The International Currency Association (ICA), representing the currency sector, has worked with partners since the beginning of this unprecedented public health crisis to highlight verified information on COVID-19 from central banks, health ministries, and academics – governments and research institutes around the world have affirmed that there is no evidence banknotes transmit coronavirus or are more strongly contaminated than any other surfaces, objects, and other payment methods.
That is why the ICA welcomes the Verified initiative, launched by the United Nations (UN), which aims to share credible information about the pandemic and cut through the noise of fake news. The ICA has compiled a dossier of examples of disinformation linked to cash and COVID-19 in media reports since the beginning of the year, and has shared this with the UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications along with our references document of verified sources and an offer of cooperation.