Lower costs to transport money a major threat to cash-in-transit industry
Research by a security expert has identified the dwindling price to service clients as one of the biggest threats facing the cash-in-transit industry. Richard Phillips‚ the joint chief executive of Cash Connect Management Solutions‚ revealed at the cash-in transit seminar held at the Institute for Security Studies on Wednesday that despite the cash in circulation having more than doubled from 2007 to 2016‚ the service price has declined dramatically over the past 15 years."The greatest single threat is the persistent assault on service pricing of the industry."15 years ago it cost between R130 and R170 per service to transport money by an armour truck but in 2016 the figure has dropped to between R90 and R107 per delivery‚ while inflation has risen by 87% over the last 10 years‚" bemoaned Phillips.Cash-in-transit robbers' advice to cops: ‘Remove corrupt crime intelligence officers’The police service should get rid of criminal elements in the crime intelligence unit if they want to reduce incidents of cash-in-transit robberies. ISS senior researcher Dr Johan Burger said this could be the reason cash-in-transit heists rose by 39% in 2015.Phillips said cash in circulation in SA has increased to R130-billion in 2016 from R60-billion in 2007."About 85% of the transactions in the world are still conducted in cash while in SA it is 90%."This money is moved by cash-in-transit vehicles‚ which shows that though the cash-in-transit industry is small‚ it is a lifeblood of the economy and if it was brought to a halt‚ the economy would be throttled‚" he said.He warned that if the country was not careful‚ there was a risk "of regressing from where we were 20 years ago"."The Criminal justice system appears to be no longer making crime in this sector a priority while the industry is battling to maintain balance between profitability and professionalism‚" he said.Richards called for the regulation of service pricing‚ arguing that failure to do so could choke the industry."There needs to be close collaboration between the CIT industry and SAPS and the justice cluster to tackle the organised crime as a priority initiative‚" he said.TMG Digital/Sowetan..
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