Moneyweb
It is now mandatory for local banks to make hand sanitisers available at all 30 000 automated teller machines (ATMs) in South Africa.
This new stipulation was Gazetted on June 17 as part of the changes made to the Disaster Management Act regulations introduced by Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
The new regulation aimed at curbing the spread of Covid-19 comes despite the banking industry pointing out that providing sanitisers at ATMs is far easier said than done.
The Banking Association of SA (Basa) notes that as 70% of the country’s 30 000 ATMs are situated in “remote locations and on-premises that are not owned by banks, such as petrol-station forecourts, in malls, and shops in more remote communities”, the banks do not have direct control over these machines.
Even so, the new regulations mean banks will be held responsible for providing sanitiser at locations they have no direct control over.
The regulation makes it clear that they have to “take reasonable steps to ensure implementation of these provisions by third parties hosting ATMs … through appropriate agreements.”
In a statement released earlier this year, the association said banks have tried to deploy hand sanitiser to remote ATMs but found this strategy was “unsustainable due to pilferage and vandalism”.
Social distancing protocols
The changes to the regulations also require the banks to take “reasonable steps” to ensure that social distancing protocols are observed by anyone queuing to use an ATM.
Here again, Basa says this is a regulation the banks will struggle to implement.
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