Mobile payment providers hoping to disrupt payments make a lot of claims about their products, touting them for convenience and security. Now add another benefit to mobile payments: cash is disgustingly unclean.

According to payment brand MasterCard, scientists at Oxford University recently found that European bank notes contain more 26,000 bacteria on average. Even the newest notes were home to 2,400 bacteria.

"The bank notes we tested harbored an average of 26,000 bacteria, which, for a number of pathogenic organisms is sufficient for passing on infection," said Oxford Professor of Engineering Science Ian Thompson in a statement on the research. "Previous studies of bank notes have indicated contamination with potentially harmful bacteria such as Klebsiella and Enterobacter, species which can cause disease in humans."

Thompson added that with recent concerns regarding antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria, "there is merit in a wider study tracking the spread of resistant strains through movement of bank notes globally."

Filthy lucre, indeed. 

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