Hey, this occurred to me. Could not ultra violet light be used to disinfect key pads "pay points." You know the credit card readers at the market, etc. Already, a number of them have little partial hoods over them for privacy. I think a quick zap after every transaction....
Takes a bit more time than a quick zap for UV to kill things, and the germicidal wavelengths that do work relatively quickly are brutal on plastics, paint, and just about everything else. Catching a bit of glare from a strong UV light gave me a headache for an hour.
They could use certain metals for the construction of the public keypads. Silver and copper are both known to have strong anti-microbial properties, even in very thin coatings. That said, I haven't been asked to key in a pin on any sort of keypad in months. Just plug the card in- I hold the card, they hold the reader. And that's only been just the few times where I didn't read them the numbers over the phone or type them into somebody's website.
Online order and payment then curbside pick-up at Walmart is working for our grocery needs now. My credit card has a tap to pay chip in it, but I have only seen one gas station that can use this feature so far, and it is not anywhere close to us. I think Apple Pay or Google Wallet is even less popular. When I have to use a public switch of any kind and if I don't have a disinfectant wipe with me, I use the knuckle of my finger to push the buttons/switch. Less chance to transfer any infectious agents to my face.
Hey. Here I thought I had a Nobel Prize winning idea. Oh, well. I have heard of Apple Pay, but have no idea what it really is....but I have no Apple products (hey, is that UnAmerican?). Most places are still making me sign CC on the touchscreen if my purchase is over $50. Meaning I have to grab the stylus -- I try to grab right at the bottom, next to the "nub" figuring most people don't do that. I guess I could wear Latex/vinyl/nitrile gloves, but I don't have that many of them, and I try to use them for things like spraying toxic herbicides and pesticides, which is a big thing from a month or so ago to about the end of June here in the "gentleman farming" country. Seriously, I have mostly tried to go in stores, pick products that I need, but "adjust my purchases" so they come close to some whole number. I keep a stash of cash, so have lots of USD ones, fives, 10s, 20s, a few 50s and 100s. So, I try to get my purchase close to a round number and then hand them the cash and tell them I do not need a receipt or change. I REALLY hate wearing my mask, but it is a good N95. I found a stash I did not know I had.
You could buy the big copper key I brought up the other day. Basically a slightly over-sized key that you are suppose to use to touch keypads, touch screens and doors. It's only $24.99 plus shipping and handling. Who knows what direction we go in the future. Maybe higher standards, maybe some new devices and approaches. BUT...I hope we return to a point where our main defense, and most successful defense is our bodies own immune systems. And we aren't living in an Andromeda Strain future where we go through levels of decontamination . This is horrible, this has been horrible, but my hope is a general return to the world we knew. Where we lived with acceptable risks, and NOT in fear.
Another idea I've been utilizing: I carry a couple of Clorox or Lysol wipes in a snack-sized Ziploc bag everywhere I go. That arrangement fits very easily in my pocket. If the store personnel are ok with it I wipe things like screens and styluses myself. I also use them between my hands and the cart handles or gas pump handles. In the car I also keep some reusable nitrile gloves that I disinfect after each use.
I wear a mask for 3 reasons: (1) People GIVE me the masks saying "Please wear this so we're not offended by your ugliness!" (2) Wearing a mask allows me to make rude faces at them (3) wearing a mask helps prevent recognition when I go to the bank!
I never get asked for a PIN -- since I have no debit card. But, for a credit card transaction, they seem to want me to touch to approve amount, touch to say I am not now and have never been a communist, etc., as well as number of other stupid questions, and then, sometimes actual sign of the screen.
i think there is also a non contact payment for non apple products. you just hold your phone near the cc machine and the transaction takes place. not sure everyone takes it though.
Near-field communication - Wikipedia I'm not capable of being hinked out by key pads, but I generally avoid ATM cards...using a credit card instead and paying it off at the end of the month. That and NFC payments with my phone pretty much make my life keypad free - except when using my company fuel card. Since everybody is afraid of getting the Covids all over them they've largely waived the fake-signature portion of the transaction lately, and when I'm loading fuel I have to grab the pulp handle anyway - so the NFC payment doesn't really help. I just clean my hands with sanitizer afterwards.
I use my own Q-Tips for touching/signing things. Don't take much room in a pocket and they're disposable once used so no decon afterward.
You would need UV-C, and that is bad for your eyes if any leaks. I don't know how long it would need to stay on.
