A scrip cash dispenser is a computerized telecommunications device that allows a financial institution

Financial institution

In financial economics, a financial institution is an institution that provides financial services for its clients or members. Probably the most important financial service provided by financial institutions is acting as financial intermediaries...

's customer

Customer

A customer is usually used to refer to a current or potential buyer or user of the products of an individual or organization, called the supplier, seller, or vendor. This is typically through purchasing or renting goods or services...

s a secure

Secure

Secure may refer to:* Security, being protected against danger or loss** Securitate , the secret service of Communist Romania* Security , e.g. secured loans...

 method of receiving cash in a retail

Retail

Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...

 location with the assistance of a cashier

Cashier

Cashier is an occupation focused on the handling of cash money.- Retail :In a shop, a cashier is a person who scans the goods through a machine called a cash register that the consumer wishes to purchase at the retail store. After all of the goods have been scanned, the cashier then collects...

.

Usage

With a scrip cash dispenser, the customer identifies themselves by inserting a plastic card with a magnetic stripe or a plastic smartcard with a chip, that contains his or her account number. The customer then verifies their identity by entering a passcode, often referred to as a PIN (Personal Identification Number) of four or more digits.

Upon successful entry of the PIN, the customer may perform a cash withdrawal transaction.
If the cash withdrawal transaction is approved the machine prints a receipt, which is known as scrip

Scrip

Scrip is an American term for any substitute for currency which is not legal tender and is often a form of credit. Scrips were created as company payment of employees and also as a means of payment in times where regular money is unavailable, such as remote coal towns, military bases, ships on long...

. The customer then takes this scrip to a nearby sales clerk, who then exchanges it for cash from the cash register

Cash register

A cash register or till is a mechanical or electronic device for calculating and recording sales transactions, and an attached cash drawer for storing cash...

's cash drawer

Cash drawer

A cash drawer is generally a compartment underneath a cash register in which the cash from transactions is kept. The drawer typically contains a removable till. The till is usually divided into compartments used to store each denomination of bank notes and coins separately to make counting easier...

.

Regulatory view

Some national banking regulators, such as the US Federal Reserve, defines ATM transactions simply as electronic access to one's checking account and makes no distinction or mention of the location of the vault or cash drawer.

Financial networks and Scrip Cash Dispenser

In order to allow a more diverse range of devices to attach to their networks, some interbank networks have passed rules expanding the definition of an ATM to be a terminal that either has the vault within its footprint or utilizes the vault or cash drawer within the merchant establishment. This allows for the use of a scrip cash dispenser transactions to be conducted in a similar manner to ATMs.

Hardware

Scrip cash dispensers may share many of the same components as an automatic teller machine, but lacks the ability to dispense physical cash and consequently requires no vault.

An ATM typically is made up of the following devices:

• CPU (to control the user interface and transaction devices)
• Magnetic
  Magnetic stripe card
  A magnetic stripe card is a type of card capable of storing data by modifying the magnetism of tiny iron-based magnetic particles on a band of magnetic material on the card...
  
   and/or Chip card reader (to identify the customer)
• PIN
  Personal identification number
  A personal identification number is a secret numeric password shared between a user and a system that can be used to authenticate the user to the system. Typically, the user is required to provide a non-confidential user identifier or token and a confidential PIN to gain access to the system...
  
   Pad (similar in layout to a Touch tone or Calculator
  Calculator
  An electronic calculator is a small, portable, usually inexpensive electronic device used to perform the basic operations of arithmetic. Modern calculators are more portable than most computers, though most PDAs are comparable in size to handheld calculators.The first solid-state electronic...
  
   keypad), often manufactured as part of a secure enclosure.
• Secure cryptoprocessor
  Secure cryptoprocessor
  A secure cryptoprocessor is a dedicated computer on a chip or microprocessor for carrying out cryptographic operations, embedded in a packaging with multiple physical security measures, which give it a degree of tamper resistance....
  
  , generally within a secure enclosure.
• Display (used by the customer for performing the transaction)
• Function key
  Function key
  A function key is a key on a computer or terminal keyboard which can be programmed so as to cause an operating system command interpreter or application program to perform certain actions...
  
   buttons (usually close to the display) (used to select the various aspects of the transaction)
• Record Printer (to provide the customer with a record of their transaction)
• Housing (for aesthetics and to attach signage to)

Advantages versus conventional ATMs

• Cheaper to purchase
• Fewer moving parts
• Simpler servicing procedures

Disadvantages versus conventional ATMs

• Transactions can not be completed without interaction with a cashier
• Device form factor is often the same as a POS Terminal, which limits interaction methods
• Possibility of counterfeiting of receipts