HONOLULU--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AMROTEC®, a privately held company, announced that it has received US Patent # 11,321,988 related to currency bill processing devices for counting, denominating, and sorting currency bills and subsequently disinfecting currency bills with UV-C rays. AMROTEC®’s devices, at a speed of 800 bills per minute, deactivate up to about 80% of bacteria found on the surface of bills, providing cleaner bills after being counted and processed.
Scientific studies demonstrate that banknotes can spread pathogens and some of them are harmful to public health. According to a study by The Center for Genomics and Systems Biology at New York University,1 “a total of 397 bacterial species representing more than 20 bacterial phyla were identified across aggregate samples.” The study stated that “paper currency by its very nature is frequently transferred from one person to another and represents an important medium for human contact with and potential exchange of microbes.”
AMROTEC®’s Solution
AMROTEC® has a solution, a first of its kind, for the market, starting with desktop high-Speed Currency Discriminators installed with a Germicidal UV-C Disinfection System. This system includes 45 pieces of germicidal UV-C LEDs having about 270nm wavelength and able to instantly kill harmful bacteria that inhabit the surface of currency bills at the time of cash handling operation at banks, retailers, casinos and other cash handling operations.
System Is Automatic & Effective
UV-C light, having a short wavelength, is known for its microbicide and bactericidal effects, especially on surfaces. AMROTEC®’s UV-C disinfection system is automatic and requires no user intervention to operate. When currency bills feed through the device, UV-C LEDs emit germicidal UV light irradiating passing banknotes underneath and get disinfected in the process. LEDs turn off automatically when devices are not in operation.
Flexible & Affordable
AMROTEC®’s method for disinfecting currency bills is flexible and can retrofit into similar devices, Teller Cash Recyclers, or into ATM-like devices. “Such a retrofitting task would require minimal engineering effort for AMROTEC®,” said AMROTEC President Mahbub Siddiqui. “It is now time for the cash equipment industry to equip cash processing devices with disinfection systems for the greater benefit of the public as well as for financial institutions, retailers, and casinos to be able to provide additional protection for their cash handling employees.”
US Currency in Circulation
According to Federal Reserve Bank (FRB),2 total US currency in circulation is over $2 trillion for FY 2022. Unprecedented demand for US currency during the COVID-19 pandemic means a potentially higher risk that currency carries microbes and bacteria.
Contaminated Currency Bills
Contaminated currency bills continue being processed using currency processing equipment and circulate without being disinfected in any way, even partially. Contaminated monies continue to move through various channels, end up in retail and bank teller cash drawers, in ATMs or in Teller Cash Recyclers and then eventually in the hands of the public creating health hazards without anyone noticing.
- Citation: PLoS ONE 12(4): e0175527. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0175527
- Citation: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CURRCIR, April 22, 2022.
About AMROTEC®
AMROTEC® is a registered trademark of Amro-Asian Trade, Inc., a privately held business having headquarters located in Honolulu, HI, that has produced innovative, high-performance and up-to-date cash handling equipment since 2003. The company supplies currency bill processing devices used for counting, denominating, and sorting at financial institutions, retail, casinos and other cash processing businesses. AMROTEC® products are distributed and sold throughout the United States by a network of cash handling equipment dealers.
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