Early in the pandemic, “dirty money” started to take on a new, rather literal, meaning as businesses across Canada—from local stores to large retailers like Second Cup—banned the use of cash. Before we understood the coronavirus’s aerosol-based transmission, every surface seemed a threat: doorknobs, groceries, and, of course, money. By May 2020, the number of “tap and go” transactions escalated so dramatically the Bank of Canada issued a plea for retailers to continue accepting notes and coins “to ensure Canadians have access to the goods and services they need.”
There’s no question printed or minted currency is grubby and kind of gross (paper banknotes, studies demonstrate, can be covered in everything from E. coli to fecal matter). But we now know its likelihood of spreading the coronavirus is as low as any other high-traffic surface. Still, the reluctance among businesses and consumers to handle money might prove hard to shake. E-commerce has been systematically dethroning cash in Canada throughout the past decade, and experts believe the pandemic has accelerated the trend. Indeed, according to a 2021 report from Payments Canada, around 40 percent of Canadians say the pandemic has turned them off cash for the foreseeable future. As Canada becomes one of the most cashless countries in the world, with a projected 70 percent drop in usage by 2030, we have to reckon with the consequences of a mass switch to digital payment.
