"Our Solution for Sanitizing ATMs"

Dear Aldo, responding to a reader (Corriere, October 31) who raised the issue of the lack of “life-saving gel” near ATMs, you admitted to having experienced this problem yourself and expressed hope that banks would offer a solution. Indeed, it is a problem that banks themselves should address to protect both their customers and the staff managing the ATMs. However, sanitizing gels, in addition to being vulnerable to vandalism and theft, can cause liquid or spray infiltration into electronic components, sometimes resulting in ATM malfunctions and consequent damage to the bank. Therefore, sanitization using these products, while requiring human intervention, is certainly invasive and unsuitable for this context.

We propose a solution that we have patented: an industrial invention (Patent No. 102020000019861 dated 10.08.2020) that is non-invasive, utilizes germicidal UV-C light, and activates automatically after each ATM transaction. In the brief interval between one transaction and the next, the UV-C system, in complete safety for the user, will begin the sanitization process, which lasts only a few seconds, leaving the ATM fully sanitized and ready for the next use.

Our patent is not only useful for ATMs but also for similar devices: for instance, fuel pump terminals, touch screens in general, etc.

Domenico Cristofaro and Domenico Morano