How to Store Cash Securely

1.

If you have taken all your cash out of the bank because you are worried about the recent banking collapse 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

2.

If you are looking for a safe to store cash in then you need either a security safe or a deposit safe. Security safes can be fitted with various types of lock although battery powered digital electronic locks are now most popular due to their ease of use and the extra facilities they offer. There are also certain lower rated safes which are designed to store cash till drawers containing just the daily till float.

The Burton Cash Till Safe (pictured) has been designed to protect your till float from theft

3.

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 cash safes tested to EN-1143.

Remember that valuables such as jewellery, watches and cameras can also be stored in cash security safes in the home or business. Most insurers will cover 10x the safes cash rating for valuables stored in a safe – therefore you can secure up to £100,000 of jewellery in a Eurograde 1 safe, which has a £10,000 cash rating. This is because valuables are easier to trace than cash.

Always check with your insurer before purchasing a safe as your post code or your recent insurance claim history can sometimes mean that you may be required to use a higher rated safe than standard.

UK insurers often insist on Eurograde tested cash safes such as the Burton Eurovault Eurograde 6 (pictured)

4.

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. Deposit safes are sometimes called ‘drop safes’ and are mainly used by retailers and betting shops todeposit cash safely throughout the day without needing to open the main door of the safe. In other words cash can go in, but due to the anti-fish device fitted to the deposit drawer or deposit slot cash cannot come out.. Deposit safes reduce the risk of attack to your employees as well as securing your cash.

The Steel Stor Top Rotary Trap Deposit Safe (pictured) has a rotary deposit drum that is best suited to larger amounts of cash.

5.

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 99 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.

6.

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!

So take care before ordering – safes can be very heavy with the largest weighing over 1.5 tonnes and even entry level £6000 cash rated safes, Eurograde 0, usually weighing over 100kg ( 220lbs or 15st plus ) – it is very costly to order the wrong safe as the cost of delivery and collection is significant.

The Royal Mint and Bank Of England have more information on coin and banknote dimensions.

7.

Theft of cash has occured in around a third of burglaries in recent 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 and have to be sold at low prices.

Some home insurance policies will only pay out a maximum of £100 for stolen cash claims so make sure insurance covers your needs completely

8.

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 home or business premises.

European Insurers will not pay out if your safe is not bolted securely according to the manufacturers instructiions. Most DIY enthusiasts can install a safe correctly, but for Eurograde safes it is wise to have them fitted professionaly which will save you back from damage as well as your wallet!

All good quality cash security safes are secured by bolting the safe to the ground (preferably concrete) via pre-drilled holes in the base of the safe.

Bolt it down! Safes are only secure when thieves can’t remove them from your premises.

9.

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. Also consider upgrading your safe to one that has either time delay or time lock electronic locking. Time delay locks allows the owner or senior manager to program the lock so that the bolts will not be withdrawn until after a pre-determined number of minutes have elapsed – usually from 1 to 99.

Because robberies need to be executed fast to avoid arrest the advantage of these locks is that criminals will not wish to wait for the bolts to withdraw.

Time locks on the other hand are set so that the user code will not activate the bolts outside a daily or weekly time frame.

In addition these sophisticated locks also have the ability to offer an audit trail which will report the time, date and user that opened the safe at any given moment. This audit trail can either be viewed on a LCD screen on the lock by a manager or downloaded via a USB connection to a laptop.

Avoid handling large amounts of cash at quiet times such as when the shop is closing.

10.

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 offer over 500 different deposit safes, security safes and eurograde safes for sale online in the UK and offer free advice by telephone on 0800 567 7549 or by email