Better decisions on cash, ATMs and deposits
Cash-ology helps banks, credit unions, ATM operators and dealers plan their cash, run their ATMs and grow their deposits. Marvin C. Bowers has spent more than twenty years in the business, and he can help you check the numbers, the vendors and the options before you commit.
Start with the free field guides, planning forms and daily news.
Marvin is the author of CASH and CONVENIENCE.
Today’s cash, payments and banking news
The stories bankers, credit union leaders, retailers and ATM operators are reading today. When one raises a question about your own operation, Marvin can help you think it through.
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Have Marvin speak at your event
Bankers, credit union leaders, ATM operators and retailers hear from someone who has worked in cash for more than twenty years and wrote two books about it. Marvin has spoken at ATMIA, NAC and CBI events and at the G+D FI Forum.
Coming up: the ATMIA U.S. Conference in Las Vegas, February 17 to 19, 2027, with his talk “Extending the Branch: Off-Premise Deposits at Retail ATMs.”
How Cash-ology can help
Much of it is free. When you want help with your own numbers, write to Marvin.
Free libraryArticles and a ten-year planning report to share with your team and your board.Read
ReportsAn outside look at your institution or your market, with every number sourced and labeled.See examples
AdvisoryA second opinion on your ATMs, cash costs, vendors and deposits before you sign.What Marvin helps with
MarketingArticles, websites and team gear for companies in the cash business, from people who know it.See the work
BooksCASH and CONVENIENCE, the stories behind the vaults, ATMs and stores you work with every day.The books
ShopTees, hoodies and mugs for tellers, techs, cash crews and Cash Fans.Shop now
Free field guides and planning forms
Cash-ology field service guides help techs fix it on the first visit, with model rundowns, modules, part numbers and field checks for Diebold Opteva, NCR SelfServ and Hyosung bank, credit union and retail ATMs, plus skimmer checks and ADA at the ATM. Each one is a free PDF.
The free cash planning forms show where your cash goes and what it costs, one page at a time, and end with a 90-day plan for the fixes worth making first.
From the free library
Marvin’s take on what is changing in deposits, ATMs and payments.
How we label numbers
You can always tell where a number came from. Each one in our reports carries one of four labels, and we name the source when there is one.
- Reported
Taken straight from a filing, a call report or a published source, and the source is named.
- Calculated
Worked out from reported figures, with the math shown or explained.
- Estimated
Our best judgment where no one publishes the number, along with what it rests on.
- Illustrative
An example that shows how something works. It is not a forecast.
Two books by Marvin C. Bowers
CASH tells how America learned to secure, count and move its money, and CONVENIENCE tells how the crossroads store became Wawa, Sheetz and Buc-ee’s. Both make good gifts for customers and staff.
Merch for the people who keep cash moving
Tees, hoodies, mugs, hats and stickers for tellers, ATM techs, bankers and anyone who still likes cash.
The free library
Reading for bankers, credit union leaders, retailers and ATM operators, free to download and share with your team. When you want help applying it to your own numbers, write to Marvin.
Examining currency, 1918. National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress
See what your cash costs, one page at a time
Six forms take you from how much cash moves to what each transaction costs, and the 90-day plan turns what you find into three fixes with owners and dates. Print them and use them as often as you like.
Articles
What Marvin is seeing in deposits, ATMs and payments, newest first.
Five plausible futures for banking, payments and cash
Test your plans against five ways the next ten years could go. The report covers banks, credit unions, payments, cash and the companies that build and service the equipment, and it ends with steps for each role and signs to watch.
- Controlled acceleration. AI becomes the working layer over today’s banking and payment systems, and people stay responsible for large transfers, credit exceptions and disputes.
- Platform-controlled finance. A few technology and payment platforms own the customer, and banks supply the regulated plumbing underneath.
- AI bust and practical automation. Investment outruns revenue and the hype collapses, while practical, lower-cost automation keeps spreading.
- Resilience and trust reversal. A major fraud, outage or attack changes policy, and cash, branches and human control regain value.
- Automation shock. AI and robotics move much faster than expected, wages weaken and public transfers become central to household finance.
Scenario weights in the report are planning judgments, labeled as estimates. They are not statistical forecasts.
Ask for a free copyPages from a client assessment
This is what a Cash-ology assessment looks like: pages from a 68-page report for a credit union, with the client’s name removed and the text blurred.
Earlier columns, interviews and a white paper
Pieces from Marvin’s years at ACG and Hyosung. Some details have changed since they were written.
