Bill validator

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The Mars bill validator. Only the black part of the box is visible to the user.

A bill validator, bill acceptor, or currency acceptor, is a component of electronic vending machines and other devices that accept paper currency. Such devices are found in places that have a need to accept paper currency without requiring the presence of a human attendant. Machines that have need of bill validators include coin operated video games, vending machines, slot machines, kiosks, automated teller machine, or almost any other self service location that requires a fee. Bill validators are also used in Automated Cash Handling systems.

There are currently only a handful of companies in the world manufacturing this type of equipment. Mars Electronics International (MEI), Japan Cash Machine (JCM), and Coin Controls (CoinCo) are three of the largest, each maintaining dominance in a particular market segment. Other notable companies producing this type of equipment include Alpha CMS (Cash Management Solutions), Pyramid Technologies, International Currency Technologies (ICT), Validation Technologies International (VTI), and Innovative Technology Ltd (ITL).

Bill validators were introduced in the U.S. in the early 1980s.^{[citation needed]} Recent innovations include remote auditing and reporting by these devices as part of an Automated Cash Handling network for banking, retail, casino and other industries.

Pricing on these types of units can range anywhere from less than $50 for a used refurbished unit, upwards of $1000 or more on a brand new state of the art, high security unit.^{[citation needed]}

While in the past these devices were extremely susceptible to failure and jamming due to folded or damaged notes, they have improved remarkably in recent years and now include such features as automatic jam ejection and automatically calibrating sensors. Cleaning cards are available to remove contaminants from the machines.