Easter Money: 9 Ways to Use Cash During Easter

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Easter money is an American necessity with the average household projected to spend $200 for a record collective high of $24 billion. Easter is coming up, and with it candy, food, gifts, clothing, and decorations. 

There are a variety of payment methods that can be used to purchase items in these top 5 categories of planned purchases. But cash definitely has its place at Easter time. 

Many kids and young people will be expecting goodies, gifts, and treats. Why? In this article, we will explore the history of this holiday, its traditions, and how you can benefit from using cash for Easter money this year.

The Origins of Easter Money

Easter is a Christian holiday that celebrates Jesus’s resurrection from the dead. However, many Easter traditions are not found in the Bible and likely have pagan origins. While historians only speculate about what Easter eggs, Easter baskets, and the Easter bunny represent, the theme of new life remains constant.

Easter Eggs, Easter Baskets, and the Easter Bunny

Easter, a Spring Equinox holiday, is a time to celebrate new life. Eostre was the Germanic goddess of fertility who blessed harvests. Carrying baskets of offerings to her ensured that harvests were successful. This is one potential explanation for the iconic Easter basket. 

Eostre’s animal symbol is a rabbit. This “Easter bunny” would be responsible for secretly bringing gifts and treats to children on the evening before Easter.

According to some sources, German immigrants to America brought with them the lore of “Osterhase” or “Oschter Haws,” an egg-laying hare. Children would construct nests (later to be replaced by decorated baskets) for the hare to lay its eggs. Rabbits are notoriously known to be prolific breeders—a sign of new life and fertility—which is another possible explanation for the rabbit as a symbol of Easter. 

Eggs can represent fertility, new life, and even Jesus’s emergence from the tomb. But some sources say that eggs were a forbidden food during the Lenten season. Decorating them was a way to mark the end of the fasting period. Then, they would be eaten in celebration.

Easter Coins and Easter Money

So, that explains the Easter basket, the Easter bunny, and Easter eggs. But what about Easter money?

You might remember opening eggs on Easter and finding coins inside, whether gold foil-wrapped chocolate coins or quarters and nickels. This tradition likely has its origin in 13th century England when royalty would give food, clothes, and coins to the poor on the Thursday before Easter Sunday. They would also wash the feet of the poor.

Feet washing, clothing, and food were replaced in the 18th century by a set allowance. Still known as Royal Maundy today, the tradition has evolved to include coins minted specifically for the occasion, known as Maundy Money. Recipients include elderly men and women chosen for the Christian service they have given to their Church and community.

Now, in the U.S., we fill our kids’ Easter eggs and baskets with chocolate coins, real coins, and even cash….  

Easter Money: 9 Ways to Use Cash During Easter

In short, Easter is a time for Christians to celebrate the resurrection of Christ and a time for everyone to get together for a special meal and other family traditions. Most families are projected to spend around $200 this year on Easter goodies. But there are some Easter traditions that just work better with cash.

1. Easter Eggs

Putting coins and small amounts of cash in Easter eggs is a nice alternative to sweets and candies. According to 90% of consumers, candy is the top planned Easter purchase this coming year. Why not replace some of that with physical money? Children are excited to comb through and play with shiny coins found in their eggs after their Easter egg hunts. It is also a great way to introduce currency to children at a young age.

2. Piggy Bank

Coins and cash for kids make fun additions to piggy banks. This can help teach kids about saving money. Then, plan with them what the money will be used for when it’s full!

3. Pez Dispensers

For older kids, cash inside of a pez dispenser could be a fun way to gift to the young ones in your life. Just fold it neatly, slide the dispenser up, and put the cash inside. What a nice surprise when they go to insert their candy!

4. Easter Baskets

You can also put cash gifts inside of children’s Easter baskets. There are many creative ways to even decorate baskets with cash and coins! As kids get older, Easter money could serve as a yearly allowance, a tradition for them to look forward to for years to come. College students can benefit from baskets with household supplies, food, treats, and even cash to help them with their expenses.

5. Easter Money-Holder or Card

Just as you might do for a birthday, you can always just give cash in a card rather than in eggs or baskets. This could be a nice addition to an Easter egg hunt for younger children or as an alternative for older kids. It’s also a good way to make sure everyone gets a fair amount instead of their Easter “payout” depending on the number of eggs they find.

