The inside of your wallet has more germs than a toilet

And we’re not talking about coins and cash. - by Laura Barry

It’s a known fact that things such as bank notes, coins and cash registers are one of the filthiest things that people regularly handle. However, a new study has found that there is something in your wallet with even more germs than your cash.

Although you may think an almost cash-free society would have cleaner wallets than ever before, new research by LendEDU.com has found your wallet is dirtier than a toilet in a New York city train station – and that’s literally, not metaphorically.

Financial website LendEDU.com used a handheld device by Hygiena called SystemSURE Plus that identifies germ scores for various objects to test cleanliness. The device found that credit and debit cards were dirtier than coins and cash on average. The higher the score, the more germs.

The device gave a higher germ score to credit and debit cards than it did the bathroom in New York City’s Penn station, which scored 163, while credit and debit cards on average scored around 285, whereas coins and cash averaged a score of 136 and 160 respectively.

So it may pay to be wiping down those credit cards with an antibacterial wipe no and again.

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Laura Barry

Laura Barry is a writer, bookworm and interior design enthusiast with a love for reporting on all things homes, travel and lifestyle. When not tapping away at her keyboard, Laura can be found making endless cups of tea or perusing the shelves of Sydney’s many bookstores.