The innovative end-to-end cash automation product is being delivered through a strategic relationship with G4S, one of the world's leading international security solutions organizations. CASH360 aims to revolutionize the way retail stores and other cash-intensive businesses operate by helping them to reduce costs, lower risk, and improve efficiency by freeing up staff from back office duties.

CASH360 encompasses the entire spectrum of services for cash automation needs, including hardware, software, armored carrier, cash ordering, reporting, and facilitation of same-day provisional credit to a Bank of America account. Additionally, the solution replaces trapped cash at retailers' stores with Bank of America cash. CASH360 leverages the automated cash management and recycling systems made by Revolution Retail Systems, a technology and hardware provider to the global retail cash management industry.

"CASH360 is a holistic technology solution that changes the whole dynamic of trapped cash in stores," said Rodney Gardner, head of Global Receivables in Global Transaction Services. "It can help retailers automate manual processes, achieve faster access to funds, improve their information management and make significant long-term cost savings while eliminating the need to have funds idly sitting in retail locations." Gardner added that the potential financial benefit to a company's working capital can be substantial.

Currently, in-store management of cash, coins and checks can present major challenges for retailers. In many stores, staff manually count, recount, process and secure cash. Retailers also have to manage armored carrier relationships or arrange for physical transportation of daily receipts to a local bank branch. All of these tasks can be expensive, time-consuming and possibly susceptible to error and loss. Furthermore, when cash idly sits in registers or in cash rooms, it is unavailable for other uses, which could include such purposes as investment, expansion or debt repayment, thereby negatively impacting a retailer's working capital position.

"We are in discussions with many of America's leading retailers about the benefits of an improved and enhanced approach to the management of cash, coins and checks," said Gardner. "These conversations are taking on heightened urgency given the expectation that in the coming years, the value of cash payments in the U.S. are expected to rise further."

With CASH360, the manual counting of bills and coins is eliminated through the use of a smart recycler, enabling staff to focus on sales and customer service. All transactions are receipted and recorded to provide a full audit trail by cashier or register, improving reporting and cash visibility while potentially reducing losses. The recycler communicates the cash total to the bank every day, facilitating same day provisional credits to be made to the clients' accounts at Bank of America. Responsibility for managing armored carrier relationships, forecasting and placing change orders is also removed from the retailer and monthly account reconcilement is simplified. The CASH360 solution is available for one monthly fee and with no capital expenditure required.

"Bank of America Merrill Lynch is committed to creating financial solutions that directly support our clients' objectives," said Paul Simpson, head of Global Transaction Services. "With CASH360, we are proud to offer a solution that can help big box retailers and department stores across the country maximize their working capital while also freeing up their staff to spend more time with customers and generate sales."