A video of a man exchanging over $3,700 in coins for bills at a bank has gone viral on TikTok, where it has received 5.9 million views and over 237,000 likes at the time of writing.
The clip shared by Shannon Scarrott (@shannonscarrott), which has not been independently verified by Newsweekshows a man pouring a giant container of Coca Cola bottle-shaped coins into a NatWest coin counting machine.
A message superimposed on the video read: “2 years savings target, £3050 [around $3,526] for tickets to disney world parks, did we manage [monkey emoji with hands covering eyes].”
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The coin savings seen in the latest video may seem unusual in the modern age, but the role of cash has changed since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), a international financial institution owned by the central. banks which “promote international monetary and financial cooperation”.
A 2021 report by the BIS’ Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) found that while the pandemic has increased the use of digital and contactless payments, “cash in circulation has reached a decade high due to an increase in demand for high-value banknotes, suggesting that cash was increasingly being held as a store of value rather than for making payments.”
The report states: “As a means of payment, cash lost ground to digital and contactless payment methods in 2020, while demand for cash as a store of value rose precipitously.”
The pandemic, however, has not changed “the public perception that cash is a safe haven,” according to the CPMI report.
“Many central banks are exploring the potential and need for a digital form of cash, a retail central bank digital currency (retail CBDC) that would offer consumers the same protection as cash today, while allowing them to make payments without carrying physical banknotes and coins,” the report explains.
The latest viral video showed the man filling the coin machine in batches, as the digital readout of the total cash amount rose rapidly with each load before reaching a final sum of £3,261.43 (about $3,771) at the end of the video.
Several TikTokers were thrilled for the man who smashed his goal by over $200. Some were on the edge of their seats watching the clip, praying the man would find he achieved his goal in the end.
Aphex Buddy said, “This is a dedication. Hope you’ve saved up enough and are having a great time folks!”
In a comment that got 5,343 likes, user Carrieee said, “I’ve never been so invested in a tiktok [crying laughing emoji].”
User lindsb2022: “When it slowed to just above £600 [about $690] I almost shed tears and started funding myself,” in a comment that got 2,612 likes.
Windthebobbinup: ‘I was thinking poor £400 babies [around $460] not realizing he still had a full bottle [crying laughing emoji].”
Cariad Morgan: “Not me screaming, come on my phone then silently cry in secondhand pride! I cried for you so wait for a daily blog from this holiday now [crying laughing and floating hearts smiley face emojis].”
Newsweek has contacted Shannon Scarrott, the original poster, for comment.
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