Bill validators are a sensory drudge. They don’t have flashing lights or animated graphics, the majority of their bulk is seldom seen, and the only sounds they make are dull whirs and clicks. They are squat gray and black boxes, locked away inside much more interesting machines, exciting only for the massive amounts of cash they, in theory, hide behind their drab exteriors. But a lot rides on what else hides behind those drab exteriors.
Image a man standing in front of a vending machine, desperate for a salty mid-afternoon pick-me-up. He pushes his last dollar bill into the slot and holds his breath. Will the machine notice the folded corners and fuzzy edges left from a trip through the washing machine? Will it matter? Will he get his candy bar without a hassle, or will he be forced to go bumming for change? Do you care either way?
Now imagine that man sitting at a slot machine in your casino — in the last seat available around the Wheel of Fortune® bank, which he’d been waiting for all night. He pushes in his last $20 and holds his breath. Will the machine notice the sticky soda stain and deep creases through Jackson’s face? Will it matter? Will he get to play his favorite game without a hassle, or will he cut his losses and head home?
Now do you care?
Bill validators may not be the most glamorous pieces of equipment on your casino floor — paling in comparison to the bells and whistles of the slot machines that house them — but they play an integral role. You can’t, after all, make money without the ability to accept and validate money.
It used to be simple — players traded bills for coins or tokens at the cage, and then dropped them in a slot. A cashier might raise her eyebrows at a far-from-crisp bill, but would never push it back out through the window. Then technology (and a general disgust for the procedures required to handle literally tons of coins each day) drove changes and a move toward coin-free operations. Bill validators started popping up in the late ‘80s, and were common by the mid-‘90s. But the bill validator of the ‘90s is not today’s validator. TITO, an international gaming boom, ever-improving counterfeit techniques and increased guest expectations have all driven bill validators to be faster, smarter and more reliable than ever before.
Among the handful of companies that offer bill validators, four stand out as leaders in the industry: CashCode, JCM American, MEI and Money Controls. Each has made strides in bill acceptance rates, counterfeit detection, tamper proofing, speed and flexibility to create some of the smartest little boxes in the slot bank.
Bill Acceptance
We all know how frustrating it is to have a perfectly valid, albeit not perfectly conditioned, bill get sucked into a machine only to have it spit back out seconds later. On the casino floor, rejected bills can mean big losses for your bottom line. Luckily, the acceptance-rate norm for today’s bill validators is in the high 90s — most will spit out less than four bills for every 100 that get pushed in. This is thanks to belts that automatically center bills no matter what angle they are put in, sensors that recognize a bill no matter what direction it’s facing and second- (and third-) chance functions that automatically rescan a bill if it doesn’t give a good enough read the first time. CashCode takes pride in the fact that its validators accept 98 percent of bills on the very first try. High acceptance rates are also a top priority at Money Controls. “[We are] striving to achieve ever-higher acceptance rates, without risking fraud, and delivering a product with low cost of ownership to the end users. With Ardac Elite, we have an ability to truly understand the nature of why a note is rejected. It could be folded, torn, a fraud, ink stained, et cetera. The amount of information we are now able to gather and share with the casinos is truly amazing,” Ron Rollins, VP of global gaming at Money Controls, said.
The condition of a bill or how it is inserted aren’t the only concerns — the bill itself is also an issue. To compete in today’s global economy, bill validators must be able to recognize, analyze and accept currency from around the world. This requires a great deal of memory and legwork — CashCode, for example, works directly with major central banks worldwide to ensure its machines will accept not only current currency, but also bills that are yet to be released.
