Patent ID: 8172131

Claim:
A method for handling cassettes for bank notes, comprising the steps: determining the filling level of at least one cassette, comparing the determined filling level of the at least one cassette with at least one threshold value lower than a maximum capacity of the at least one cassette, producing a signal indicating the exceeding of the threshold value if the comparison yields an excess, and causing a replacement of the at least one cassette for which the signal indicating the exceeding of the threshold value was produced; wherein the threshold value corresponds to a total value of bank notes contained in the at least one cassette which is lower than the maximum capacity of the at least one cassette specified by a maximum permissible total value, wherein information about the bank notes contained in the at least one cassette is stored as cassette data, in a special, non-evaluable data format, in a nonvolatile memory associated with the at least one cassette, wherein master data for the at least one cassette are produced in an automatic teller and transmitted to a service center independently of the at least one cassette, and the master data are suitable for evaluating the information contained in the cassette data, wherein the information contained in the cassette data is used for checking the bank notes contained in the at least one cassette.