program. Outerwall has processed more than 350 billion coins in its nearly two decades of operation, with an average transaction amount of about $38. The largest single transaction was $13,000 in pennies from a man in Alabama. As of August 2021, more than 7,000 Coinstar kiosks in 46 states were equipped with Coinme, enabling customers to convert cash to cryptocurrency. Competition In some sections of the UK., regional banks have begun offering free coin-counting services in the amount of a gift card. Refunds are often given in cash rather than in the form of a gift card. In some cases, it is not even necessary for the customer to have an account at the bank; the free service is offered as a way to attract new business from individuals who are not current account holders. TD Bank's "Penny Arcade" coin counters were free and available to both customers and non-customers in many branches, but as of November 2010, the bank charges a 6% fee for non-customers to use the machine. In May 2016, in the wake of a New York state lawsuit over accuracy, TD Bank said that it had suspended use of its Penny Arcade machines and would be removing them from all of its locations. Publicity On May 9, 2006, Outerwall sued rival Coin X change over a patent dispute around the use of voucher-issuing machines, remote reporting of the coin machines' status and anti-counterfeiting technology for printed vouchers. To generate publicity, Outerwall offered to cash in over 1.3 million pennies collected over four decades by Flomaton, Alabama resident Edmond Knowles after Knowles's bank refused to cash them in. The armored truck sent by Outerwall to Knowles's home sank into the mud in his yard after being loaded with the 4.5-ton collection, and needed to be rescued by a tow truck. On March 14, 2008, an employee was arrested for stealing $441,000 from Coinstar machines in Washington, Oregon, and California. The employee was accused of illegally accessing the Coinstar machines' cash boxes ahead of armored car pickups. On March 25, 2008, Roy Disney used his Shamrock Activist Value Fund of Burbank to ask for changes in Outerwall's corporate governance. References External links StartupStudio [Archived] In depth interview with Jens Molbak covering the story of how Coinstar began, recommendations for entrepreneurs, childhood experiences that helped Jens succeed, etc. Copy of StartupStudio podcast at AllBusiness Companies based in Bellevue, Washington