What do you do with your card after it comes out of the ATM slot?

[LuckyCharms]

Should it be wiped down before going back into your wallet?

Or is the risk relatively low?

[fleabiscuit]

1. Been thinking about this myself. Gotta have cash sometimes.

I would think the card slot would be quite safe. However I'll use a stylus for touching the screen. Then disinfect the stylus tip.

[LuckyCharms]

3. Good idea on the stylus...

I've been ruminating about the card slot. Probably thousands of cards a day go in there, inserted most likely with bare hands, landing and sitting on the same spot in the machine, etc.

[TreasonousBastard]

5. You realize, of course, that the cash you get from the machine is filthy and could have...

been handled by a dozen people.

Including the hooker who gave a windy to the last possessor of the 20s you get.

[LuckyCharms]

8. Yes, but I was thinking more in terms of...

using the ATM to make payments via hard check inserted into the check grabbing slot. It's a long story...I use a credit union and a bank.

For the bank, I can do most deposits on my phone by taking a picture of the check. I can also trasfer funds and pay bills online.

It's a different story for the credit union. I have several loans that I have to pay either at the branch or via a check inserted through the ATM. This is because my accounts at the credit union are not set up correctly for most online transactions. It's something I've been meaning to resolve for some time now, I just never got around to it because I never had a compelling reason to, until now.

I only rarely get cash from an ATM, and so far, I've had enough cash at home to tide me over.

[TexasTowelie]

6. I never made the assumption that the machines that I used were safe.

When the outbreak became serious in early March I asked someone at the grocery store about the terminals where I swipe my cards. The clerk said that they wipe down their equipment every hour. I can't verify whether what I was told is true or not, but they did at least place a plexiglass shield between the clerks and the customers.

[jimfields33]

22. Every hour could be 10 customers between

Only takes one. Wear gloves and throw them away on the way out of the store at the closest garbage can. Do not open the car door with those gloves.

[MissB]

2. Put it away

And then wash your hands when you get home. Disinfect your steering wheel.

[Maru Kitteh]

35. Too much opportunity to inadvertently touch your face between here and there, instead

use hand sanitizer on the card and your hands. If you do not have alcohol (70%+ or greater) based sanitizer, I don't see why a small amount of simple soap and water in a ziplock baggie with a microfiber cloth would not suffice in a pinch as a temporary measure to reduce pathogenic presence. Scrub everything for 20+ seconds and shake/air dry.

People touch their face. A LOT. No matter how hard we try not to, and usually by the time one realizes it, they're too late.

[happybird]

4. I hit mine with hand sanitizer after using it

whether at a store or at an atm. Don’t know what the risk level is, but prefer to be extra cautious.

[LizBeth]

7. I put it in the back pocket and when I get home wash hands with soap and cc with soap on hands.

[jimfields33]

23. Don't forget car handle, keys and stealing wheel.

[Silent3]

9. Only one thing to do...

(And who'd have guessed there was a stock-image photo for this?:

[LuckyCharms]

12. Great idea! Also, here's another life hack that I have been using...

The buttons on the ATM are the mechanical type, rather than touch screen. They are filthy, and there is no way I am touching those with my fingers.

To get around this problem, I keep a bunch of condoms in the truck. I'll put on a condom, open the side window, turn sideways and get on my knees, and then thrust my hips out the window and hit the buttons with my penis. When I am done, I remove the condom with a pair of sanitized needle-nosed pliers, and put it in a resealable plastic bag.

Make sure your aim is good. You only get a few tries before the machine keeps your card for security reasons,

[Silent3]

55. +1 n/t

[mahina]

10. I have an old Dr Bronners soap bottle in the car

Filled w soapy water, and a squirt bottle full of clean water.


Used to have two squirt bottles, one soapy water, but they unscrew and drain out in my car. I like the Dr. Bronner flip tops. so far no leaks. Anyways I get in the car, wash w soapy water, and I also wash my card. sometimes I wash the money too. I definitely wash my hands after touching the money.

[roamer65]

11. I don't use it.

I use credit card and coin.

Paper money is right behind the front of surgical masks as far as contamination.

The credit card gets an occasional bath in hand sanitizer.

[CTyankee]

16. Cash is filthy. I try never to use it. But I am in gloves when I am out now all the time.

I deposit my gloves in a cubby right inside a cubby near the door. There is a little half bath there where I can wash my hands. My gloves, cash and card purse go there, ready to be picked up when I go out again. I don't use a handbag any more.

[roamer65]

43. Paper money is very dirty.

Coins are ok. The copper kills bacteria and viruses within a couple of hours.