6. Easter Bunny Money

Believe it or not, there is actual, official US currency with the Easter bunny on it. You can order $1 or $2 bills that are official, bankable, and spendable. Each USD bank note is a genuine authentic United States currency legal tender featuring a bunny portrait seal placed over the front of the bill covering the portrait of the president and creating an Easter Bunny Dollar Bill. 

You can also print your own, non-legal tender Easter bunny bills. This could be a good alternative as a toy for younger kids or to even help teach them about money and budgeting. Either way, Easter bunny money makes cute Easter egg, basket, or card fillers. 

7. Easter Money Origami

If you’d rather not spend extra money on Easter bunny money, you can make your own creative Easter bunnies by folding average bills into origami. You can make a full bunny or just a face and ears to add googly eyes to. Then put them inside eggs or toss them individually into a basket!

8. Easter Money Bouquet

If you are feeling really creative, you can make an Easter money bouquet for friends or loved ones. You can purchase them already made, or you can make your own! These can also make good donations for causes you’d like to support around the Easter holiday.

9. Church Collection

Last but not least, you can use cash at Easter time to offer a financial contribution to your local ministry. Easter is one of the most highly attended church days (along with Christmas Eve and Mother’s Day). 

According to Thom S. Rainer, this spike is likely due to high numbers of active and inactive patrons appearing at the same time on the same day. Those who do not attend church regularly will typically at least try to attend once a year at Easter. This is a good opportunity for local churches and other ministries to raise money through a collection, bake sale, or other donation-driven cause.

Allowing children to contribute cash to church collections and other donation areas helps teach them not only about the value of a dollar but also about charity, giving back, and sharing. 

Easter Money and Cash are King

We hope you noticed that each Easter money example above would not be the same if replaced by plastic. Cash is still very much a part of our history, our traditions, and our children’s lives. It is great for gifts, charity, and even teaching purposes. 

This Easter, try to get creative with cash! Can you think of other ideas not listed here? Since cash is so versatile, we’d be surprised if you couldn’t think of more ways to use cash for Easter money this year. Interested in making cash work for you? If you’d like to make passive income from owning your own ATM machine, check us out today!

5 Opportunities for a Portable ATM

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A portable ATM is a good way to generate passive income, especially if you live in or near a major city. This is because a portable ATM machine is quite versatile. If there’s a power source, you can operate a portable ATM at any indoor or outdoor event! 

Benefits of a Portable ATM

Benefits of a Portable ATM for an ATM Owner

If you are thinking about getting into the ATM business or have already started, it’s probably because you desire the flexibility. ATMs allow you to make passive income. That means that your machine makes money for you while you take care of other business or enjoy your freedom! And a portable ATM is even more flexible than a stationary one.

This flexibility means that you have more options and more control with a portable ATM. You can operate it at multiple events in a year, in a month, or even in a week. And new events arise all of the time! This ability to travel increases your exposure and reaches more and more potential customers.  Stationary ATMs, on the other hand, are only trafficked by the same locals, and only on an as-needed basis.

Another benefit of a portable ATM is that you can find opportunities that are particularly traffic heavy and cash-based. This increases your transaction potential because you are offering a necessary service at a temporary location. The alternative is placing your machine and hoping customers use it.

Competition can also be minimized by operating ATMs at events. Attendees are not likely to leave the event to hit their bank or a convenience store ATM. 

Benefits of an ATM for an Event Host

While a portable ATM machine can bring ATM owners passive income, it can also result in more success for the event hosts. There are event attendees who want to minimize the amount of cash they carry on themselves, especially at events with large crowds. This is typically a safety precaution. 

Instead, they might plan to visit an ATM for incremental cash as the need arises. Without this convenience, attendees are likely to spend less, either because they don’t have the cash necessary for purchases or because they have to go off-site to get cash. Leaving the event might produce opportunities for attendees to spend their money elsewhere along the way, which is business that the event loses out on.

Event hosts also want their vendors to do well. This keeps them coming back and ensuring that attendees have an enjoyable amount of options for food, beverage, goods, and entertainment.

5 Opportunities for a Portable ATM

Any multi-day event is a great opportunity for a portable ATM. Multi-day events bring in large crowds of people who need cash for food, drinks, and other vendors. The following 5 opportunities are particularly good ideas especially as the seasons change and outdoor activities return!

