June 16--Chase bank branches will no longer offer coin-counting services to customers as of July 1.
Chase has coin-counting machines in many Midwest branches. A Chase spokeswoman confirmed Tuesday that the equipment will be removed. The bank will still accept coins, but they must be in wrappers. Business customers will have to use tamper-proof coin bags.
Wrappers will be free.
Christine Holevas said in a statement that "counting coins, whether manually or via a machine, slows service to our customers."
She said branches in most of the bank's other markets do not have coin-counting machines. "It seems to be a Midwest thing," she said.
Some big banks continue to have coin-counting machines but may charge a fee for non-customers. Some grocery stores have Coinstar kiosks, but the company charges a 10.9 percent fee to convert coins into cash.
asachdev@tribpub.com
