Payment sanitizing system for point of sale

A sanitizer is described which frames a payment media, such as a bill, a coin and a credit card, in an irradiation zone between narrowly spaced support walls having associated ultraviolet lamps arranged to irradiate the payment media for at least a predetermined minimum time period. In one approach a motorized transport transports the payment media to an entry point from which it falls into the irradiation zone. In another aspect, a gravity feed approach is employed to return the irradiated media item to a dispense zone. One application is to alleviate concern at a point of sale where customers and merchants are concerned about whether payment media may be carrying a dangerous virus.