To prevent the spread of covid-19, 50% of Mexicans chose to disinfect bills and coins, according to the Bank of Mexico (Banxico). Since the start of the pandemic, people have also looked for alternatives to handling money such as gloves or the use of debit and credit cards.
While 59% of those surveyed by Banxico considered that they could get COVID by using cash, 36% saw the same risk when using debit and credit cards.
How did the Mexicans clean their bills?
The most common ways to clean the money were the use of sanitizers or spray Lysol, antibacterial gel, alcohol, water with chlorine and water with detergent.
But in the face of fear of contagion, some people made mixtures such as water with chlorine, fabric softener, pinol, vinegar and alcohol, the latter being the fourth most used by Mexicans.
“Of those who usually disinfect their bills, 10% have noticed that some of them discolor or lose their color,” the central bank detailed. Of the total number of people who disinfected their bills, 56% of them paid with that bill, while 19% took it to the bank.
Although it is not yet possible to determine whether disinfecting banknotes reduces their lifetime, the newest pieces, which belong to the G family, have a lifetime of close to two years.
The estimated life of a polymer bill, such as those of 20 or 50 pesos, is 54 months, while those of cotton, such as some of 100, 200, 500 and 1,000 pesos, reach a useful period of 31.5 months, according to the Bank of Mexico.
The 20 pesos bill, the most abused
For 84% of the population consulted by Banxico, the 20-peso bills are the most abused, because they are the most faded, old, torn, worn or broken.
The new 20-peso bill, launched in September of last year, has an average life of 50 months, according to Banxico.
