Bank of Thailand–Consolidated Cash Centers (CCCs)

central bank

commercial / private cash centers

commercial banks / financial institutions

CITs / cash service providers

The Bank of Thailand (BOT) aims to promote shared use of resources and reduce duplication of work to lower the cost of banknote circulation. This maximizes the benefits of shared resources and reduces the overall operating costs of the system. At the same time, it is essential to ensure that CCC operators have the capability to operate sustainably, maintain standards and efficiency at reasonable prices, and provide services covering all areas of the country. As well, BOT has to incentivize financial institutions to increasingly use CCC services for sustainable purposes.
What CCC looks like
Each BOT-owned operation center functions as a shared facility where a contracted commercial party—such as a CIT company acting as a CCC Operator—is relocated onsite to work and utilize BOT’s infrastructure. For example, activities previously performed by BOT, such as fitness sorting and cash deposit/withdrawal services, have been outsourced to the CCC Operator.
Each day, the CCC Operator conducts fitness sorting of:
•    Unfit banknotes that have already undergone initial sorting by private or commercial cash centers, and
•    Unsorted banknotes received directly from ATMs, retailers, and commercial bank branches.
These processes are carried out on BOT-owned sorting machines equipped with online shredders, under BOT’s close supervision. The CCC Operator also performs deposit and withdrawal transactions on behalf of BOT in accordance with BOT’s rules and guidelines. At the same time, the CCC Operator may operate its own commercial activities, such as ATM replenishment and recycling maintenance, cash and valuables transportation, and retailer cash services.

Across Thailand

Besides reducing redundant banknote counting and sorting, the establishment of CCCs has stimulated price competition among CIT (Cash-in-Transit) operators bidding to provide CCC services. This competition has reduced the average price of counting and sorting per bundle by half, to only 26–46 baht per bundle.
    Furthermore, reducing more than 3,000 redundant transport trips per year has lowered greenhouse gas emissions by 69 TonCO2. This does not yet include other expenses financial institutions would incur if they operated their own cash centers—for example, electricity, water, investment and maintenance of counting machines, facility maintenance, and hiring personnel for counting operations. These costs decrease further once all nine CCCs are fully operational, especially the Bangkok CCC, which serves the area responsible for about half of the country’s total cash usage. So far, the cost reduction from CCCs has been found to be at least 330 million baht / year  (~10 Million dollar).

CCC maximizes the benefits of shared resources and reduces the overall operating costs of Thailand’s cash cycle. So, all stakeholders and the general public using cash now benefit from the functioning of CCCs. At the same time, it is essential to ensure that CCC operators have the capability to operate sustainably, maintain standards and efficiency at reasonable prices, and provide services covering all areas of the country. BOT has to incentivize financial institutions to increasingly use CCC services for sustainable purposes.

The BOT remains committed to encouraging greater use of CCC services in line with its objectives, while ensuring that CCC operators can continue to operate sustainably. Key directions include:
1.    Encouraging Financial Institutions to Increase CCC Utilization
The BOT will introduce measures to reduce limitations and incentivize financial institutions. For example, CCCs will be allowed to accept unsorted banknotes from institutions that are not direct CCC customers—starting with lower denominations—to increase the absorption of unfit banknotes for destruction.
The BOT will also act as an intermediary for collecting counting-service fees to reduce contracting limitations and offer greater flexibility, particularly for institutions that use a single nationwide tender for cash-handling service contracts.
2.    Raising Supervisory Standards for Financial Institutions’ Cash Centers
The BOT will enhance standards to ensure efficient, secure, and high-quality cash management comparable to CCC operations. Overall, the BOT will encourage financial institutions to consider shifting from operating their own cash centers to using CCC services, which offer better long-term efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
3.    Considering Additional Off Site CCC Locations
The BOT will evaluate expanding off site CCCs to ensure flexible and optimally distributed coverage—based on factors such as transportation time, volume and density of cash points, and increasing demand from financial institutions. This is especially relevant as cash center transaction volumes have been declining since 2018, making continued investment and operation by financial institutions increasingly uneconomical.

The new way of work duly implemented is so different when compared to those of other central banks.

Each BOT-owned operation center functions as a shared facility where a contracted commercial party—such as a CIT company acting as a CCC Operator—is relocated onsite to work and utilize BOT’s infrastructure. For example, activities previously performed by BOT, such as fitness sorting and cash deposit/withdrawal services, have been outsourced to the CCC Operator.
Each day, the CCC Operator conducts fitness sorting of:
•    Unfit banknotes that have already undergone initial sorting by private or commercial cash centers, and
•    Unsorted banknotes received directly from ATMs, retailers, and commercial bank branches.
These processes are carried out on BOT-owned sorting machines equipped with online shredders, under BOT’s close supervision. The CCC Operator also performs deposit and withdrawal transactions on behalf of BOT in accordance with BOT’s rules and guidelines.
At the same time, the CCC Operator may operate its own commercial activities, such as ATM replenishment and recycling maintenance, cash and valuables transportation, and retailer cash services.

Although CCCs have already helped improve efficiency and reduce cash management costs for both the BOT and financial institutions, CCC usage currently accounts only for some of the total systemwide banknote counting volume. Many financial institutions continue to conduct cash operations through their own cash centers or through non-CCC service providers, indicating that there remains significant room to enhance shared-resource efficiency through further centralization.
The BOT therefore remains committed to encouraging greater use of CCC services in line with its objectives, while ensuring that CCC operators can continue to operate sustainably.

CBank Of Thailand Write Up Of Establishment Of Consolidated Cash Centers

Bank Of Thailand Consolidated Cash Centres (3)