A banknote handling apparatus, comprising: a casing; an inlet configured for inserting banknotes into the casing from the exterior thereof; a plurality of storages provided in a lower portion of the casing which are positioned in a substantially horizontal direction and in parallel to one another, each storage being respectively adapted for storing therein the banknotes and assigned to a denomination of the banknote; an escrow storage juxtaposed with the respective storages and adapted for temporarily storing therein the banknotes inserted into the casing from the exterior thereof through the inlet; a transport unit provided above the storages and the escrow storage and adapted for transporting the banknotes between any two of the inlet, storages and escrow storage; a recognition unit provided with the transport unit and configured to recognize the denomination and fitness of each banknote fed to the transport unit; and a plurality of diverters each provided at a diversion point in the transport unit, the diversion point being a point of diversion between each of the storages and the escrow storage, the plurality of diverters each adapted for diverting the banknotes transported by the transport unit into a specified storage or escrow storage; characterised in that the plurality of storages and the escrow storage are arranged in a horizontal direction relative to one another, and wherein the escrow storage is configured to temporarily store therein all deposited banknotes recognized as normal by the recognition unit, and once a depositing process for the banknotes is confirmed, the banknotes escrowed in the escrow storage are transported by the transport unit and, through the recognition unit, are fed to the storage assigned to the denomination. a casing; an inlet configured for inserting banknotes into the casing from the exterior thereof; a plurality of storages provided in a lower portion of the casing which are positioned in a substantially horizontal direction and in parallel to one another, each storage being respectively adapted for storing therein the banknotes and assigned to a denomination of the banknote; an escrow storage juxtaposed with the respective storages and adapted for temporarily storing therein the banknotes inserted into the casing from the exterior thereof through the inlet; a transport unit provided above the storages and the escrow storage and adapted for transporting the banknotes between any two of the inlet, storages and escrow storage; a recognition unit provided with the transport unit and configured to recognize the denomination and fitness of each banknote fed to the transport unit; and a plurality of diverters each provided at a diversion point in the transport unit, the diversion point being a point of diversion between each of the storages and the escrow storage, the plurality of diverters each adapted for diverting the banknotes transported by the transport unit into a specified storage or escrow storage; characterised in that the plurality of storages and the escrow storage are arranged in a horizontal direction relative to one another, and wherein the escrow storage is configured to temporarily store therein all deposited banknotes recognized as normal by the recognition unit, and once a depositing process for the banknotes is confirmed, the banknotes escrowed in the escrow storage are transported by the transport unit and, through the recognition unit, are fed to the storage assigned to the denomination.