Interview with Lothar Wolf

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Quick questions to Lothar Wolf, Solution Manager, Cash Cycle Management Solutions, Wincor Nixdorf.
 
KIOSK EUROPE: Is cash management more of a priority for banks or retailers?
 
LOTHAR WOLF: Cash incurs much larger costs in retail: 62% of the total cost of cash is allocated to retailers and only 32% to banks. At the moment, not even 10% of retailers are using cash recycling systems.
 
There is, however, also huge potential for cash recycling in a banking context. Banks started off with automation back in the 1980s, and the handling of cash is another process which could be very efficiently and effectively automated. If you think that in the UK alone there are 66,000 ATMs, then it is clear that streamlining the cash handling processes at ATMs would have a big impact for banks. Wincor Nixdorf has both banking and retail customers: we want to help both and we are very well-positioned to do this.
 
KE: Where are the cash costs for a retailer?
 
LW: Half of these costs are incurred at the front end POS and half at the back end office. With cash management – considering the whole cash cycle – costs can be saved by more than 20%, which means that a return on investment can be achieved very quickly.
 
KE: Where do you see the overlap between retailers and banks?
 
LW: Recent years have seen bank branches becoming more and more like retailers, and retailers are also incorporating more financial services in-store. A lot of retailers have ATMs in-store – we hope that in the future cash can be taken straight from the checkout to replenish these ATMs without having to go via CIT companies or a central bank.
 
KE: Is Wincor Nixdorf’s vision of the bringing together of cash processes between retailers and banks unique?
 
LW: Yes, it is a unique strategy. We want to bring the different cash points in the cycle in connection with each other and bring the retail cycle and the bank cycle together. It’s a more holistic view of the cash cycle and one that our customers are very excited about.
 
KE: Does your strategy evolve around standard components that can be used across vertical markets?
 
LW: This is crucial to being able to interchange cassettes between banks and retailers without involving a cash centre or central bank. Also important is the availability of a managed service to collect the cash point data and manage the processes.
 
KE: What next for Wincor Nixdorf, then, in terms of cash management?
 
LW: The technology, platform and services are all ready and the modules are already integrated. Now we have to identify individual business cases for the implementation of cash cycle management solutions.