Another part of our industry has been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic – ATMs. A World Health Organization (WHO) representative was recently misquoted expressing concerns that cash presented a significant threat for transmitting the coronavirus.
The National ATM Council “quickly responded to this misinformation, contacting WHO and requesting a formal correction of the mistaken premises behind this ‘cash scare,’” NAC wrote, noting that, “This false message was coupled with a suggestion that ‘cashless/touchless’ methods would be the safer way to go in making payments.”
NAC says it’s been in contact with the Federal Reserve and industry media outlets to help ensure more accurate reporting/communication on the relative risks of U.S. currency versus other payment methods.
The Centers for Disease Control stated, “It may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.”