In my last article I referred to how since fears of Covid-19 in the UK took root in March, cash usage has fallen dramatically. Whilst the drop off has been substantial, the trend of cash payments being in decline is long established. Based on early evidence, the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated this decline.

For context, in March 2019 an Access to Cash Review was published which detailed the precarious state of Britain’s cash network. The review, funded by Link (the UK’s biggest cash machine network) showed that over the past decade cash payments had fallen from 63% of all payments to 34%. To quote the report directly, ‘a straight-line trajectory of current
trends would see an end of cash use by 2026‘.

Twelve months on, the predicament with cash is now far more serious. Before getting into that, here is a summary of where we find ourselves in regards to cash in the midst of Covid-19.

In January the severity of the coronavirus spread in China became more apparent by the day. The first case of the virus was reported in the UK at the end of the month, weeks before cash usage began its descent. To give an idea of how the cash network infrastructure looked at the time, we can use Link’s monthly ATM Footprint Report as a guide. The most recent report shows that between January 2018 and February 2020, the number of free-to-use ATM’s had reduced from 54,500 to 45,000 – a 17% drop in just two years that equates to 9,500 ATM’s.

News coverage on the coronavirus began to ramp up into February. A development that received only moderate attention was the news that the People’s Bank of China had started to disinfect banknotes. According to Fan Yifei, the deputy governor of the PBOC, this was being done to ‘secure the public’s safety and health when using cash‘.

It was around this time that the World Health Organisation first reported that Covid-19 can be transmitted via contaminated objects. As yet, they had not specifically referred to physical money. The PBOC’s decision to disinfect billions of Yuan in banknotes was the first connection made between the use of cash and the possible spread of the coronavirus, but without any direct evidence to support it.

It was in March when the fear gauge on cash spiked. The Daily Telegraph ran a story at the beginning of the month with the headline, ‘Dirty banknotes may be spreading the coronavirus, WHO suggests‘. Once again, the article contained no concrete evidence of contamination and instead relied on supposition. Asked if banknotes could spread Covid-19, an unnamed spokesperson at the World Health Organisation was quoted by The Telegraph as saying:

Yes it’s possible and it’s a good question. We know that money changes hands frequently and can pick up all sorts of bacteria and viruses and things like that. We would advise people to wash their hands after handling banknotes, and avoid touching their face. When possible it’s a good idea to use contactless payments.

Offering a more open position, an unnamed spokesman at the Bank of England was quoted as saying that whilst banknotes can transmit bacteria and virus, ‘the risk posed by handling a polymer note is no greater than touching any other common surface, such as handrails, doorknobs or credit cards.’

A few days later the Telegraph’s story was picked up by the Daily Mail, further cementing the perception that to use cash was potentially endangering your health. The use of handrails, doorknobs or credit cards were not afforded the same coverage.

But here is where things begin to get rather murky. As mainstream outlets were ratcheting up unsubstantiated fears over cash usage, Stephanie Brickman from the WHO offered a different perspective. Brickman was quoted by Euro News as saying:

We do not know [how long the virus lasts on banknotes], but we estimate not longer than two hours. The virus will not survive for very long on surfaces, particularly on a dry surface like a banknote.

Whilst the virus could possibly be contracted ‘by touching a surface or object‘, banknotes were not being considered, according to Brickman, as ‘a main source of infection’.

Euro News also quoted Sizun Jiang, a virology expert and postdoctoral research fellow at Stanford University. Jiang said:

Disinfecting and bringing new notes into circulation would benefit more physiologically than actually reduce the infection rates drastically. More importantly, there are countless other surfaces that we interact with frequently than conventional banknotes

by Steven Guinness

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