Beware of germs on credit cards and cash, especially $5 bills

Just how germy are the credit cards and cash consumers handle every day?

A new study by finance website LendEDU finds that credit cards and debit cards are near the top of the list when it comes to germs, even more so than cash.

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After testing various surfaces, with higher scores indicating more germs and lower scores indicating less bacteria, the results showed that the average payment card had a germ score of 285. Some payment cards recorded germs scores over 1,200.

By comparison, a New York City subway pole had a score of 68 and a bathroom at Penn Station had a score of 163.

$5 bills are the dirtiest form of cash, with a score of 216. And coins, it turns out, are the cleanest currency of all, with an average score of 136.

NBC