What is a drive-up pneumatic tube system in banking?

A drive-up pneumatic tube system allows bank customers to conduct transactions from their vehicle without entering the branch — using pressurized air to transport carriers containing cash, checks, and documents between the drive-up lane and the teller station inside.

Pneumatic tube systems allow a single teller to serve multiple drive-up lanes simultaneously, reducing wait times and staffing costs compared to in-person service windows. Modern systems are significantly more reliable and feature-rich than early designs, with digital communication between the tube terminal and the teller station, transaction tracking, and tamper-evident carrier designs.

For financial institutions, the drive-up channel remains one of the most-used services at community branches — particularly for business customers making regular cash deposits. CSG supplies, installs, and services pneumatic tube systems for banks and credit unions, and can advise on multi-lane configurations, system capacity, and integration with branch design during new construction or renovation projects.