Counterfeit Detection and Tamper Proofing
We’ve all shuddered at horror stories from the soft count — a cashbox dropped to reveal, for example, a fat stack of partial bills taped to blank paper. Today’s bill validators make sure stories like this remain in their rightful place of casino legend. If your casino has the latest technology, a fake bill won’t make it through your bill validator unless it can fool magnetic and optical sensors that are constantly becoming more sensitive and numerous; a single validator today will likely house infrared, red and green LEDs, phototransistors, UV, reflective and transparency sensors — at least. Money Controls’ validators, for example, analyze a whopping 200,000 data points across the entire bill. “This enables us to produce far more accurate note tables, resulting in the highest acceptance of street-grade bills and rejection of frauds,” Rollins said.
Tom Nieman, VP of operations at JCM American, summed it up best when he said: “The whole point of bill validation is to stay ahead of counterfeiters, and we work very closely with the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to do just that. However, because of the sensitivity of the discussions, we cannot elaborate too much. Suffice it to say, we are constantly searching for ways to improve validation technology, and we provide upgrades to our clients as necessary.”
As far as the ol’ dollar-bill-on-a-fishing-line trick goes, the industry is also making strides to stay ahead of tampering scams. To outsmart the “stringers,” JCM’s Universal Bill Acceptor™ (UBA), for example, has interlocking teeth to prevent people from pulling their bills back out.
Speed
Slot games are fast — one-touch betting, video reels and the amputation of the one-armed bandit have all made sure of it. To be truly convenient and unobtrusive to the player and his play, bill validation must keep up with the pace of the game. In the amount of time it takes to say “twenty-dollar bill” three times fast, today’s bill validators can scan, authenticate, transport and store that $20 bill. Switching to all-optical scanning helped speed up the process for MEI, as did shortening the distance a bill had to travel. “One thing we changed is where the note was stored,” Phil Wesel, global marketing manager at MEI, said. “It sounds simple, but by storing the banknote at the front of the cashbox instead of the back, we reduced jam rates and increased speed of acceptance. To date, no other manufacturers have done this.”
Sometimes speed comes from outside the box. “Higher processing power, more data acquisition and analysis and ‘universal’ note entrances allow an easier customer interface to the game,” Rollins said.
Flexibility
A big problem with incorporating newer technologies into your casino floor is often older technologies. Designers take this into account, and today’s newest bill validators can be retrofitted both into earlier-model slot machines and spaces left by earlier-model validators. JCM’s UBA, for example, is backward compatible both in size, bezel configurations and communication connections with the company’s older World Bill Acceptors®.
Another big problem with incorporating newer technologies into your casino floor is that as soon as installation is complete, something newer, faster and more efficient has already hit the market — or at least it seems like it. USB ports, SmartStick memory and other high-tech communication interfaces have made it easier to update software for security and currency design changes, but companies still constantly have to compete with innovation and an expanding market. “CashCode will be releasing its new model FrontLoad Standard later this year, which was designed and developed specifically for the international gaming market requirements,” Joe Wilcox, director of business development for North American gaming at CashCode, said.
Despite its most recent validator being less than two years old, Money Controls is already looking to replace it with a new model. “Money Controls has always had a reputation for having innovation and product development as our highest priorities. Ardac Elite is only in the second year of its lifecycle and, although we are already working on its successor, it will be at least two to three years before it hits the market,” Rollins said.
That’s the Ticket
Advances in technology have also forced the bill validator industry to expand its repertoire and include ticket-in capabilities. On top of the myriad other sensors, today’s validators include barcode scanners and the ability to weasel out counterfeit tickets.
Though TITO is relatively new to casino floors, the industry is already looking ahead at other payment options. “Today’s banknote validators can take tickets, but tomorrow’s devices may perform other tasks as well, such as providing additional payment options, and tracking the cash and tickets placed in the machine,” Wesel said.
Smart Money
Obviously, today’s bill validators are smart little boxes, able to process all this information from so many different bills, and they’re now able to interpret that information and pass it along to you. CashCode’s validator, for example, can be equipped with a Dallas Semiconductor iButton®, which instantly provides verification of every transaction, including total intake, denomination breakdown and any changes in the validation rate.
