Research Reveals Europeans Think Cash Is Dirty

You withdraw money from the ATM point and put the cash in your wallet. You later use that note to pay for the parking meter, and spare the loose coins for a meal at the pub in the evening. Now repeat this cycle umpteen times and imagine that same note circulating all across Europe. Think of all the possible places and hands a note can travel through and accumulate bacteria. A new research conducted by MasterCard reveals that Europeans believe cash to be one of the dirtiest items and it seems their concerns are warranted.

The study shows that 57 percent of Europeans think bank notes and coins are the least hygienic item we come into daily contact with, even worse than the railings on escalators and stairs!

Ian Thompson, Professor of Engineering Science at Oxford University, said, “Europeans perceptions of dirty cash are not without reason. The bank notes we tested harboured an average of 26,000 bacteria, which, for a number of pathogenic organisms is sufficient for passing on infection.”

Klesbsiella and Enterobacter species were listed as some of the bacteria found on the contaminated notes. Both are potentially harmful and can lead to disease amongst humans.

It seemed as though the notion of cash being the dirtiest item was unanimous across all 15 countries in the EU. All 15 surveyed cash was by far the most contaminated.

Gaetano Carboni, Global Products and Solutions Lead at MasterCard Europe stated, “For a significant amount of people it’s interesting to see a majority of Europeans prefer paying by card and find it simpler, a more straightforward way of paying. It’s now true to say that the majority also find it more hygienic.”

With the rise of innovation in payments, useful options such as contactless cards and mPayments, Europeans will no longer have to worry about getting their hands dirty with cash if they don’t want to. After reading the results of this survey, maybe paying for that pub meal with a card wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all.

Check out the video below to see Scientists at Oxford University, supervised by Professor Ian Thompson, perform tests for bacteria on a variety of European currencies as part of MasterCard’s research into Europeans’ perceptions of dirty money.