Filthy lucre: Paper money shunned for fear of virus spread

AP News ^ | 20 Mar 20 | Ken Sweet

[SkyPilot]

It is legal tender, and so they have no right to refuse it.

They can, and they do.

Can a Business Refuse Cash?

Federal law makes U.S. currency a legal tender for paying debts. As a small business owner, you must accept dollars for your products or services. This doesn’t mean paper notes. You can accept electronic dollars as payment. Private businesses can create their own payment policies, including ones that restrict cash payments. You can say that customers must pay with a credit card, check, or money order. You can also ban large bills at your business. Bottom line—you can accept payments in whatever form you want. Here’s why:

•No federal law requires businesses to accept cash.

•You only need to accept cash when someone owes a debt.

If the customer pays before you provide the product or service, you don’t have to accept cash.

[Susquehanna Patriot]

The Chinese were shown sanitizing US dollars in their Chinese banks? This might be a new definition of laundering money.

Interesting that communists would show US dollars in their banks in the first place, when are probably supposed to promote the superiority of “renmimbi”, the “money of the people”.

[ncalburt]

The DM photos and article did not say if it was US money but it was cash
and lots of it and they had a dozen workers spraying it .

[ncalburt]

Many theorized that the Spanish flu two hidden carriers were the mail
and the Money.

[Susquehanna Patriot]

Thanks for the additional details about the Chinese banks laundering money.

[Daveinyork]

My parents always used to make me wash my hands after handling money.

[P.O.E.]

I used to wash my money once in a while. Usually unintentionally after a night on the town, I’d find a crumpled wad of bills after taking my jeans out of the dryer.

Once put my wallet in the freezer, for the same reason.

[Susquehanna Patriot]

Very credible that mail and money are sources of transmission.

What is it about Wuhan virus that makes this a bigger concern since the Spanish flu was not enough to alter the need for cash and mail?

On another note, it wasn’t too long ago that the leftists were promoting the ban of hand sanitizers. Any news reporter ask them if they still are still all in on banning the stuff everyone is hording?

[Jess Kitting]

I actually received a text forwarded to me from a friend that advised everyone to get rid of their currency.

The text said to put your all your paper money outside your door in a plastic bag, and someone would be by to pick it up!

[Da Coyote]

I read a while back that “studies” showed that coins were the worst risks for bacteria/virus transfer.

However, it makes sense that both are risks.

But as mentioned in our comments, credit card transfer processes are also great places to transfer disease. Gasp, will we be forced to go to smart phone transfer processes?

[sergeantdave]

What about debit card keyboards? Those keyboards are touched by hands teeming with germs. Let’s ban them, too.

Let’s trade chickens and used tires for goods.

One chicken = two loaves of bread.

One tire = a box of cereal.

[MayflowerMadam]

“Very credible that mail and money are sources of transmission.”

That’s why God made soap, Purell, alcohol, etc.

[Fresh Wind]

Use dollar coins and boil them.

I don't think anybody accepts them anyway. It's been years since I saw one in circulation.

[joma89]

I will continue to use cash as much as possible but I also learned when I was a kid to wash my hands frequently.

JoMa

[Fresh Wind]

One tire = a box of cereal.

One complete car = a roll of toilet paper.

[Tennessee Conservative]

Oh good grief! I stopped using paper money a long time ago when they started finding traces of drugs on it. I still carry a little bit in case I go somewhere that won’t take my card but if I touch it I immediately wash my hands. I don’t use an ATM and normally nobody but me touches my card. If they do I clean it. It’s not so easy to clean paper money or coins.

Now, nobody is injecting me with a chip or something like that. It’s probably smart not to handle money right now or at least handle it with gloves. If I worked in a bank I wouldn’t want to handle it right now either. People have gone crazy stupid.

[Fresh Wind]

https://www.vice.com/en_in/article/z3bg33/woman-china-disinfect-bills-microwave-burn-money

[MrEdd]

I use them all the time.

[Mouton]

I guarantee any cash from my horde is pre 2019!

[TianaHighrider]

The debit card keyboard seems like they would be far riskier. As they are constantly being touched in the same spots by a multitude of people constantly. Even wiping them down isn’t done each time between transactions at most places.

Money at least often sits for a while untouched and when touched is usually different spots on the bills.