Today’s cash and banking news
The day’s news on cash, ATMs, banks, credit unions, payments and the regulators, with each headline opening the original story. When one raises a question about your own operation, Marvin can help you sort out what it means for you.
Latest headlines
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Free forms for planning your cash
Find out how much cash moves through your operation, who handles it, what each channel costs and who checks the numbers, in six one-page forms. The 90-day plan then helps you pick the few fixes worth making first. Free to download, with no sign-up.
Banks give you very little time to report a problem with a cash order. Under Capital One’s vault terms it can be one business day after you receive it, and the BMO Cash Vault Services Description allows three, so it’s worth knowing your own deadlines before a difference turns up.
The six steps
Work through the steps in order, with one form for each. As you go, mark each number R if it came from a report, C if you worked it out, or E if it’s an estimate, so anyone reading it later knows where each number came from.
- 01
Cash volume
How much cash comes in and goes out, where and when.
Cash Volume Sheet - 02
Channels
What each channel is for and who uses it: teller line, ATM, recycler, smart safe, cash office, vault.
Channel Sheet - 03
Handoffs
Where cash or cash records change hands, and how each handoff is checked.
Handoff Sheet - 04
Vendors
Who handles your cash, on what terms, and when each contract renews.
Vendor Scorecard and Contract Calendar - 05
Cost
What each transaction costs, by channel, with the math shown.
Cost per Transaction Sheet - 06
Reviews
Who reviews what, and how often, so the numbers stay current.
Review Schedule
The 90-day plan
- Weeks 1 and 2
Gather the numbers
Fill in the cash volume and channel forms, using the reports you already have.
- Weeks 3 and 4
Find the gaps
Work through handoffs, vendors and cost, and note anything that looks off.
- Weeks 5 and 6
Pick three priorities
Choose the three fixes that matter most, and give each one an owner, a measure and a due date.
- Weeks 7 to 12
Do the work
Meet for a few minutes each week to see what moved and what’s stuck.
- Week 13
Review the 90 days
Compare the new numbers with the ones you started with, then choose the next three.
Download the forms
Print them and use them inside your organization as often as you like. We only ask that you keep the Cash-ology name on them.
- Cash Planning ToolsThe 90-day plan and one form for each of the six steps, seven pages in all.Download the PDF
Cash Planning GuideHow to fill in each form, step by step, with the sources behind it.Download the PDF
One-page summaryThe six steps and the 90-day plan on one page, to share with your team.Download the PDF
Workbooks for your kind of business
Each workbook takes one kind of business through the six steps, with worksheets for its own channels, vendors and reports. You can download a free sample of each one.
- Banks and Credit UnionsTeller lines, vault, ATMs, recyclers, the carrier and the Fed or correspondent.
- Convenience and Fuel RetailersRegisters, safe drops, the cash office, the store ATM and the armored pickup.
- ATM Operators and ISOsVault cash, loads, settlement, routes and merchant site agreements.
- Dealers and Service CompaniesInstalled base, service calls, parts, dispatch and billing.
Want a hand with the plan?
Some teams fill in the forms on their own. Others would rather have someone in the room who has done this before. Marvin can join for one working session or for the full 90 days.
Working Session
One session with your team on your own numbers, so you leave knowing what to fix first.
Ask about a session90-Day Plan with Cash-ology
Marvin works alongside your team for all 90 days, from the first numbers to the final review, so the plan gets finished.
Ask about the 90 daysPartner License
For dealers and service companies that want to offer these forms to their own customers.
Ask about a license
The forms help you plan. They can’t promise any particular savings.
ATM field service guides
Help your techs fix it on the first visit. Each guide covers the models, modules, part numbers and field checks for the ATMs techs work on most, with pages to log their own calls. Every guide is a free PDF, sized at 3.5 by 5.5 inches so a printed copy fits in a back pocket.
Download a guide
Print one or keep it on your phone. Need a model we don’t cover? Tell us.
Cash planning workbooks
Each workbook walks one kind of business through the six steps, with its own worksheets and a 90-day plan. How the free forms work
Cash Planning Toolkit for Excel $29
All seven forms in one Excel workbook, with the math built in: totals, shares, cost per transaction and a contract calendar that flags notice deadlines.
The free forms are on the Free Tools page.
Printed copies for your techs or branches?
Tell us the titles and how many people they’re for, and we’ll send a quote.
