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Only 35 percent of the Swiss prefer to pay in cash, the rest prefer a card or a payment app on their mobile phone. But it is not expected that cash will disappear completely in Switzerland, as will probably soon be the case in Sweden, Norway or Finland.
On the contrary: the Bundesrat explicitly wants to write a money guarantee in the constitution. It is true that the law already stipulates that the National Bank must ensure the supply of cash. However, the Bundesrat intends to move this provision from the level of the law to the level of the constitution.
A symbolic act, but with a history: In February, the Swiss Freedom Movement submitted nearly 137,000 signatures for the money initiative. On the one hand, this requires
Meanwhile, the Freedom Movement has launched a second money initiative. This requires the federal government to ensure that there are always sufficient cash registers in stores that accept coins and notes for payment. In cities, an ATM must be available every two kilometers, in small municipalities there must be one within 15 minutes by car or public transport.
This initiative will probably have a harder time with the Federal Council – after all, it seriously infringes on entrepreneurial freedom. On the other hand, developments such as in Sweden show that supply and demand are related: in Sweden, shops and even banks do not have to accept cash. Bills and coins then became almost meaningless.
However, there are certainly advantages to doing away with it: Cash is very inefficient. It must be produced, transported back and forth and always available in a suitable form. Paying by card or mobile phone is also much more hygienic than passing banknotes from hand to hand.
The anonymity of the transaction also makes it easier to evade taxes, engage in criminal business or launder money with cash payments. However, a ban on cash payments for amounts above 100,000 francs, as proposed by the then Minister of Finance Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf (67), in 2013, had no chance in parliament. In some neighboring countries, cash payments of more than 1000 euros are even prohibited.
But none of these arguments can stop the Swiss from paying five francs and a hundred notes. And they also have advantages: cash works without electricity, without a smartphone and even if terminals or servers are on strike – a plus in times of cyber attacks. The anonymity of the cash transaction also has advantages – for example, because banks and retailers cannot create customer profiles in this way.
And so every few years the National Bank comes to the same conclusion: a clear majority of the population wants to be able to count on the security and anonymity of cash in the future.
Source:Blick
I am Liam Livingstone and I work in a news website. My main job is to write articles for the 24 Instant News. My specialty is covering politics and current affairs, which I’m passionate about. I have worked in this field for more than 5 years now and it’s been an amazing journey. With each passing day, my knowledge increases as well as my experience of the world we live in today.
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