Real-time cash pre-crediting: what it is and how it works

Pre-crediting lets you have the cash you take in on your account the moment the machine accepts it, before the physical pickup. Here's how it works.

The problem: immobilised liquidity

In any business taking cash at self-service machines, days pass between the moment of collection and the money being available in the account. The cash sits in the machines waiting for the cash-in-transit pickup and the subsequent deposit: it is real liquidity, but frozen — you can't use it to pay suppliers, restock or invest.

What cash pre-crediting is

Pre-crediting is a mechanism by which the bank credits the amount taken in real time, as soon as the banknotes are accepted by the machine, without waiting for the physical pickup and branch counting. In practice, the physical cash and its accounting availability are separated: the liquidity arrives immediately, while the pickup logistics follow at their own pace.

How it works, step by step

• The customer inserts the banknotes into the machine's acceptor, as usual.
• A module installed upstream of the acceptor detects in real time every banknote accepted and its amount.
• The information is sent to the bank over a secure, encrypted connection.
• The bank pre-credits the amount to the merchant's account; the physical cash stays in the safe until the scheduled pickup.

The cash is still validated by the acceptor (which rejects counterfeits) and kept secure: pre-crediting adds immediate availability without giving up the checks.

The benefits

• Immediate liquidity: takings become available at once, improving cash flow.
• Less risk and fewer pickups: you can space out collections without hurting the till.
• Automatic accounting: every deposit is tracked and reconcilable in real time.

Who it makes sense for

Pre-crediting is especially useful where cash is still significant and spread across multiple points: fuel dispensers, car parks, self-service kiosks, vending. With a retrofit approach like Optacash's, it is added to existing equipment without replacing acceptors or safes.