Reports written on request
Get an outside look at your institution or your market before a big decision. Each report is built from public filings, licensed industry data and what you share with us, and every number is labeled so your board can see where it came from.
Inspecting printed currency, Bureau of Engraving and Printing, 1904. Library of Congress
Three kinds of report
- A
Institution assessments
One bank or credit union compared with a defined peer group: growth, risk, products, vendors, market position and leadership.
- B
Market reports
One part of the cash business, such as ATM fleets, cash logistics, teller cash recyclers or deposit automation, and the companies in it.
- C
Custom research
One question, such as:
- Where should our next ten ATMs go?
- How do our cash costs compare with similar institutions?
- Should we buy, lease or outsource our fleet?
Strategic Performance and Growth Assessment
Written for a credit union with about $1.6 billion in assets. The client’s name is withheld.
- Pages
- 68
- Sections
- 15
- Information request
- 8 parts
- Data through
- Mar 31, 2026
The assessment compares the credit union with peers grouped by how they lend, how they are funded and how much of their income comes from fees. It uses licensed peer data and public filings, and it ends with an information request for a second phase that covers what public data could not answer.
The eight parts of that request cover deposits and funding, ATM, ITM and branch operations, digital banking use, member research, financial education, cost structure and staffing, the strategic plan and technology roadmap, and exam history, which is optional.
What’s in it
- 01Executive situation summary
- 02Institutional profile
- 03Profitability and earnings review
- 04Growth and balance sheet momentum
- 05Risk, capital and liquidity scorecard
- 06Peer benchmarking snapshot
- 07Product and digital offering gaps
- 08Vendor and technology landscape
- 09Market and competitive position
- 10Lending and funding mix
- 11Merger history and consolidation risk
- 12Leadership and organization
- 13Recent news and strategic signals
- 14Financial education and mission
- 15Whitespace and likely next needs
Five plausible futures for banking, payments and cash
A ten-year planning report on what AI, robotics and new payment systems could mean for banks, credit unions, cash and the equipment business. It lays out five possible futures and what each would mean for bank executives, credit union leaders, equipment makers and service techs.
We write reports like this on request. This one is free.
How we write reports
We write for community banks, credit unions, ATM operators, dealers, manufacturers and the companies that serve them.
We name our sources
We work from public filings, call reports, regulator data and licensed industry data, and we name the source.
We label every number
Each one is marked reported, calculated, estimated or illustrative.
Twenty years in the business
Marvin has worked at ATM makers, dealers and cash providers since 2001.
Free to read
Most of our research goes into the free library.
Need a report?
Tell us the question and the institution or market. We’ll reply with what we would cover and how long it would take.
A second opinion on ATMs, cash and deposits
Before you sign a fleet deal, change carriers or go after new deposits, talk it through with someone who spent twenty years at ATM makers, dealers and cash providers and knows how these deals are built and priced. Marvin reads your call reports and vendor contracts, works through the numbers with your team and gives you a written recommendation you can take to your board.
Twelve-ton steel vault door, Bureau of Engraving and Printing, 1914. Library of Congress
What Marvin helps with
Self-service and ATMs
- Fleet strategy and placement
- Deposit automation and recyclers
- Buying, leasing or outsourcing the fleet
- Service, parts and uptime
- Vendor selection and contract review
Cash operations
- Cash logistics and armored service
- Vault and branch cash levels
- Teller cash recyclers
- Forecasting and ordering
- The cost of handling cash
Deposits and growth
- Deposit mix and cost of funds
- Branch and channel strategy
- Deposit sources and retention
- Peer benchmarking
Payments and networks
- ATM and debit networks
- Surcharge and interchange
- Processing and core connections
- Competition from fintechs and digital banks
Companies that serve institutions
- Go-to-market and positioning
- Dealer and reseller programs
- Building and running a sales organization
- Pricing and packaging
Leadership and boards
- Board education on cash and self-service
- Diligence for investors and acquirers
- A second opinion before a large purchase
Help with the free planning forms
Already using the free cash planning forms? Marvin can work through them with your team.
Working Session
One session with your team on your own numbers, so you leave knowing what to fix first.
90-Day Plan with Cash-ology
Marvin works alongside your team for all 90 days, from the first numbers to the final review, so the plan gets finished.
Partner License
For dealers and service companies that want to offer these forms to their own customers.
How a project works
- 1
A call
We talk through the question and whether we can help.
- 2
A written scope
We write down what we’ll look at, what we need from you, what you’ll get and when.
- 3
The work
We read, analyze and interview, and send you updates as we go.
