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Contactless payments may be booming but sometimes we need cash especially when travelling. Clean Currency from Spendology.com is the latest Covid-inspired innovation to put your mind ease. Olivia Palamountain reports
With the world more germaphobic than ever before, it was only a matter of time before the spotlight turned to cash. Apparently, paper bank notes can have more bacteria, viruses and pathogens on them than toilets. According to Time, in a study of one-dollar bills from cities across the country, almost 80 per cent of them had traces of cocaine.
To combat this anxiety, foreign currency provider Spendology.com has launched Clean Currency, which provides holidaymakers with brand new, sterile banknotes in euros and US dollars.
According to research by Mintel, cash is our preferred way of spending on holiday – but it’s also a cause for concern.
The survey found that while 83 per cent of British consumers who went on holiday between November 2018 and November 2019 used cash to make a payment on their most recent trip, 57 per cent were worried about handling currency overseas.
Launched in time for travel industry recovery, this “virus-free currency” is sent out in small denominations to make it easy to pay the exact sum required and reduce the need for change.
In situations where change cannot be avoided, Clean Currency includes four “Quarantine Envelopes” with every order.
How does Clean Currency work?
- Spendology orders brand new euro and US dollar notes which are delivered in mint-sealed bricks.
- PPE-clad staff work in a sterile area to hand-count the notes into bundles of 250, made up entirely of fives and tens. They are then placed into tamper-proof packaging and sealed. There is complete separation of workflow between this and the normal currency order processing to avoid contamination.
- Every bundle is stamped with a unique serial number in case of query.
- Customers order the number of bundles they need, and they are dispatched directly using Royal Mail’s Special Delivery service, which is fully insured and fully trackable.
- Each order includes four “Quarantine Envelopes” for when change is unavoidable. Consumers hold open the envelope and ask the cashier/waiter to put change directly inside. The envelope is then sealed, and the envelope information panel is completed with date, amount etc.
Karen Gee, marketing and business development director of Spendology, says: “Cash generally and foreign currency in particular is considered to be especially dirty. Brits strongly prefer to use cash on holiday rather than cards, so I thought virus-free cash, designed for our new ‘coronaphobic’ world would offer reassurance and peace of mind.”
She add: “We’ve all been living a strange new lockdown life and become very aware of germs and cleanliness, our germ-free notes enable holidaymakers to get on and enjoy their holidays with one less thing to worry about.”
Clean Currency will be exclusively available from selected UK retailers including Travel Money Club, larger travel companies, foreign exchange specialists and insurance companies.
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