Ka-Ching! Money Sound Effects As Heard in Apps and Movies

A Zen riddle famously asks..

What is the sound of one hand clapping?

Today we ask you a related question: What is the sound of money?

Is it the shuffling of bank notes and the cha-ching of a cash register, the beeps of an ATM keypad or a credit card reader while you punch in a pin?

For gamblers, it’s a single coin sliding down the slot machine and rattling when the coin drops into a graveyard of metal tokens. It’s the flood of coins into the metal bin when you hit the jackpot. But if a money bag falls in the forest and nobody’s there to hear it, did it ever make a sound?

In this article we’ll be exploring three core terms related to money sounds. I’ll show you how they’ve been used across films, video games, and social media. Our team also put together a collection of 20 free wav files to use for scenes involving coins, cash, and machines.

Hit download below to access the royalty-free money sound effects. Access the complete sound effects library at Audio Design Desk, with over 75,000 studio-grade sfx and music cues.

The ka-ching of a cash register’s bell is about as close as we’ll ever get to a universal symbol for money. Isn’t that interesting, how this sound effect is actually a symbol of financial transaction, rather than the sound of paper money or coins.

Take the following example from Superbad (2007). A kid tries to purchase several large bottles of alcohol from a liquor store. The cashier cards him and after struggling a bit, she accepts the exchange. The modest cha-ching of the register signals a big win for the kid.

In a strange twist of fate, the liquor store is robbed immediately after. As the robber reach into the cash register, we hear the sound of his hand snatching up the paper money and banging into the metal bill weights.

The cashier’s bell sound is sometimes used symbolically rather than as simple foley, like the example below from Lord of War (2005).

In this scene, the shot from a guerrilla fighter’s AK 47 crossfades into the sound of a cash register opening. We hear the sliding component over the gun’s chamber morph into the sliding open of the register. As the bullet casing flies from its chamber, we hear the register’s bell.

This clever use of audio symbolism is a wink from the director to the audience, underscoring the deep ties between war hawks and their economic motives in keeping the conflict in play.

Family Guy, Twin Peaks: Money Bags & coin spins

Cash register bells aside, metal impact sounds also play an important role in coin related sfx. Imagine a merchant, some two centuries ago, setting money bags on the table in an offer to trade. The rattling of nickel and silver tokens with the pounding of a heavy weight was part of their bargaining tactic.

Money bags usually combine an impact sound with the brief rattling of small metal items. In one example from the Family Guy montage above, a coin bag splits open and they roll all over the ground. Collections of coins rolling together is a less common money sound effect.

A final example above comes from the cult classic Twin Peaks. All of the best money sounds of a casino can be found here. We get ambient slot machine music, the sound of a single coin drop in multiple tiems, the winding and release of the lever, and the big coin payout when he hits a jackpot.

Scarface, Sam & Cat: Paper money bill sounds

Paper money is the third, most common category of money sound effects. When a person or machine counts bills, it’s the shuffling sound of each sheet being moved over. The pace of humans is slower and more deliberate than ATMs.

Of all the beeping sounds made by an ATM, it’s the paper fluttering tone of cash being dispensed that really makes the hair stand up on people’s necks.

This next scene from Scarface (1983) features the textbook money counting machine sound effect. But listen closely to the beginning of the clip and you’ll hear the expensive rings on their fingers tapping lightly against each other as they load money into the counting machine.

Subtle sounds like the rings knocking together are a common, under-recognized technique in creating audio for films. In this case, it’s a symbolic reminder of the characters’ money and wealth. It’s functionally similar to the sound of expensive crystal wine glasses tapping together during a toast.

There’s also the sound of printing paper money on an industrial machine. The transition sequence above comes from To Live and Die in LA. We hear the rhythm of the printing press in sync with the music, from the pounding of paper slabs and razors cutting fresh money to the conveyer belts rolling and pushing the operation along.

Access royalty free music & money sound effects

If you’re looking for royalty free sfx to use in your own projects, we’ve procured a collection of twenty wav files near the top of this page. You can go ahead and download them at no cost.

For a complete sound effects library, check out Audio Design Desk. Our pricing page and FAQs includes details on the audio cues available on each subscription tier. The full collection features more than 75,000 files!