geldmaat points out that there are more ATMs where you can deposit than is required according to agreements. It has therefore been decided to keep vending machines off if they are rarely used or if there are enough alternatives available nearby.
“We have made agreements with Geldmaat and they are not being met,” says Jacco Vonhof of MKB Nederland. “We believe that things should be much better. There will be an obligation for entrepreneurs to accept cash. This must be resolved before that introduction.”
There are also many glitches when withdrawing money. Geldmaat is still busy solving these problems. Personnel are mainly deployed there.
In general, Geldmaat has succeeded in reducing the problems with the machines. In September, an average of 5.7 percent of the machines where you can withdraw money were out of order, in November this was an average of 4.7 percent. This is still higher than the agreed standard of 2.5 percent.
Of the machines where you can deposit, an average of almost 8 percent was malfunctioning in November. In September that was still 12 percent.