Now would be a great time for us to switch to $1 and $2 coins. They would be MUCH more hygienic.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

13. Somehow I find it hard to believe that anyone is getting

the Corona Virus from an ATM.

Or from a package delivered by the Post Office.

Or from a random anything at the grocery store.

Get a grip, everyone. If it really were being passed those ways we'd all have gotten it by now. Instead, as bad as this seems to be, some 2 million people out of a global population of over 7 billion have been infected. Do the math. Yes, I know the numbers are rising, and I'm in full support of staying at home and all that. But really, this isn't being passed by ATM machines or packages delivered by any delivery service. Or even by what you bring home from the grocery store.

[LuckyCharms]

14. I once had a person, 6 inches from my face, sneeze into

my EYE while I was at the grocery store.

I've seen drunks in the early morning SPIT on ATMs because they were pissed they could not get any money out of them.

I've observed people hacking, sneezing and casually blowing their snot over everything imaginable.

I'll continue to take precautions.

[Maru Kitteh]

36. I once saw an elderly guy at Wally take a bite out of an ear of corn. His denture slipped,

he reached in, pulled the denture out, readjusted it, took another bite, then proceeded to look around, try to fold the leaves back around the cob AND PUT IT BACK.

[lastlib]

54. Not too long ago, I saw some guy at the ATM.....

try to use his PECKER to push the ATM buttons! He had a condom on it (safe ATM-ing?), but it was pretty funny to watch him use that droopy little *thing* of his to push buttons. (good thing he didn't mistake the card slot for a button, eh?

(You don't suppose it was anyone we KNOW, do you???) --- ---

[Squinch]

30. It is being passed by any surface where two people touch it and

then touch eyes, nose or mouth.

ATMs are perfect vectors. So are packages that are touched by many people.

Your post is just weird.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

41. The ATMs and packages were such perfect vectors,

every single package delivery person would have gotten it by now, as well as everyone who has used an ATM or any similar device.

Claiming that those are perfect vectors is weird. As well as unproven. Yeah, I know the virus can be detected for varying lengths of time on various surfaces, but that does not even remotely demonstrate that people are getting the virus this way.

[Squinch]

44. Maybe you ought to read up a little more on this.

Why this persistent determination not to see what is going on all around you?

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213033179

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

45. I have seen zero reports of anyone actually getting the virus this way.

Zero.

And if I've missed some which you can link to, my advance apologies are in order.

[Squinch]

46. I don't find this conversation - in which you are demanding links to

convince you that surfaces touched by wide varieties of people are a vector for viral transmission - to be worth my while.

Now, no doubt, you will consider that means you are the WINNER of the discussion.

So enjoy that.

[SammyWinstonJack]

33. Right?

[tinrobot]

37. Exactly. People need to chill.

If you're that worried, a dab of hand sanitizer on your hands will do the trick.

No need to freak out.

[EllieBC]

38. I agree with you. NT

[Ace Rothstein]

50. Thank you

The hysteria here is so over the top.

[Codeine]

51. Indeed.

One can take this seriously without being silly about it.

[BGBD]

15. The buttons and screen are by far

the greater threat for transmission. However, the car slot and the area just outside of it that your fingers likely brush against are certainly potential transmission points as well.

My suggestion is this.

Insert your card, touch buttons, remove card, etc all with one hand. For instance, only use your right hand for all of this and keep your left hand in your pocket just to make sure you don't accidentally touch anything with it. Carry any cash, or cards back in that same "dirty" hand. If you are getting into a car open the door with your "clean" hand. Once inside have something that you can sanitize the card and your hands with. It's going to be hard to sanitizer money unless you can just leave it somewhere for a few days and give any potential virus on it the chance to die. I would just avoid cash as much as possible.

If you are having to walk around for a while or something after you use the ATM and can't really just carry the card and cash, take a ziplock bag with you and when you are finished drop everything into it and put it in your pocket, then sanitize/wash your hands. Don't touch the outside of the bag with the "dirty" hand. I think putting the card back in your wallet without cleaning it off is a risky move. It might be a lower risk than other things, but why accept it if you can do some simple things to mitigate it?the potentially contaminated hand isolated from everything else

I use this strategy for just about everything I do. If I know I have to go through a lot of doors, I use one hand to open all of them and make sure I don't touch anything I want to keep clean with that hand until I can get to a place to clean it again. The idea is to keep

[Olafjoy]

17. I wipe mine off with a disinfectant wipe

[LisaL]

26. Now, where did you get such a treasure such as disinfectant wipe?

I am serious, they have disappeared.

[MissB]

34. I feel weird being in possession of so many

Costco would routinely put them on sale and I’d grab a multi pack and put it on my cleaning supply rack in my basement. Ditto with liquid hand soap and dish/dishwasher detergent. Sometimes I’d forget I had some, see that it was on sale and grab a multi pack.