- 4
A written recommendation
What we found and what we recommend, reviewed with your team.
We never name a client without permission, and we are glad to work under your confidentiality terms.
Have a decision coming up?
Send Marvin a short note about it.
Marvin Bowers on cash, ATMs and deposits
Your audience hears from someone who has spent more than twenty years at ATM makers, dealers and cash providers and wrote two books on the business, CASH and CONVENIENCE. Marvin speaks to bankers, credit union leaders, ATM operators and retailers about cash, ATMs and deposits.
Coming up · February 17 to 19, 2027 · Las Vegas
ATMIA U.S. Conference
Marvin’s talk: “Extending the Branch: Off-Premise Deposits at Retail ATMs.”
Talks
Resilient Payments, Resilient Deposits: Why Cash Access Still Matters to Funding Stability
G+D FI Forum, 2026
Extending the Branch: Off-Premise Deposits at Retail ATMs
ATMIA U.S. Conference, Las Vegas, February 2027
How America learned to keep its money safe
From his book CASH: the vault makers, the cash register, armored transport, the ATM and the networks behind it.
The stores that built America
From his book CONVENIENCE: the American convenience store, from the crossroads general store to Wawa, Sheetz, QuikTrip and Buc-ee’s.
Where he has spoken
Marvin has spoken at ATMIA, NAC and CBI events, including the ATMIA U.S. Conference in Arlington, Texas, in February 2026, and at the G+D FI Forum in 2026, where his talk was “Resilient Payments, Resilient Deposits: Why Cash Access Still Matters to Funding Stability.”
Working with organizers
Marvin gives keynotes and breakout talks and joins panels. His talks are educational, with no product pitches, and he can send slides ahead of time.
A short bio for your program
Marvin C. Bowers is the founder of Cash-ology, an independent research, publishing and advisory company focused on the business of cash, and the author of CASH and CONVENIENCE. He has spent more than 20 years in the cash and self-service business, including senior sales leadership at Hyosung America and ACG and a term as chief strategy officer at Cash Depot.
Planning an event?
Send the event name, date, location, audience and length of the slot, and Marvin will suggest the talk that fits.
Content, websites and merchandise for the cash business
Your customers can tell when the writer doesn’t know the business. We write and build for banks, credit unions, dealers and the companies that serve them, and we ran the full launches for CASH and CONVENIENCE: the websites, merch stores, ad graphics, a trailer and a weekly video series.
Printing the new small-size currency, Bureau of Engraving and Printing, 1929. Library of Congress
Some of the work
-
cashthebook.com
The site for CASH, with the book, a merch shop and team orders.
-
conveniencethebook.com
The site for CONVENIENCE, with a weekly Store of the Week drawing, brand boxes and a shop.
-
Merch programs
Designs, print files and product setup for both book stores and our own shop.
-
Ad graphics sized and checked for Meta and LinkedIn feeds and stories.
Video, including an archival book trailer and a weekly short series.
Documents such as LinkedIn carousels, one-page guides and launch plans.
Ads, video and documents
Ad graphics, video and documents for each launch.
What we do
Content programs
Articles, LinkedIn posts, carousels, reports and newsletters, written in your voice and checked against your sources.
Websites
Simple sites that are easy to update, with a newswire, library or shop.
Merchandise programs
Designs, print files, product setup and a store, for staff, members, customers or trade shows.
Training
Hands-on sessions so your marketing team can run this work itself.
We use AI tools in this work. Nothing goes out until you approve it.
Books by Marvin C. Bowers
Histories of the businesses Marvin has spent his career in. They make good reading for anyone in banking, retail or cash, and good gifts for customers, staff and board members.
-
CASH
A History of the Machines, Innovators, and Infrastructure Behind America’s Money
How America learned to secure, count and move its money, from the vault makers and the cash register to armored transport, the ATM and the networks behind it.
Kindle, paperback and hardcover
-
CONVENIENCE
The Stores That Built America
The story of the American convenience store, from the crossroads general store to Wawa, Sheetz, QuikTrip and Buc-ee’s.
Hardcover and paperback on Amazon
Guides and workbooks
Cash-ology field guides are free PDFs. Cash planning workbooks walk banks and credit unions, retailers, ATM operators and dealers through the six steps.
Articles and reports
Marvin’s articles, earlier columns and the free scenarios report live in the free library.
