Inside the Fed: Non-stop machinery of Carolinas' cash
At The Ledger’s request, Federal Reserve executives opened the doors for a closely supervised tour of the immense repository hidden in plain sight.
Good morning! Today is Monday, July 8, 2024. You’re reading The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.
Need to subscribe — or upgrade your Ledger e-newsletter subscription? Details here.
Today’s Charlotte Ledger is sponsored by By George Communications, an award-winning public relations firm. We love shaping stories and helping our clients gain coverage in local and national news outlets. Telling your story isn’t a “nice to have.” It’s essential business strategy. What are you waiting for?
Editor’s note: In this special series, Mark Washburn provides an exclusive look inside the Charlotte branch of the Federal Reserve Bank, uncovering its vital role in Carolinas commerce. Each segment offers a unique glimpse into the unseen engine driving our local economy. Our regular Ledgers return next week.
Overlooked in uptown, the magnificent machinery of money churns non-stop
by Mark Washburn
In a city where banks etch the skyline with monumental spires, there hunches a dwarfish structure whose tidy but unassuming flanks barely catch the eye.
But oh, just peek inside.
Concealed within its sleek ramparts is the dynamic machinery of Carolinas commerce, a vast automated warehouse of money, an around-the-clock currency mill that powers the region’s economy.
“We try to be a little inconspicuous,” says Terry Wright. “We don’t try to draw attention to ourselves.”
He is the senior vice president and Charlotte branch executive of the Federal Reserve Bank whose treasure chamber on East Trade Street is little known even in routine business circles and virtually invisible to the public.
At the Charlotte Ledger’s request, Wright and other Fed executives opened the doors for a closely supervised tour of the immense repository hidden in plain sight, an eight-minute stroll from Tryon Street’s financial canyon.
Its reach is staggering. If you spend a $20 bill at the Ron Jon Surf Shop at Myrtle Beach or pass a $10 note at Buck Bald Brewing in Murphy, or at any of a thousand other retailers in the Carolinas, that cash will — in a matter of months, weeks or days — likely land on the loading dock of the Charlotte Fed.
There it will be counted, boxed, toted about by robots, examined and evaluated for its appearance and face the ultimate judgment day: Get released back into circulation or be instantly shredded.
Even in an era of rising electronic transactions, currency still has its grip. Old-fashioned money, tens of millions of dollars of it, is on the move daily in the Carolinas.
Charlotte’s is the fourth-largest of the 28 Fed cash offices in terms of currency volume, behind New York, Los Angeles and Miami, and just ahead of Atlanta.
Construction began in 1986 on the Fed’s branch in the 500 block of East Trade Street in the city’s justice and government district. (Mark Washburn photo)
Dress code for banknotes
It can be reliably said that the Fed is fussy about its money. If you travel abroad, you’ve probably noticed that currency in some countries, particularly poor ones, is dirty, worn or otherwise marred.
Not Federal Reserve notes, the official U.S. currency. When they go out the door of the Charlotte Fed, or any other branch, banknotes are dressed for the prom.
There’s a reason. U.S. notes represent — and are meant to reflect — the financial integrity of the nation’s economy.
“We are the default reserve currency of the world,” says Wright. “People trust the American dollar.”
Remarkably, more than 60 percent of all U.S. currency is held overseas. And nearly 80 percent of $100 bills still in circulation are held in foreign lands, according to a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
In 2019, the International Monetary Fund found that the $100 bill had become the most widely circulated (if the least observed) U.S. note, surpassing for the first time the $1 bill.
There are multiple theories: Financial instability or runaway inflation in some nations make U.S. banknotes the safest currency. It is widely accepted and easily converted in markets around the world.
And some fraction is circulated to enable crime, tax evasion, narcotics trafficking and terrorism.
When a natural disaster like a hurricane occurs, banks urgently increase their orders for currency. When power goes out, digital money loses its luster.
In the early days of the Covid pandemic, the local Fed also saw a surge in bank orders for cash as people reacted to the uncertainty by hoarding bills, says Doug Borland, assistant vice president of cash services for the Charlotte and Baltimore branches.
Mark Washburn is a retired Charlotte Observer writer and columnist who lives in Davidson. Reach him at mwashburn76@gmail.com.
COMING WEDNESDAY: Follow the money — cash moves through the Fed like a factory product.
Need to sign up for this e-newsletter? We offer a free version, as well as paid memberships for full access to all 4 of our local newsletters:
➡️ Opt in or out of different newsletters on your “My Account” page.
➡️ Learn more about The Charlotte Ledger
The Charlotte Ledger is a locally owned media company that delivers smart and essential news through e-newsletters and on a website. We strive for fairness and accuracy and will correct all known errors. The content reflects the independent editorial judgment of The Charlotte Ledger. Any advertising, paid marketing, or sponsored content will be clearly labeled.
Like what we are doing? Feel free to forward this along and to tell a friend.
Social media: On Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Sponsorship information/customer service: email support@cltledger.com.
Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Staff writer: Lindsey Banks; Business manager: Brie Chrisman, BC Creative