Businesses that refuse to accept cash as a way to lower coronavirus transmission risks are acting contrary to the best available scientific evidence, according to a statement by the Consumer Choice in Payment Coalition.
The CCPC brings together consumer and business organizations with a strong shared interest in ensuring that all consumers retain the freedom and right to pay with cash at retail establishments throughout the country. The dissemination of reliable information to consumers regarding public safety in using cash is an essential component of this new group’s mission.
The CCPC believes, based on the best available scientific literature, that handling U.S. currency carries little risk of contracting coronavirus infections, so long as proper procedures are followed — the same precautions that are recommended in handling plastic cards or mobile phones.
In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak and concerns over the spread of COVID-19, there has been a myriad of misinformation about the possibility of spreading the virus by simply handling currency, the CCPC claims. Unfortunately, some of this hyperbole about cash safety is little more than a transparent effort by those having vested interests in promoting a migration away from cash to electronic payment methods, which in turn would exclude millions from retail markets, the organization claims.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, “It may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose or possibly their eyes, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.”
The World Health Organization, on its website, says “There is currently no evidence to confirm or disprove that COVID-19 virus can be transmitted through coins or banknotes. However, respiratory droplets expelled from an infected person can contaminate and persist on surfaces. Wash your hands regularly and thoroughly after touching any frequently-touched surface or object, including coins or banknotes. Avoid touching your eyes, mouth and nose, if your hands are not cleaned.”
U.S. currency is made of a porous material that is a unique blend of 75% cotton and 25% linen, according to the Department of the Treasury website. When a team of six microbiologists from the University of Arizona and Michigan State University conducted a study in 2013 to measure “transfer efficiency,” indicating the likelihood that bacteria and viruses could be transmitted from a variety of surfaces, both porous and nonporous, to the hands of people who had touched those services, U.S. currency was selected as one of three porous surfaces (along with six nonporous surfaces, such as metal, glass and ceramic tile) that were considered.