For a while I was manufacturing cash and did some research on the hygiene component.
Surprisingly, I learned tap to pay was the most hygienic iff one didn’t use a common terminal for tips or signing.
Coins were the second most hygienic with a germ score of 168RLU .
Cash third.
Credit fourth, and dead last was shared payment terminals one physically touched (this includes tap to pay if one “answers a couple of questions.”) A separate study found smart watches were dirtier than terminals.
Reports in this space are full of confirmation bias so take the RLU scores with a grain of salt. Likewise some cultures have cleaner methods of dealing with cash than others.
Not true!
For a while I was manufacturing cash and did some research on the hygiene component.
Surprisingly, I learned tap to pay was the most hygienic iff one didn’t use a common terminal for tips or signing.
Coins were the second most hygienic with a germ score of 168RLU . Cash third. Credit fourth, and dead last was shared payment terminals one physically touched (this includes tap to pay if one “answers a couple of questions.”) A separate study found smart watches were dirtier than terminals.
[1] https://www.electronicpaymentsinternational.com/news/what-is...
[2] https://www.self.inc/info/dirty-money/
[3] https://www.nmi.com/blog/how-contactless-payments-impact-glo...
And amusingly [4] https://nocash.ro/oxford-university-european-bank-notes-on-a...
Reports in this space are full of confirmation bias so take the RLU scores with a grain of salt. Likewise some cultures have cleaner methods of dealing with cash than others.