10 Things you need to know about storing cash securely
If you have taken all your cash out of the bank because you are
worried about the current banking situation then you should really
take financial advice. Most investors are covered by a government
backed guarantee. If the government failed to honour this guarantee
then chances are your cash would be worthless anyway -- If you insist
in putting your savings in a cash safe in your home then it would be
wise to speak to a financial advisor about storing muiltiple
currencies in your safe.
Consider the effects of inflation before taking all your cash out of the bank and putting it in a safe
If you are looking for a safe to store cash in then you need
either a security safe or a deposit safe. Deposit safes are sometimes
called 'drop safes'.
Insurance companies may insist that your safe has been rated to
store a certain amount of cash securely. Common cash ratings are £1K,
£2K .....up to £150,000. For cash storage of £6000 upwards will require
the use of a Eurograde tested safe - most insurers insist on Eurograde
tested cash safes.
UK insurers often insist on Eurograde tested cash safes such as the Burton Eurovault Eurograde 6 (pictured)
If you want to allow some staff members to be able to deposit cash in
the safe but not remove it then you need a deposit safe. Deposit
safes are commonplace in retail environments. Cash is put into special
canisters which can be pushed into the safe. Senior staff at the
store will have access to remove canisters. Deposit safes reduce
the risk of attack to your employees as well as securing your cash.
Anti Raid Safes have a time delay lock - when the safe is opened the
pre-set time delay enforces a wait from 1 minute up to 90 minutes before the
safe door will open. This feature reduces the risk of robbery as thieves
will always want to flee quickly. Ant-raid safes are recommended by the
Metropolitan police for all small shops, particularly those open early and
late.
The Burton Torino Anti-raid security deposit safe (pictured) has time delay and offers high security with a deposit facility.
How much cash you can store in a safe is dependent on what
denomination of coins or notes you want to store in it. Just because
a safe has a £10k cash rating it does not mean that £10k will fit in
it. £10,000 is one pence coins would weigh 3.5 tons!
Theft of cash has occurs in around a third of burglaries in
consecutive years. Cash is a key target for burglars, as non-cash
items may increase the potential for detection where an offender is
caught handling stolen goods.
Some home insurance policies will only pay out a maximum of £100 for stolen cash claims.
If you do not bolt a cash safe down then you might as well put your
money in a shoebox. ANY safe can eventually be opened in a workshop with
time if it
can be removed from your premises.
Shops and Restaurants are particularly vulnerable to robbery when
opening or closing, simply because there are fewer people around and
cash is often handled at these times. Basic common sense precautions
can do a lot to reduce risk, for example, handle cash only when the
shop is closed and the doors are locked and do so as far as possible
out of sight.
Avoid handling large amounts of cash at quiet times such as when the shop is closing.
Whilst security safes can be expensive, they can save you money in
the long term. It can cost up to £1 to deposit £100 cash in a business
bank account, and with the correct insurance cover and a bolted down
security safe you could reduce or eliminate bank deposit charges.
Safeoptions.co.uk sell over 100 different deposit and security safes
