Coinstar Launches Sweepstakes to Celebrate One Billionth Transaction Milestone

BELLEVUE, Wash., May 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- With more than 20 years of coin-counting history and 20,300 kiosks in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Ireland and the United Kingdom, Coinstar (www.coinstar.com) will soon celebrate its one billionth transaction. Considering that Coinstar, a leader in money services, processed 49.7 billion coins in 2013 alone, the cumulative amount from the last two decades is astronomical – to date, Coinstar has processed 649,963,558,659 coins, weighing approximately 4,633,773,919 pounds. To put this in perspective, if the average car weighs 4,000 pounds, over the past 20+ years, Coinstar has processed the weight equivalent of more than one million cars! 

To mark this momentous occasion, Coinstar launched "#CoinstarBillionth," a sweepstakes to encourage people to guess the location of the one billionth transaction for a chance to win $1,000. The sweepstakes runs from May 30 until June 13. For complete rules, and to enter, go to www.facebook.com/coinstar.

To celebrate the milestone, in addition to the sweepstakes, Coinstar will make a $10,000 donation to Seattle-based Childhaven, a nonprofit that works to transform the lives of those in need. Childhaven's mission is to forever end the cycle of child abuse and neglect by healing its youngest victims with scientifically proven therapeutic care, preparing them to be successful learners, supporting their families and laying the foundation for lifelong loving relationships.

"We have spent more than two decades helping people transform what they have into what they want," said Jim Gaherity, president of Coinstar. "We're proud to celebrate this milestone by supporting the mission of Childhaven, and are looking forward to continuing to help people, coin by coin."  

Coins that Count

In its 23-year history, Coinstar has processed more than $37 billion in coins¹, counting more than $3 billion in 2013 alone. Additionally, since its inception in 1997, Coinstar's "Coins that Count" charitable giving program has raised more than $72 million to support organizations including The American Red Cross, The Ronald McDonald House, The Humane Society of the United States and more. 

Coinstar's Growing Family

Earlier this year, as a brand expansion to address an underserved consumer need, Coinstar introduced Coinstar Exchange, a convenient way to turn unused gift cards into cash. The bright yellow kiosks let consumers instantly transform unused or partially used gift cards into cash. Coinstar Exchange kiosks accept more than 150 gift cards from a variety of retailers and are currently available at popular grocery retailers in markets across the U.S. To learn more or to locate the nearest Coinstar Exchange kiosk, visit www.coinstar.com.   

About Coinstar

Coinstar, part of the Outerwall Inc. (Nasdaq: OUTR) family, is a leader in money services. It owns and operates the only multi-national, fully automated network of self-service coin-counting kiosks and now also operates Coinstar Exchange, a new network of gift card-exchange kiosks. The company has approximately 20,300 coin-counting locations in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Coinstar kiosks process more than $3 billion in coins annually.  Coinstar makes it simple to convert coins to cash or consumers can receive no-fee coin-counting when choosing a gift card or eCertificate. For more information on Coinstar and Coinstar Exchange please visit www.coinstar.com and for information on Outerwall Inc., please visit www.outerwall.com.

About Childhaven

Since 1909, Childhaven has been a safe and caring place for babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers. Today, we are a community leader, statewide advocate, and national model in the treatment and prevention of child abuse and neglect. Using innovative, proven approaches to child development, our trauma treatment program heals old hurts and nurtures young lives. By strengthening family and child relationships and improving parenting skills, we break the cycle of abuse and neglect and create a foundation for lifelong loving relationships. 

¹ Total through 2013

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SOURCE Coinstar