So... I don’t know about the other poster but personally we have a bunch here at our house.

I can’t explain the big ole container of hand sanitizer though. No idea why I bought it last year, and was surprised to see it on my supply rack.

[Worried2020]

18. I just put it, and the cash, back into my pouch/fanny-pack

I rarely use it, and seeing as the virus can only survive for a few days on most surfaces - I figure if present, it will be long dead b4 I use the card again.

The only ATM I use has a sanitizer dispenser right beside the machine - use the sanitizer both b4 and after using the machine and putting my cash in my pouch.

If I have reason to touch the cash or CC within the next few days - same thing - use sanitizer both b4 and after handling it if I do not have access to soap and water



W

[ProfessorGAC]

19. I Wipe It Down

Just using isopropanol. Wipe both sides & edges. Wave it for 5 seconds and put it back in wallet.
I do that with my saver card at gas station, too.

[LisaL]

25. Yea, ethanol would work too.

[ProfessorGAC]

47. Yep

Their impact on viruses is essentially identical.
When it wasn't always out of stock, IPA is better only because it's way(!) cheaper.
But in terms efficacy, two sides of the same coin.

[abqtommy]

20. When I use my card at the checkout, first I wipe down the reader unit, then wipe down my card

before and after use, then wipe down my hands. I want to stay healthy!

[demmiblue]

21. I just put it back in my pocket.

I sanitize my hands when I get into the car, and wash them thoroughly when I get home.

[LisaL]

24. Well, I haven't used it in a while.

But if I did, I would wipe down with a disinfectant wipe (if I had any Clorox or Lysol wipes left, which I don't). If you have any wipes, wipe it down to be safe.
Now, if you are getting cash out of ATM, cash really is dirty is full of germs, and how to disinfect that, I have no clue.

[mantis49]

31. Money goes through washing machine well.

You could put it in a net bag and wash with a load of laundry.

[Squidly]

27. Since this all began

Ive been using a clorox wipe whenever I use a touch pad. Kinda just wrap it around my index finger and then wipe down the card. Then wipe down the gas pump handle and then my hands just in case and discard. Been avoiding cash as much as possible.

[Squinch]

28. I figured the machine slot is clean, but put the money into a bag to get washed at home.

But this thread is making me rethink that.

[sinkingfeeling]

29. I wipe mine.

[Generic Brad]

32. The risk is low, but it exists

It is the same risk as when you use a pin pad in a store. When I use a card I put it back in my wallet and then immediately use Purell or hand sanitizer. As soon as I get back home I thoroughly wash my hands. I know of no institution in the country that is employing people to wipe down ATM pin pads and card readers after each use, so I recommend proceeding with caution.

If you do feel concern over this, I suggest you try to avoid handling cash. Deposit checks through mobile if possible. Use debit or credit cards when practical and wipe down your cards after each use.

If there was high risk at ATMs, the people that service them would be falling ill in large numbers. That is not happening within the financial services industry.

Disclaimer - Next week I will finalize my International Certificate for Professional ATM Processors and I am on an ATM advisory council that provides information on this daily.

[Recursion]

39. The money is a bigger risk than the card (nt)

[FakeNoose]

40. I've been wearing gloves when using ATM machines and retail payment machines

When getting cash from the bank ATM machines - no worries because the bills have been counted, bundled and loaded by machine (or else by people wearing gloves.) When receiving "cash back" from a retail store - look out! Those bills came from the last customer and there's no way to know what's on them. Assume the worst.

[LAS14]

42. I don't put it in my wallet until I've gotten in the car, where I ALWAYS sanitize...

... my hands, my card, and the outside of my wallet. I do my hands whether I think I've touched anything or not. It's a rigid rule.

[ooky]

48. Haven't done an ATM transaction yet but thought that when/if I do, I will

1. Put on gloves and mask and take a paper grocery bag with me.

2. Take the card and cash from the ATM and place them both in the paper bag.

3. Then let it all sit in the bag long enough for the virus to die. Maybe come back in about a week or so.

[Hekate]

49. I keep both my card & my driver's license in a small zip-lock bag & wipe that off when I get home...

For getting change back, I carry another, slightly larger zip-lock bag.

I have a waist-pack I can use instead of my purse. Forgot the other day, though.

Anyway, I don't want to stick things back in my wallet any more.

[Codeine]

52. I don't worry about it.

The risk is insignificant for a healthy adult. At-risk individuals shouldn’t be out using debit cards anyway.

[LuckyCharms]

53. I'm at risk, but I don't really have a choice. n/t