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. <EOS>