Paramount Management Group, a Lancaster, Penn.-based ATM fleet operator, has come up with an effective solution to keep its ATMs clean of the coronavirus. Using a two-part process, the company sprays the machines' screen, keyboard, and the slot where the money comes out, creating a protective film.
Currently, surfaces must be disinfected after every use. This isn't isolated to ATMs. It applies to any business. As you can probably imagine, there's a high labor cost associated with constantly disinfecting surfaces, especially those that are heavily used. There's also the chance that two customers may come into contact with the same surface within a short timeframe before an employee has had a chance to clean it.
To get around these issues, Paramount is using a disinfectant product produced by ViaClean Technologies. The product, called Bioprotectus is EPA-registered and FDA-compliant. Once sprayed onto an ATM, it creates a film-like shield that lasts up today 90 days, drastically cutting down the involved labor cost.
The CDC states that SARS-CoV-2 can remain viable on a number of surfaces for hours and even days. Johns Hopkins University breaks this down further: the virus is viable for up to 72 hours on plastics, 48 hours on stainless steel, 24 hours on cardboard, and 4 hours on copper. It is also detectable in the air for three hours.
There are two steps for applying then ViaClean product. The first step is the application of alcohol on all surfaces to disinfect them. Then the final product is sprayed on. The spray eventually dries, creating a film.
Paramount is only applying the product to its ATMs and that of its customers. It doesn't have the infrastructure to service any additional machines.
For many credit unions, cleaning ATMs is still a laborious process that never ends. However, it is still an effective technique.
“To our knowledge, there have been no instances of anyone catching COVID-19 from an ATM. Dolphin, its clients, and partners are taking all the necessary precautions to work together to make it safe for consumers to use ATMs,” Dolphin Debit CEO Gary Walston told CU Times.
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