AIB to beef up cash security after repeated garda warnings

Cormac O’Keeffe

Only now is one of the banks, AIB, moving to bring in a secure “end to end” system, whereby security guards don’t have access to cash delivered to ATMs.

The other main banks are likely to follow, but only because of severe pressure and a worsening security situation, reflected by last Monday’s “tiger kidnapping”.

Dublin security guard Paul Richardson was forced to drive his security van to a gang of raiders who were holding his wife and two children hostage. The gang got away with 2m.

“The banks have been brought kicking and screaming to make this decision,” said one security source.

“The banks are so competitive and want to extract every single euro for their shareholders, that they didn’t want to spend money to alter security systems.”

The source criticised the “ponderous” decision-making process between the banks.

This is despite regular meetings set up last October between the Irish Bankers Federation, the gardaí and the security companies, in order to improve security.

The banks came under serious pressure last year to alter security following a significant upsurge in cash in transit robberies.

By the end of the first quarter of last year, there were 23 such robberies compared to 15 the previous year.

Halfway through the year, the figure stood at 38 compared to 33 and by year’s end there had been 62 such heists, compared to 54 in 2003.

The two main security companies, Securicor and Brinks, were heavily hit by the armed raids, with worsening morale among staff.

Brinks workers took industrial action, which almost brought the company to its knees. “The banks had been used to playing the security companies off against each other over the years, to get the lowest price,” said one source.

“It was only when people started getting shot that the banks suddenly realised it could impact on them and their customers.”

Senior gardaí in charge of escorts also put serious pressure on the banks to change the delivery system.

AIB is the first bank to move. Serviced by both Securicor and Brinks, AIB was the bank worst-hit last year by the robberies.

Securicor is understood to have won the contract. AIB is adopting an end to end system call “fluidity,” expected to be in place by early to mid-summer.

Under the system, the cash is preloaded into secure cassettes, which are held in vaults in delivery vans. On reaching an ATM staff lift the cassette out and slot it straight into the ATM.

“The cash can’t be accessed in between. If it is hampered with, dye covers the cash,” said a source.

Bank of Ireland and Ulster Bank will follow and are in the process of tendering for contracts. An AIB spokesman said they did not comment on security matters.