Would you use one of these?
By Fleur
@Fleura (32435)
United Kingdom
August 22, 2025 3:02am CST
A while ago I was at a supermarket with a friend. I noticed one of these machines and I remarked ‘Who would use one of those? You put your money in and you get less back!’ To which he replied that he used them. Oops!
So would you use one of these? Basically you put in a collection of small change, and in return you get a voucher to spend in the store for less than the value of the coins you put in – they deduct a percentage of the value, plus a hefty fee per transaction.
So as well as exchanging your money for less value, you are also restricted to being able to spend it in only one store, unless you go to the trouble of queueing up at the customer service desk where you can exchange the voucher for actual cash (again).
Why not just spend the cash you had in the first place?
All rights reserved. © Text and image copyright Fleur 2025.
12 people like this
13 responses
@LindaOHio (198491)
• United States
19h
I wouldn't use one of these machines. You can go to your bank and do the same thing for free.
3 people like this
@garymarsh6 (23795)
• United Kingdom
22h
I would not use one of those machines. The trouble is shops do not have to accept coins if you have too many. Even some banks will refuse to accept them over a certain amount which is ridiculous. I had saved all my coins in a huge coke bottle bagged it all up to spend on the kids she could not be bothered to take them to the bank. I took them & got £150 so spent the whole lot on the the kids £50 each worth of toys & clothes. It is not as if the bank had to count them as they are weighed.
1 person likes this
@rina110383 (24811)
•
23h
I’d probably avoid it too! It seems like more hassle than it’s worth, and you end up losing value just to get a voucher. Better to just spend the cash or save those coins for something else.
2 people like this
@porwest (105542)
• United States
16h
I don't use them, and that's the main reason as you stated. They COST money. I put all of my loose change in a jar and take it to the bank when I'm ready to, run it through their machine, and they don't charge me anything to do that. Even if my bank did not offer this service, I'd still not use the machines and find another way to spend the change. I refuse to give money away to get access to what's technically already in my pocket.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (165455)
• United States
9h
When Bob and I took care of machines for USA Today, our bank had a coin sorting and cashing machine and would do that for us. I fortunately have not been so desperate for cash as to use a coin star, but there are many people that do. Sometimes it is young kids. In our store I believe if you used the voucher for their store you did not lose the percentage.
@DaddyEvil (157582)
• United States
19h
I have used one before and you get a slip of paper with the amount of the coins you put through the machine and you use the slip of paper at a register just like it's cash... The slip said I deposited the same amount I counted before I poured my coins into the machine.
Normally, I take a Ziploc bag of coins into my bank with a deposit slip for my checking account included in the bag. After they run the coins through their machine, they send me a slip in the mail telling me how much was deposited. Of course, now that I'm not working, I rarely have cash and use my PayPal card to pay for things so I don't get coins as change anymore.
@ardeliaputri2 (154)
•
2h
Haha, right? Feels like u're getting robbed by the machine! Who wants less money back and stuck spending at one store? I’d rather just use the coins straight up 