Farmers Market

Farmers markets are great locations for portable ATM machines. This is because most vendors accept cash only. There are some that now use Square or money transfer apps like CashApp to accept payments, but small business owners benefit more from cash payments.

Each digital card transaction costs small businesses 3% of the transaction. So even though you might pay full sticker price, and you might even tip, for every $1,000 in sales paid by card, that vendor loses $30 of their revenue to financial institutions!

Pop-Up Markets

Pop-up shops are forms of “flash retailing”. And they’re a relatively new trend. And you know that “trend” is synonymous with “popular”. There is some underlying novelty to a shop or product that is available to you only for a limited time! 

Pop-up markets are popular because they generate interest, create a sense of urgency, and get people to come pay various businesses a visit for a fun, limited time event. Visitors are compelled to make some sort of purchase even whether they visit intentionally or come across it by accident because of this “limited time” element. Ever heard of FOMO? The fear of missing out…?

Pop-up shops are particularly refreshing lately because of the overwhelming amount of online marketing consumers are constantly faced with. Pop-up markets put faces to small businesses and add a personal connection that is hard to duplicate online. Therefore, if you want to place your portable ATM where consumers are, pop-up markets are the place to be!

Fairs, Carnivals, and Festivals

Fairs, carnivals, and festivals are obviously great locations for portable ATM machines because of the size of the crowds they draw. However, if you want to break into an event that has a long history in your town or town adjacent, you will probably find that they already have an ATM hook-up. 

But don’t worry. You can always try to contact an event planner or manager to see if he or she is happy with the current provider. If not, you might be able to convince them to partner with you instead if you can solve a certain pain point they are experiencing. This applies as well if they operate their own ATMs. Maybe they are tired of the extra work and would be relieved to have someone in the industry take over the task!

Fairs, carnivals, and festivals are also great opportunities because these typically only operate for about a week to a month before they move on. That allows you to explore and participate in other events throughout the season or year so that you aren’t reliant upon one particular event or audience for your success. 

Furthermore, these types of events are less likely to experience “slow” days. Farmers markets and pop-up markets, on the other hand, might lose business on days when the weather is less than ideal.

Concerts

Concerts are also great opportunities for portable ATMs, especially concerts that are held outdoors. These types of concerts can vary in location depending on the occasion. 

For example, a bar or restaurant might host a concert or live music to celebrate an anniversary. Or a neighborhood might organize a summer event or series of events for their community. 

These are the best types of concert opportunities because they typically aren’t planned so far in advance that ATM services are pre-arranged. They also might not be traditional, meaning the planning committee might not already have an ATM operator who has approached them in anticipation of an annual event. However, if you are able to get your foot in the door, you might be able to become a trusted part of recurring events and secure your business for years to come!

Parades and Holidays

Parades, on the other hand, might be more difficult to break into because they typically are quite traditional. So arrangements for ATM machines might already be made. However, any upcoming holiday is a great opportunity to look into events where visitors will have a need for cash. Just try to plan ahead by making your inquiries off-season to beat any potential competition.

How to Place a Portable ATM

Most portable ATMs can transmit transaction information wirelessly, so you don’t need a phone line to operate one. They are usually self-contained units, so you don’t necessarily need to house one in a building or enclosure, though canopies can help encourage usage, especially on wet days. 

When placing your machine(s) at an event, there are a few things to keep in mind to ensure that they see maximum traffic. First, you’ll want your machine to be visible and obvious. Near the entrance(s) is a prime spot because everyone in attendance will pass by. Other good spots include food and beverage vendors, shops, and anywhere tipping is expected.

However, for security purposes, you also want to make sure that your machine is safe from damage, vandalism, and theft. So it should be well lit at all times and within view of security cameras or event staff. You might also consider bolting it down if the location accommodates it. These precautions also make users feel more comfortable using your machine knowing that they are visible to witnesses.

Conclusion

Whether you are already a seasoned ATM owner looking for more opportunities or if you are just starting out, a portable ATM machine can be a great source of extra income. If you live in or near a large city, obviously, your opportunities will increase, but a portable ATM can do well in small towns too, especially if you already have good connections.

If you want to know how to get started in the ATM business, ATM Depot can help! We have guides and resources available for both ATM entrepreneurs and for pre-existing business owners, including event hosts and planners! Have questions? Feel free to contact us today!