The technology is quickly advancing. “I think you will shortly see products that are capable of tracing the cash and tickets submitted from the patron to the casino’s backroom. This will provide improved accountancy for casino operators and let them better control the flow of cash from the slot floor to the bank,” Wesel said.
“[At JCM] we are continually developing our sales and support tools in such a way as to provide our customers with simple, yet effective, means of providing software updates and greater floor analysis,” Neiman said. “Another exciting field of development is imaging, as we believe there is additional value to be gained through information capture.”
What Next?
What else is next for bill validators? Aside from a trip outside the slot machine (see sidebar), it will be up to you to decide. “We listen to our customers, and they give us fantastic feedback and suggestions of situations they have on the casino floor, and we then develop solutions to help make their lives easier,” Nieman said. “That’s how this company has been since the beginning, when IGT suggested we take the bill validator from outside the slot machine and embed it inside the slot machine.”
MEI is on that same page. “MEI is consumed by the concept of providing great value to our customers. … When we innovate, we do it with a view toward what provides a faster, safer, more pleasurable experience for the game patron and what provides a more profitable endeavor,” Wesel said.
Wilcox agrees: “[We] listen to the voice of the customer and determine what the hot buttons are, such as universal design, fast transaction speed, superior validation technology, recognition of fraud, standard footprint and compatibility for retrofit design, comprehensive communication protocol or offering a wide variety of statistical data.”
Which of these attributes is most important on your floor? That’s a valid question, and it’s up to you to decide which of these “bells and whistles” are the best bets for slot machines at your casino.
Cashless Casinos?
With the move toward coinless operations nearly complete industry wide, a move toward cashless operations could be on the horizon — advancements in TITO, player account tracking, RDIF and smartcard technology point in that direction. The big question: Will casinos someday no longer need bill validators?
“There is always a concern that products will reach their end-of-life cycle. With the progression of technology with smartcard and RFID peripherals, bill validators will be at risk. However, the implementation cycle … will span a number of years. ... CashCode recognizes the technology trends and is addressing that suite with its product development efforts.”
“We believe cash will always be a factor. We are actively developing smartcard technologies to complement cash transactions, because we view smartcards as an additional convenience that complements cash-based transactions.”
“I would not begin to worry about the complete decline of cash just yet, but I do think every peripheral manufacturer needs to keep track of all the choices and offer those that provide the most coverage for the least cost. … Smartcard technology, when it comes, will be an excellent companion to cash acceptance at the slot machine.”
“Smartcard technology might make further inroads in casinos, but despite all the hype about a cashless society, people like and trust cash. Besides, there remains the significant impulse spending ability that you get from cash. Bill validators will be around for many years yet.”
Beyond Slots
Though they remain mostly hidden from view, bill validators are beginning to take a more prominent roll on the casino floor, and can now be found in the pit for the first time. JCM’s Trident Table Safe System brings table game operators the same baseline accuracy and real-time reporting that was previously available only to the slot side. The Trident has an automated self-feeding bulk-note depository, and can accept multiple denominations and multiple-note stacks at one time. Trident systems are equipped with advanced sensing capabilities to detect counterfeit bills and incorporate ICB® technology in their 2,000-note capacity cash boxes. The intelligent cash box will remember which table it is from and record each one of those 2,000 notes stacked inside. This large capacity also means the box can store and report separately on all three shifts, so the table is dropped only once a day, reducing labor costs and interruption to the game.
CashCode — FrontLoad
Acceptance Rate : 98% on first insertion
Bill Insertion: 4-way
Widths Accepted: 67, 71 or 62-82 mm
Escrow 1 bill
Complete Cycle Time: 3.5 sec. or 4.5 sec.
