2023-05-11 12:53:02
As inflation peaked, the Coinstar terminals – which allow you to convert small change into vouchers – are experiencing a certain craze among the French. Already present in hypermarkets and supermarkets, these machines are now being deployed at Franprix. For the moment installed in two stores in the 10th and 16th arrondissements of Paris, they could be established in the more than 1,000 points of sale of the Casino subsidiary.
The concept: you deposit your change in one of the 1,200 machines and in exchange you get a voucher for the equivalent amount to use in the business where you are. “The terminals give you back a forgotten purchasing power”, praises Patrick de Baecque, Managing Director of Coinstar France.
“Inflation has led more and more people to look for pennies in their drawer funds to make ends meet,” says Patrick de Baecque. The company also notes that the use of its devices is up 20% the last week of each month.
Up 13%
In 2022, the company converted 45.5 million euros into vouchers, or 600 million coins. And this is only increasing: the use of these terminals is up 13% in the metropolis in the first quarter of 2023, compared to last year, on a comparable basis. This allows users to collect vouchers with an average value of 18.95 euros, or around 250 coins of 1 to 5 cents. “People use them on average every four to six months,” says Patrick de Baecque.
To meet demand, the currency conversion company has been established since December 2022 in overseas territories, where the system has been very successful “because inflation is all the more felt there. down “. But the rise in prices is not the only reason for the craze for these terminals. The stock of coins in circulation is only growing and 60% of them would be used only once, according to the ECB (European Central Bank). “There has never been so much money lying dormant, so our objective is to reinject it into the economy,” assures Patrick de Baecque.
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