The Risky Reality of Cash Runs
Keeping cash—and managers—in-store helps reduce risk and increase financial efficiency.
May 07, 2026
This article is brought to you by Cash Depot.
“Every bank run is a risk event,” said Doug Marquis, chief revenue officer of Cash Depot.
The farther employees need to travel to make deposits and grab change, the larger the risk, he added. There’s a higher insurance liability, increased chances of theft and the operational disruption that comes with managers leaving the store to deal with cash. “When managers go off-site for a bank run, that leaves the store understaffed and without leadership,” said Marquis. “Employees don’t know how long managers will be away, which can reduce efficiency at the store level.”
That was the case for Estepp Energy, a Kentucky-based convenience operator with 14 locations. “It is difficult in Kentucky to find a bank that has a branch in eight different cities spanning a 150-mile radius,” said Erika Leake, senior accountant at Estepp Energy.
As the company grew, cash management started to take up an increasing amount of time and introduced unnecessary risk to the business. Then the company added Cash Depot’s BANK IN A BOX to its stores.
“Unlike other cash management methods, BANK IN A BOX provides the bills needed for daily operations and management right in the store, reducing the risks that come with off-site cash handling,” said Marquis. Employees insert cash from the tills when the shift ends, which eliminates deposit preparation, and pre-determined fast cash setups let retailers pull register funds directly from the BANK IN A BOX. “The process is easier, faster and safer,” said Marquis. “The safest cash is the cash you don’t move.”
He added that Cash Depot’s BANK IN A BOX cash recycling system can accept bulk notes and report transactions in real time to help c-stores reduce shrinkage, as well as reduce time spent manually counting cash or leaving the store for cash runs. “The BANK IN A BOX is extremely convenient for buying change on the weekends and evenings after hours,” said Leake.
BANK IN A BOX can help your customers, too. It offers consumer services, serves as an ATM, and can be used for mobile top-up, bill pay and a growing library of other services—all of which can help drive foot traffic into stores. “Customers come to your store for the add-on services, but stay to purchase other things,” said Marquis.
This is part two of a two-part series brought to you by Cash Depot. Read the full case study to learn more about how BANK IN A BOX helped Estepp Energy reduce risk in its cash operations.