Cash Box Capacity: 600 or 1,000 bills
Program Memory: Smart-Stick or downloadable
Communications Interfaces: Bi-directional (RS232), serial, pulse, opto-isolated
Protocols CCNET, CashCode serial, most industry standards
Power Requirements: 12V DC: 2.0A or 24V DC: 1.0A
CashCode takes advantage of several patented innovations in its FrontLoad bill validator, including multi-color optic sensors inside Sense-a-Click™ paks that recognize a diverse range of currencies; self-centering transport guides; and non-contact inductive and dielectric sensors to maximize counterfeit detection, resulting in the highest security in the industry. Improvements are on the way: a next-generation CashCode bill validator is currently in customer testing and will be available soon. It will offer more flexible accepted width ranges and knock the cycle time down to 2.5 seconds. For more information, visit www.cashcode.com.
MEI — CASHFLOW SC and SCM
Acceptance Rate 98% or higher
Bill Insertion 50 note, 4-way
Widths Accepted 62-83 mm
Escrow 1 bill
Complete Cycle Time approx. 3 sec.
Cash Box Capacity 600 bills, 1000 bills (SCM),
1200 bills (SCL)
Program Memory 1.75 megabytes
Communications Interfaces multiple serial protocols
Protocols EBDS, USB, Netplex
Power Requirements 12V-28V DC
MEI focused on “what operators want” when it designed its CASHFLOW series, which excels at handling bills quickly and accurately. Couple these benefits with a light bar that mixes many frequencies of light into a uniform multi-wavelength output, and you get a bill validator that is incredibly secure against fraudulent notes. The new “Diamond Door” allows easy access for cash collection when it’s unlocked. MEI introduced the first plastic cashbox in 2002 — if a slot crew member inadvertently drops a CASHFLOW cashbox on the floor, it will still work. The SCM features 50 percent more bill capacity than the SC model without compromising performance. For more information, visit www.meiglobal.com.
JCM — Universal Bill Acceptor®
Acceptance Rate (First Insertion) 98.7%
Bill Insertion self-centering
Widths Accepted up to 85mm
Escrow last bill viewing window
Complete Cycle Time 5 sec.
Cash Box Capacity 500 bills
Program Memory 8 Megabit
Communications Interfaces USB, photocoupler isolation, TTL
Protocols Downloadable, Flash, or Socketed EPROM
Power Requirements DC +12V, +/- 5%
The multiple-award-winning UBA® can accept currency from around the world. This means suppliers who ship their products globally and operators with properties in jurisdictions all over the world can order, stock and be familiar with only one bill acceptor, allowing for savings in purchasing and warehousing. The UBA also has some of the most advanced sensing capabilities on the market to detect counterfeit notes. The UBA can also accept barcode tickets and is equipped with anti-stringing protection. The UBA self-centers notes and has an automatic three-time retry feature, meaning bills are accepted more often. Its high-impact plastic cash box is more durable and lightweight than metal boxes. For more information, visit www.jcmamerican.com.
Money Controls — Ardac Elite
Acceptance Rate (First Insertion) 98%
Bill Insertion 64 bills, 4-way
Widths Accepted 60-85 mm
Escrow 1 bill
Complete Cycle Time less than 3.25 sec.
Cash Box Capacity up to 600 street grade bills
Program Memory 2 Megabit
Communications Interfaces Current Loop, RS232, TTL, USB
Protocols ID003, Netplex, ccTalk
Power Requirements 12V to 24V DC
The Ardac Elite stands out because it is the amount of data read for each bill. The company reports that most other validators typically have between 5,000 and 10,000 data points; Ardac Elite has 200,000 data points covering the whole of the bill. This enables Money Controls to produce extremely accurate note tables, resulting in an extremely high acceptance rate of street-grade bills and the rejection of all known frauds. The Ardac Elite also features an individual bill inhibit using an 8-position dip switch, an easily accessible bill path for inspection and cleaning and diagnostics available via USB port. An Upstack version of Ardac Elite is in development for one of Money Controls’ major customers, and is expected to be available in the fall. For more information, visit moneycontrols.com.
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