Choctaw Travel Plazas provide essential needs for travelers passing through and within the state of Oklahoma. From drinks and snacks to fuel, merchandise and even small gaming casinos, hundreds of cash purchases are being processed 24 hours a day. With 18 Travel Plaza locations and 3 County Markets, Choctaw has a total of 21 convenience locations, each requiring multiple employees per shift to support and sustain the operation.
While business was booming, Choctaw Travel Plazas encountered a problem: the significant time consumption of manually balancing multiple cash drawers across multiple shifts. The Choctaw team called in the Financial Equipment Company of Oklahoma (FEC), who reviewed the situation and determined the solution. ATEC America, a leading cash management manufacturer and solutions provider, had developed an all-in-one cash management solution, the E3. The ATEC America Enterprise Cash Manager (E3) supports the recycling of both cash and coin, with real-time inventory control, a bank grade UL 291 24-hour safe, dual control locks and tamper proof smart cassettes. Individual passwords and optional enhanced identification features such as biometric, NFC and keycard access can enhance transaction security as well. Utilizing the E3 allows any retail location to build and deposit multiple cash drawers, enabling simple balancing against their POS device.
“ATEC America provides cash management systems that increase the efficiency and security of retail businesses,” said Managing Partner of ATEC America Dave Pepin. “By partnering with Financial Equipment Company, we were able to help Choctaw Travel Plazas automate its cash processes, reduce labor requirements and secure cash with our top-of-the-line, all-in-one solution, the E3.”
Before the ATEC America E3 devices were implemented, Choctaw Travel Plazas were running 15 to 16 cash drawers per day, seven days a week at multiple locations. Each cash drawer that is processed utilizing the E3 is saving approximately 30 mins of man hours per day in manual labor, allowing Choctaw the ability to repurpose employees and better serve its customers.
“Not only are we saving eight hours a day in labor per location, but we are also confident knowing our cash is safely stored and monitored around the clock. With multiple locations, employees and hundreds of people passing through, having an all-in-one cash management solution has been a real game changer for our operation.” Said Chuck Tillman, Senior Director Retail Operations at Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.
Choctaw has plans to utilize ATEC America’s E3 cash management solution in over 70% of their convenience locations by the end of 2026. The E3 is capable of handling up to 20,000 banknotes in six denominations. With automation software delivering real-time cash visibility to all cash inventory, detailed reports across all stores are available at any given time. The E3 is also complete with flexible cassette configuration, enabling customers to customize each unit for their unique business.
“We are glad to be a partner of ATEC America and know its cash management products will perform at the top level when we recommend them to our customers,” Said Kevin Cox, Chief Revenue Officer, Financial Equipment Company Oklahoma. “Helping customers secure their cash and create customized cash management solutions is our specialty, and working with Choctaw and ATEC America to perfect the solution to this problem was rewarding.”
With the growing importance of forecasting in an ever-changing economy where cash remains at the top, having a reliable and customizable cash management system is essential. Between reducing labor costs, minimizing risk and increasing profitability, upgrading or purchasing a cash management for your business is likely to quickly produce an ROI. To learn more about ATEC America, find more information at atecamerica.com, FEC at financialequipmentcompany.com and Choctaw Travel Plazas at choctawtravelplazas.com.