Meaning & use
vault cash
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountablebusinessfinance
The amount of physical money that a bank keeps in its own vault to meet customers' day-to-day needs.
Grammar: Uncountable; used with a singular verb: Vault cash is counted daily.
Patterns
- hold vault cash
- vault cash reserves
The bank increased its vault cash before the holiday weekend.
Regulators check that each branch has enough vault cash on hand.
Vault cash is separate from the money banks keep on deposit at the central bank.
noununcountablebusinessfinance
In economics, the total value of coins and paper money that banks hold outside central bank accounts.
Grammar: Uncountable; often appears in formal reports and textbooks.
Patterns
- measure vault cash
- vault cash holdings
The report showed a rise in vault cash across the banking system.
Economists use vault cash as one measure of liquid reserves.
During the crisis, vault cash levels jumped as people withdrew savings.
Common combinations
- hold vault cash
- Banks must hold vault cash to serve customers.
- vault cash reserves
- The branch's vault cash reserves were low after the robbery.
- increase vault cash
- They decided to increase vault cash ahead of the storm.
- vault cash management
- Good vault cash management keeps ATMs supplied.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cash reserves
- A broader term that can include money held at the central bank as well as in the vault.
- till money
- Refers specifically to cash kept in a cash register or drawer, not the main vault.
Commonly confused: vault cash or vault?
vault cash vs vault
A vault is the secure room itself; vault cash is the money inside it.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'vault cash' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Vault cash refers to money held by a bank in its vault. Option 0 fits because it describes the bank holding money in its safe. Option 1 is wrong because vault cash is not a personal payment method. Option 2 is wrong because vault cash is uncountable and takes a singular verb. Option 3 is wrong because ATMs dispense cash from accounts, not vault cash as a term.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “vault cash”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.