At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic many governments required individuals to present proof of immunization in order to participate in some activities or visit places, including attending large-scale sporting events, visiting loved ones in personal care homes or hospitals and entering casinos. In a resurfaced video shared online, one person claims the manufacturer of an ATM and a financial institution in Charlottesville, Va., are forcing individuals to show proof of vaccination in order to access their bank accounts. This is false. The ATM referred to in the video does not have the ability to read a vaccination card nor does the manufacturer require someone to be immunized to use its products.
The minute-long video was shared on , formerly Twitter, on Aug. 14. It shows a drive-thru ATM located at the University of Virginia's Community Credit Union. An unidentified man can be heard narrating in the background. In the video, the man makes several claims, including the machine may be from Wuhan, China, a scanner on the ATM is possibly for vaccination cards and a palm scanner will require individuals to be microchipped.
The man goes on to say, "what they're going to do is, is they're going to require mandatory vaccinations for all Americans and all of your children, and if you do not comply with them, then they're not going to allow you to have access to your money, they will take your children, you will not have any kind of benefits."
As of publication date, the video has 1.5 million views and has been reposted 8,700 times.
Rating: False
While the video has recently been making the rounds on social media, it is not new. A longer portion of it was posted on as early as 2021.
The manufacturer of the ATM referred to in the video is a South Korean company called . Their machines are made in South Korea, not China like the video suggests.
Hyosung is one of the leading manufacturers of ATMs and cash machines in South Korea. The company has partnered with "the top US retail banks and Credit Unions" to deliver reliable banking convenience, its website says.
The company sells two types of ATMs: one intended for the retail market, such as convenience stores, malls and gas stations, and one for banking customers.
The hardware and software used in Hyosung's machines do not have the features or capabilities to require a vaccination card to utilize the ATM, the company said in an email.
"Hyosung has never heard of a financial situation requiring the use of a vaccination card to access banking services or an ATM," it added.
"Such (a) claim is absurd."
Hyosung's product
The company said the model in the video is a with nearly every option installed, including a coin dispenser, identification scanner and palm vein reader. This model is for banks and credit unions.
The ID scanner is used to capture an image of a driver's licence for authenticating the customer when using video teller capabilities at the ATM. The company said this is similar to handing a teller a licence inside of a branch.
The model has a green bar on the side of the machine that is designed to tell a person who is approaching the ATM that it is open and functioning properly. If the bar is red, then the machine is not working and is awaiting repair.
Palm vein reader
In , Hyosung began integrating its self-service ATMs with palm vein biometric authentication technology to help increase security.
The technology, which is provided through the Japanese corporation Fujitsu, detects the blood flow in a human's palm to create a unique identifier for customer identification, the company said.
It is an alternative to using a card and has been described as more accurate and unique than a fingerprint.
A from Fujitsu's says its PalmSecure technology uses a near-infrared light to capture a person's palm vein pattern, which generates a unique biometric template that is matched against a pre-registered user's vein pattern.
The palm vein device can only recognize the pattern if the blood is actively flowing within the individual's veins, which means that forgery is virtually impossible, according to the fact sheet.
The technology is non-intrusive and considered an option for those who have concerns about privacy or physical contact.
Hyosung said if an individual wishes to uses this method they would have to voluntarily register inside of a branch. It is not possible to sign up at an ATM.
"There is absolutely no involvement of a microchip of any sort," the company added.
Sources
X post can be found (, )
Video can be found on YouTube , published April 26, 2021 ()
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