These ATMs In Kenya Dispense Clean Water Instead Of Cash

When the Danish engineering company Grundfos started to investigate the best way to distribute water in Nairobi, Kenya, they discovered that getting clean water is not a problem. In most communities, people can go to the central faucet and pay the fee to get groundwater available immediately after drinking.

The real problem is to collect funds to bring them back to the water purification process. Grundfos' Gesper Ravn Lorenazen says: "The person who opens and closes the valve pays a price." He has limited motivation to give money to the water.

In order to solve the problem of water distribution and generate income for the local community, the company developed AQtap. This is basically a machine used for water like ATM: users get "water cards" they can collect by purchasing from the supplier or paying on mobile. As they swipe their cards on the machine, you can choose the amount of water they want, then you can deduct points from the card. The hose at the bottom of the screen will supply the selected amount of clean water.

In this way, Lorenazen says, "The funds they invested can be collected and reinvested in the water supply, while at the same time there is no income if they are not active, so [local government] will continue to work I am motivated. "

The project is still in the test phase, but it has been tested in Kenya, Uganda, Thailand and Nigeria. In Nairobi 's slum district, the company cooperated with local governments to set up 4 ATMs and members of the community paid 3 Kenyan shillings ($ 0.20) against 20 liters of pottery water.

The AQtap machine looks like a typical ATM with a steel cabinet and a touch interface. "Physical design is characterized by robustness, we know that these devices are in harsh environments," Lorenazen says. Blue water droplets indicate the location of the slide in the blue water card, which is very intuitive for users who can not read or use ATM.

In addition to revenue, these machines can collect data on usage frequency and amount allocated. "Most African water projects are funded by water development projects or NGOs and they need to document the impacts and impacts on developing countries, incident," Lorenzen said

ATM can be found in most cities. Some ATMs can distribute dollars and Lemiras, and almost all can be used in English. Because they do not have many ATMs, please bring cash to the Bay Group. Almost all banks exchange currencies, so be sure to bring your passport to identify you. If you have an iPhone, Google Android, Nokia N95, another internet phone, or a USB dongle for a laptop computer, you need a local SIM card (called "chip", about 50 Lenbira ) Is required. It is usually a specific maximum usage, hours or weeks, hours. According to the law of Honduras, only people living in Honduras who has the status of Honduras can purchase SIM cards.

The easiest way an employee obtains funds is to use an automated teller machine (ATM). ATM is an ATM connected to the bank's main computer. This computerized machine issues money to their personal identification number (PIN) as customers enter the bank card. The details of the customer are recorded on the magnetic strip on the back side of the card. If the information entered matches the stored information, you can assign money. Another area where computers play an important role is the medical field. As a former medical receptionist, I comprehensively understand the processes involved. The medical records of all patients are stored in a computer. You can easily obtain information by pressing a button. All results are entered automatically by the lab and doctors can access them instantaneously using real-time systems. This reduces the latency of the results

In order to solve the problem of water distribution and generate income for the local community, the company developed AQtap. This is basically a machine used for water like ATM: users get "water cards" they can collect by purchasing from the supplier or paying on mobile. As they swipe their cards on the machine, you can choose the amount of water they want, then you can deduct points from the card. The hose at the bottom of the screen will supply the selected amount of clean water.