Does Walmart Have Coin Machines?
You may wonder if Walmart have coin machines within their facilities. The answer is yes, most of the Walmart do have a coin machine, commonly known as the Coinstar kiosk. These machines are mostly found near billing counters and at entry & exit points at each store. It often charges a fee of 11.9% when used by customers.
What is a Coinstar kiosk?
A coin machine is nothing but a simple way to convert your coins or loose change into paper currency (cash) or eGift cards.
The eGift cards can be utilized at multiple places such as restaurants, eateries such as Starbucks, AMC theaters and many other locations such as GameStop or even Applebees.
The machine can also be used to make donations to various charity organizations such as; Feeding America, Children’s Miracle network hospitals, United way and many more organizations.
How To Use the Coinstar Kiosk?
Reach the nearest coin machine at Walmart. Select from the given options; Cash, eGift card or Charity. Pour the coins on the tray and guide them to the dedicated slot. Press done on the screen once you have deposited all your coins. Depending on your choice you will be granted your Cash or eGift card.
(For charity the amount will be directly donated to the selected charity organization)
What Is the Transaction Fee?
Currently as of May 2022, these coin machines charge a transaction fee of around 11.9% of the amount you have deposited into the kiosk. The machine counts all the coins automatically and generates the fee required to be deducted.
For example; if you have deposited an amount of $200 then you will be charged 11.9% of that amount, that is approximately $24. Therefore, you will receive $176 cash after your transaction.
Can This Fee Be Avoided?
The fee is applicable on conversion of loose change to paper currency, that is converting your coins into cash. Customers might want an alternative to avoid the fee and receive the full amount of the coin value.
The kiosk provides two other options as well. Customers can choose between the eGift card or the charity option by selecting the required option at the start of the transaction. These options are free of cost and no additional fee will be charged to the user.
As discussed previously, an eGift card will provide you with gift cards that can be used at multiple locations such as Applebees, Starbucks and many more. Where as the charity option will make a donation to the well-known charity organizations.
What Are the Alternatives to Coin Machines?
Coin machines such as Coinstar are one of the most convenient ways of changing coins into hard cash, however there might be scenarios where a Coinstar kiosk is not available at the Walmart you are at.
In that case, here are some alternatives that can help you out. You can convert your coins to cash at places like JBT corporation, People’s united bank, American Eagle credit union and other well-known financial institutions.
Most of these institutions provide zero fee to customers or members and charge a fee lower than that of Coinstar to non-members.
Why Use Coinstar Over Alternatives?
It is quite intriguing when you know that there are alternatives that provide no charge for conversion of coins to cash, then why use Coinstar.
Coinstar is way more convenient than visiting banks or other financial institutions. You do not need to take an extra stop at the bank before or after shopping, one could simply shop and get their coins converted at one place, that being Walmart.
There have been cases where the bank would tell you to count the number of coins which would be very time consuming. Whereas, a Coinstar kiosk will do the counting for you. Hence, it does not consume a lot of time.
As stated before, the alternative should be used when you are not in a hurry or there are no coin machines nearby.
Conclusions:
To conclude, yes majority of Walmart do have coin machines that are often referred to as Coinstar kiosks. It is used to help customers convert their loose change to cash for a fee, eGift cards or make donations at zero fee.
What is Coinstar?Coinstar is an American company that was founded in the year 1991. They work on installations coin to cash conversion kiosks at multiple locations such as Walmart. How can you find the nearest Coinstar kiosk?You can find the nearest Coinstar kiosk by visiting the Coinstar kiosk finder and then entering the zip code of your city. This will then show you the closest Coinstar kiosk.
