Training Cashiers How To Discretely Check For Counterfeit Currency
Any business that accepts cash as a form of payment must remain vigilant to the possibility of receiving a counterfeit bill. Managers of employees who handle cash can reduce the potential for financial loss by training cashiers how to detect counterfeit currency.
Customers may sometimes wonder why their hard-earned cash is being examined. If performed in a relatively discrete manner, incoming cash can be checked for authenticity while ensuring that each customer feels fully appreciated. The job of a cashier can get hectic at times, so up-front training helps ensure that customer perceptions remain positive.
The primary focus of a new cashier is usually on processing payments efficiently and accurately. Remaining on the lookout for counterfeit bills adds yet another dimension to their job responsibilities. For a new cashier, the primary line of defense against counterfeit bills is likely to be a counterfeit-detection pen.
Counterfeit-detection marker pens
The ink in counterfeit-detection pens contains an iodine solution. The iodine reacts immediately to the starch content in paper produced from wood pulp. That chemical reaction causes the ink mark on the paper to suddenly darken. The iodine solution has no such reaction with the cotton fibers in real money, resulting in only a clear or amber-colored mark.
In only takes a moment to mark a bill with a counterfeit-detection pen. At busy times, quickly marking bills with a counterfeit-detection pen can help keep your customers served in a timely manner. With additional training, cashiers can learn to examine bills at slower times using security features in the currency itself.
Color-shifting ink
Bill denominations that are more susceptible to counterfeiting contain ink in a specific area that appears to change colors. The denomination number in the lower right corner of such bills is printed with color-shifting ink. The color shift is relatively easy to see when the bill is tilted. Your cashiers can learn to discretely tilt a bill with both hands to ensure that the color shift is observed.
The watermark
There are other techniques to examine currency, but they are less discrete. Bill denominations more likely to be counterfeited contain a watermark on the right side of the bill. The watermark is a smaller and fainter image of the main portrait in the center of the bill. The watermark is more easily seen if the bill is held up to a light source.
Some other security features in the various bill denominations may require a magnifying glass to be seen clearly. Adequate cashier training ensures that counterfeit bill detection fits seamlessly into each cash transaction. Contact a supplier of counterfeit-detection pens such as Counterfeit Buster for more information.