The sidebox key likely doesn’t open the actual cash box. It most likely just opens the ATM’s front compartment (what’s behind the screen) so a technician can diagnose what’s happening inside or to (most likely) un-jam the belt.
To get into the cash box you need a separate key after opening it. That’s right, the cash inserter deposits the cash directly into a safe.
– as someone who has had to work on cashless theme park ATMs
“Cashless” as in “the park and vendors don’t accept cash”. Meaning if someone wants to use cash, they need to use an ATM to deposit their funds onto a card. Pretty common these days in arcades too. You deposit funds onto a play card.
The point is that instead of maintaining cash for dozens/hundreds of machines, the company is able to consolidate all of their cash into two or three machines. So now the maintenance costs are drastically lowered, as you’re not constantly emptying and repairing dozens of cash handling mechanisms. In comparison, a card reader is extremely simple and will work nearly indefinitely.
The sidebox key likely doesn’t open the actual cash box. It most likely just opens the ATM’s front compartment (what’s behind the screen) so a technician can diagnose what’s happening inside or to (most likely) un-jam the belt.
To get into the cash box you need a separate key after opening it. That’s right, the cash inserter deposits the cash directly into a safe.
– as someone who has had to work on cashless theme park ATMs
Wait, how does a cashless ATM work?
“Cashless” as in “the park and vendors don’t accept cash”. Meaning if someone wants to use cash, they need to use an ATM to deposit their funds onto a card. Pretty common these days in arcades too. You deposit funds onto a play card.
The point is that instead of maintaining cash for dozens/hundreds of machines, the company is able to consolidate all of their cash into two or three machines. So now the maintenance costs are drastically lowered, as you’re not constantly emptying and repairing dozens of cash handling mechanisms. In comparison, a card reader is extremely simple and will work nearly indefinitely.
cash ATMs, just for a cashless theme park
Cashless park ATMs? 🤔