Since 1964, Rochester has provided armored car services to the middle U.S. The company has worked with its financial institution customers who use the Minneapolis Federal Reserve to adopt the FedCash E-Manifest Service, which benefits operations by eliminating paper processes at Federal Reserve docks and enabling electronic data sharing. The E-Manifest Service is part of Cash Visibility, a multi-year, multi-phase joint industry initiative that aims to bring more transparency and efficiency to cash supply chain logistics.
Q: From your perspective as an armored carrier, how has the FedCash E-Manifest Service benefited your operations?
A: Streamlined processes, improved standardized operations and a more efficient workflow overall have been the results of the E-Manifest Service. Even better, our crew has reported smoother transactions at Federal Reserve Banks, leading to less time spent at the dock.
The greatest benefit of the E-Manifest Service is the visibility it offers. It allows us to share the status of our customers’ Federal Reserve Bank deposits and order pickups through our Secure Pre-Advice Site. We couldn’t have offered this type of transparency before adopting the E-Manifest Service. Given the nature of the cash-in-transit industry, where accountability is everything, providing this visibility has enhanced our customer experience.
Q: What benefits of the E-Manifest Service have your financial institution customers reported to you?
A: Most of our financial institution customers eagerly welcomed moving away from paper processes and embraced the idea of processing their Federal Reserve Bank currency deposits and orders in an electronic format. They understand that the E-Manifest Service provides them with faster and more efficient access to information. Our customers enjoy using our Secure Pre-Advice Site and are leveraging it more for their own research, not just for pre-advising shipments.
Q: What steps did you take to ensure your own readiness to adopt the E-Manifest Service?
A: A lot of learning! We wanted to ensure we fully understood the requirements and the path to becoming ready to adopt the E-Manifest Service. We sought to know what was required of us as an armored carrier and what was required of the financial institutions we serve. Once we had this clarity, we could see the benefits and began the adoption process.
The Federal Reserve’s E-Manifest Service Readiness Program Team was immensely helpful throughout the process. The opportunities we had to work with the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and test at various stages of the process gave us invaluable insight and helped prepare us for the transition. We are grateful for the time and effort of the many teams and the many people at the Federal Reserve who helped us get here. We also appreciate our customers who were early adopters and willing to help validate the benefits of the E-Manifest Service with us.
Q: Discuss the process of adopting the E-Manifest Service from the perspective of one of your customers. Did they find that it was an easy process? What steps did they need to take to be ready to begin using the service?
A: To date, Rochester has helped nearly all of its financial institution customers who use the Minneapolis Federal Reserve adopt the E-Manifest Service. As we started to use the service, we realized that many financial institutions would turn to their servicing armored carrier for guidance. Knowing the positive impact that the E-Manifest Service would have on operations, we took on the responsibility of onboarding our customers.
First, we worked with each customer, one-on-one, to provide them with educational documents from the Federal Reserve and complete the necessary steps to adopt the E-Manifest Service on their behalf. We also provided brief training on the operational changes that would come with E-Manifest Service adoption.
Each customer had the same point of contact at Rochester throughout the setup process. They were encouraged to reach out with any questions or concerns at every step of the process, even beyond set up, as we wanted to ensure they had support as they rolled out the changes in their own organizations. We believe our customers appreciated this hands-on approach. It was very effective for us because we always had a clear understanding of where each customer was on the path to adopting the E-Manifest Service.
You can hear more about the experiences of one of our customers, BankNorth, in this testimonial video.
Q: What advice would you give to other armored carriers who want to encourage their financial institution customers to adopt the E-Manifest Service?
A: Take the time to explain the benefits of the E-Manifest Service to your customers and key operations teams. Then, it’s essential to offer them clear next steps. For operations, make sure they are set up for success. For financial institution customers, provide a painless path that gets them to the final goal of adopting the E-Manifest Service. We believe the time, energy and effort we spent developing a training plan for our crews and a communication plan for our customers was integral to the success we’ve had with onboarding financial institutions.
Additionally, remember that many resources available from the Federal Reserve can guide you and your customers. We continue to receive incredible support from the E-Manifest Service Readiness Program Team. We know if we have a question or concern, they will point us in the right direction.
Q: What are your next steps with the E-Manifest Service?
A: At the beginning of the year, we began onboarding customers who work with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. We are excited to report that we are nearly done with that effort. Next, we’ll move on to our customers who are in the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City market.
We realize there is a lot more to do to promote Cash Visibility. Adopting the E-Manifest Service was a great starting point and an important step for our company and the industry. We are currently looking at ways to develop file transfers between carriers and financial institutions. The E-Manifest Service is the cornerstone of these efforts and will help shape our next steps to improve Cash Visibility with all our customers.
The FedCash E-Manifest Service is available to all financial institution customers of the Federal Reserve Banks and their servicing armored carriers. To learn more and get started, visit the E-Manifest Service page and complete an expression of interest form.
