When I first heard about the new deal, and this part of it specifically, my gut feeling was that the company was about to go belly up and was trying to bring in as much cash as quickly as possible.
Yeah, it seems like the SNL skit for the First Citiwide Change Bank II
Paul McElroy: A lot of people don't realize that change is a two-way street. You can come in with sixteen quarters, eight dimes, and four nickels - we can give you a five-dollar bill. Or we can give you five singles. Or two singles, eight quarters, and ten dimes. You'd be amazed at the variety of the options you have.
Customer #3: I was driving through Pennsylvania on the tollway, and to save time I was using the exact-change lanes. I had just run out of quarters, and I was getting a bit nervous when I spotted a sign for a Citiwide branch at the next exit. Let me tell you, it was a pretty good feeling.
Paul McElroy: I have had people come in with wrinkled ten-dollar bills to exchange for new crisp bills to put in birthday cards. We can handle special requests like that, usually in the same day.
Customer #4: I'd just returned from a business trip to London, and all the cash I had was a five-pound note. Citiwide wasn't able to convert it to dollars, but they did give me four guineas, two crowns, four shillings, and ten pence.
Paul McElroy: All the time, our customers ask us, "How do you make money doing this?" The answer is simple: Volume. That's what we do.