PIN Pads More Likely Coronavirus Transmitters than Banknotes

The Covid-19 pandemic has fanned public concerns that the coronavirus could be transmitted by cash, but scientific evidence suggests that the probability of transmission via banknotes is low when compared with other frequently-touched objects, such as credit card terminals or PIN pads, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) says in a bulletin.

At the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, there were reports that the World Health Organization (WHO) had advised customers to avoid handling banknotes and to switch to contactless payment.

The WHO later said that it offered no formal warnings, but there are still efforts to discourage the use of cash. Some countries have raised their contactless payment limits, whereas some service providers, such as the Kenyan M-Pesa, have lowered transaction fees.

In Great Britain, the use of cash nearly halved in only several days, although that is partly the result of the government's nationwide movement restriction measures.

To bolster trust in cash, central banks are actively communicating, urging continued acceptance of cash and, in some instances, sterilizing or quarantining banknotes. Some encourage contactless payments, the BIS says.

The South African Reserve Bank has counteracted scams by clarifying that there is no evidence of transmission by cash and it is not withdrawing cash from circulation.

Irrespective of whether concerns are justified or not, perceptions that cash could spread pathogens may change payment behavior by users and firms.

However, the pandemic may hence put calls for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) into sharper focus, the BIS says, “highlighting the value of having access to diverse means of payments, and the need for any means of payments to be resilient against a broad range of threats.”

World Health Organization

WHO

POS terminals

cash

coronavirus

covid 19

sterilization of banknotes

money

banknotes