A Maltese company is launching a pathogen-resistant money card to counter the COVID-19 outbreak.

Insignia Cards Limited said the technology works by silver-coating money cards with a layer that resists pathogens. In a statement, the company said that testing had shown the coating effectively killed up to 99 per cent of germs on treated surfaces.

The tests also showed that pathogens do not have time to develop resistance before being completely destroyed, the company said. The coating demonstrated the best “germ-killing power”, the company said, when it is applied to titanium or zinc surfaces, layered below the silver on the credit cards.

“This is just the first step from a series of actions that we’ll undertake here at Insignia to provide peace of mind for our clients,” company president Nada Tucakov said.