First, let me start by saying how pleased I am to be writing and contributing to Counting on Currency.  I’ve been reading the blog since before Brendan and I started working together and have always enjoyed reading about a topic so near and dear to my heart – cold, hard cash.  I’ve been working in currency management since 2001 and although my last year at TowerGroup has allowed me to branch out (pun intended) into new areas, I’m always excited when I get a chance to write a research note or give a presentation about currency management.  It’s my warm blanket on a cold day – my comfort zone – so I’m thrilled to have an excuse to spend time on it on a regular basis.

To avoid having you tune out before I get started, I’ll keep today’s post short and just give a teaser for the next post.  I was recently on vacation in Italy (oh, if only I could say that in every post) and I walked into a bank branch to get to the ATM.  The sign on the door indicated that tellers did not have access to cash.  Tellers without cash?!?  What is the world coming to?  What’s the point of a branch without cash?  And that is what we will explore in the next installment…

Oh, one more thing….if anyone is planning to attend the ATM, Prepaid and Debit Forum in Las Vegas in October, please let me know.  I would love to meet some fellow “currency nerds” (maybe it’s just me that fits into that category!) at the conference.