Coinstar

Coinstar is a United States-based self-service kiosk brand best known for machines that count and process loose coins. Customers pour accumulated coins into a Coinstar kiosk, which sorts and totals them before offering an available redemption option. Depending on the market and location, users may receive a cash voucher, choose an electronic gift card, or direct the value toward a charitable donation. The kiosks are commonly located in supermarkets, mass merchants, and other high-footfall retail environments, making Coinstar a retail-based service rather than a conventional bank or cash-management provider. The business was founded in 1991 by Jens Molbak and developed around a simple consumer problem: people often accumulate small-denomination coins but lack a convenient way to count and use them. Coinstar industrialized that process through automated sorting and counting equipment installed inside retail stores. Its model combines consumer convenience with retailer foot traffic and transaction-based revenue. The brand became associated with the distinctive yellow-and-blue kiosk format and with the ability to turn unused household change into spendable value without requiring a bank account or manual counting. Coinstar's core offering has expanded beyond a single cash-redemption path. In addition to cash vouchers, participating kiosks have offered electronic gift cards for selected retailers and donation options for participating charities. Availability, fees, retailer participation, and redemption choices vary by country and kiosk. The brand has also been associated with Bitcoin-purchase functionality at selected machines or through related services, although this is not necessarily available at every Coinstar location and may involve separate identity, regulatory, and transaction requirements. Coinstar operates as a brand within Outerwall, Inc., the private consumer-services company formerly known for businesses including Redbox and other automated retail services. Outerwall was acquired by affiliates of Apollo Global Management in 2016, after which the parent company was no longer publicly traded. Coinstar remains an active consumer-facing brand, with its principal identity centered on coin counting and retail kiosks. Publicly available reference material supplied for this entry does not establish a complete current list of markets, executive leadership, financial results, or the precise scope of every service, so those details should be verified against current corporate and location-level information.

Coinstar was established in 1991 by Jens Molbak to address the practical difficulty of counting and using large quantities of loose change. Rather than relying on manual sorting or bank-based services, the company developed automated kiosks that could be placed in retail stores. This location strategy allowed consumers to use the service during ordinary shopping trips and gave retailers an additional in-store amenity. The central Coinstar process is based on automated coin handling: a customer deposits loose coins into the machine, the kiosk counts and sorts them, and the customer receives a redemption instrument or selects another available option. The original and most recognizable outcome was a cash voucher redeemable through the host retailer. Over time, the service portfolio broadened to include electronic gift cards and charitable donations. These alternatives allowed Coinstar to serve customers who preferred immediate retail spending or philanthropy instead of cash. Coinstar's growth was tied to the wider development of automated retail and self-service technology. Its kiosks reduced the labor required for coin counting while giving supermarkets and other retailers a service that could encourage visits and complement checkout activity. The precise fee structure and redemption choices have varied by market, retailer, and product, and some services have required separate terms or customer verification. The brand later became part of Outerwall, Inc., a consumer-services company that operated multiple automated retail businesses. Outerwall was acquired in 2016 by affiliates of Apollo Global Management. Following that transaction, Outerwall became privately held, while Coinstar continued operating as an active consumer brand. Coinstar has also been connected with Bitcoin purchase functionality at selected kiosks, reflecting an effort to extend the installed kiosk network into additional financial and digital-value services. That functionality is location-dependent and does not replace the brand's primary coin-counting identity. Today, Coinstar is principally recognized for retail coin-counting kiosks in the United States and selected international markets. Its business remains based on the intersection of automated transaction technology, retailer partnerships, and consumer demand for a simple way to convert accumulated coins into cash, gift cards, donations, or other permitted forms of value. The supplied reference material does not provide enough verified information to document a detailed chronology of regional launches, corporate leadership changes, revenue, or specific service agreements.

• 2016

  Outerwall acquired by Apollo-affiliated funds

  Outerwall, Coinstar's parent company, was acquired by affiliates of Apollo Global Management and became privately held.

• 1991

  Coinstar founded

  Jens Molbak founded Coinstar to automate the counting and conversion of loose coins.

Convenient, automated retail infrastructure for converting loose change into usable value, with redemption choices designed for supermarket and mass-retail environments.

• Self-service retail kiosk

  Coinstar coin-counting kiosk

  The core Coinstar product is an automated kiosk that accepts loose coins, counts and sorts them, and produces a redemption outcome selected by the customer. Kiosks are generally installed in retail locations such as supermarkets and mass merchants. The exact fee, supported denominations, operating hours, and redemption choices depend on the host retailer and local market.

• Consumer payment service

  Cash redemption

  Customers can generally choose to receive the counted value as a cash voucher that is redeemed through the participating retailer. This is the traditional Coinstar use case and provides a practical alternative to manually sorting coins or taking them to a bank. Availability and applicable fees vary by location.

• Gift card service

  eGift Card redemption

  At participating kiosks, customers may exchange counted coins for an electronic gift card from an eligible retailer or brand. This option can reduce or avoid some of the trade-offs associated with cash redemption, but the participating gift-card catalog and terms are location-specific and may change over time.

• Donation service

  Charitable donations

  Coinstar kiosks can support donations of counted coin value to participating charities. The donation option turns otherwise unused household change into a contribution and is subject to the charities, campaigns, and kiosk options supported in the relevant market.

• Digital-asset transaction service

  Bitcoin purchase service

  Selected Coinstar kiosks have been associated with Bitcoin purchasing functionality. This service is not universal across the network and may be delivered under separate operational, identity-verification, fee, and regulatory terms. It represents an extension of the kiosk network into digital-asset transactions rather than the brand's original coin-counting service.

• 2021.10.29

  Coinstar, Coinme and Walmart launch Bitcoin kiosk pilot[2]Coinstar、Coinme与Walmart推出比特币 kiosk 试点项目afghanistannews.net

  Coinstar and Coinme jointly launched a pilot program enabling 200 kiosks at Walmart stores in the United States to exchange Bitcoin for cash and allow customers to use cash to purchase Bitcoin.

• 2021.06.29

  Reported2021.06.29

  Mountain America selects Coinstar for branch coin counting[3]Mountain America选择Coinstar提供网点硬币处理服务prnewswire.com

  Mountain America selected Coinstar as its coin-counting solution and announced plans to install Coinstar kiosks at 100 credit union locations across six states.

Read more

1. 1Coinstar official websitecoinstar.com
2. 2Coinstar、Coinme与Walmart推出比特币 kiosk 试点项目afghanistannews.net
3. 3Mountain America选择Coinstar提供网点硬币处理服务prnewswire.com