Your company logo on your team’s gear
Upload your logo once and see it on 30 products from Port Authority, Comfort Colors, Champion, Columbia, Under Armour, adidas, Richardson, CamelBak and others. Pick the colors and sizes, order as few as you need, and order the same pieces again later.
- No minimum order
- Preview on product photos
- Embroidered or printed
- Saved for reorders
Ordered before?
How the Team Store works
Your techs, branch staff or store crew show up looking like one company. All you need is a logo file and your team’s sizes, and the store lays your logo out on each product.
No designer needed
Upload the logo file you already have. The page can remove a white background, uses a white version on dark colors, and sizes the logo for each product.
No minimums
Order one polo or fifty. Each piece is made when you order it, so there is no box of extras to store.
See it before you buy
Every product shows your logo on its photo, in the color you pick. Small logos, like a left-chest logo, also get a close-up.
Easy reorders
Create an account and your logos and orders are saved in this browser. The next order for a new hire takes a few clicks.
Your logo, your gear
Your logo and company
Pick your gear
Start from a kit
Or pick from all 30 products
Themes and slogans from ten questions
Answer ten questions about your company, your customers and the work. We write themes and slogans for your team’s gear from your answers and email them to you within five business days.
Use a line in the Story line design, or ask us to set up the gear with the one you pick.
$99 added to your order
Patagonia and Filson, quoted to order
For leadership gifts, sales teams and customer thank-yous. Tell us the items, colors, sizes and quantities, and we send a quote with the price, any minimum and the timing.
Patagonia
Nano Puff jacket
Custom pricing
Patagonia
Shell jackets
Custom pricing
Filson
Tin Cloth jacket
Custom pricing
Filson
Computer bag
Custom pricing
Patagonia approves co-branded orders one at a time and allows a logo on a limited number of orders. When it does, the logo goes on the sleeve or the upper back, not the chest.
Filson offers customization on select clothing, bags, hats and accessories, subject to availability. We confirm any minimum quantity in the quote.
Cash-ology is not an authorized Patagonia or Filson dealer. We quote each order, and nothing is ordered until you approve the quote.
Photos, cropped: “Patagonia Nano-Puff Jacket” by ajay_suresh, Wikimedia Commons; “Patagonia Stretch Element Jacket” by jetalone, Flickr; “Filson Tin Cloth Jacket” by A Continuous Lean, Flickr; “Filson computer bag” by renaissancechambara, Flickr. All under CC BY 2.0. Brand rules: Apparelist on Patagonia co-branding, Filson group sales.
Your order
Your account
Good to know
- Each piece is made to order and ships from the U.S. We check your logo first, and most orders ship within 2 to 7 business days after that. Embroidered pieces take longer.
- We check every logo before it goes into production. Embroidery can simplify very fine detail and small text. If a logo needs a change, we email you before anything is made.
- The product photos show your logo as a preview, so final placement and colors can differ slightly.
- Prices are per piece, in U.S. dollars, with one logo placement. Larger sizes cost more. Shipping is shown before you pay.
- Different makers ship separately, so one order can arrive in more than one box.
- Only upload a logo you own or have permission to use.
- Questions or larger orders: write to marvin.bowers@icloud.com.
The Cash-ology shop
T-shirts, hoodies, mugs and more for tellers, ATM techs, bankers and anyone who still likes cash.
Every piece is printed when you order it. Sizes 2XL and up cost a little more.
Want your company logo on your team’s gear? Visit the Team Store
Trade shows, member events and golf outings
Stickers, can coolers, notebooks, sticky notes and totes make easy giveaways for your booth or branch.
About Cash-ology
Cash-ology is an independent research, publishing and advisory company focused on the business of cash. Marvin C. Bowers founded it in May 2025, and it is based in Warne, North Carolina.
Marvin has spent more than 20 years in the cash and self-service business. He started at KDA Holdings, selling to community banks and credit unions from 2001 to 2006, and later served as chief operating officer of One Point Financial. As vice president of global sales at ACG from 2013 to 2019, he tripled revenue in under four years and built hubs serving Latin America, Africa and Canada.
At Hyosung America he moved from director of retail sales to senior vice president of financial institution and retail channel sales, leading a sales organization responsible for more than $200 million in sales. He was chief strategy officer at Cash Depot from 2023 to 2024.
He is the author of CASH and CONVENIENCE, and he has spoken at ATMIA, NAC and CBI events. See the talks he gives.
If you have a decision coming up on cash, ATMs or deposits, or you need a speaker for an event, Marvin would like to hear from you.
Get in touch
Email is the best way to reach Marvin.