Is cash dying?

On Friday, the Bundesrat approved a report it had written on behalf of parliament. He believes that a “massive disappearance” of cash should be avoided as long as there is no equivalent cashless alternative.

Because cash has important functions that cannot completely replace cashless means of payment. It gives the general public access to money from the central bank, strengthens crisis resilience in the event of failure of electronic payment systems and protects privacy.

people should be able to choose

No one should be excluded, according to an argument of the Bundesrat: the wallet also enables people without a bank account and without access to cashless means of payment to participate in economic life.

Nevertheless, as is the case today, the Bundesrat wants to give families and businesses the choice between cash and alternative means of payment. He does not consider a mandatory acceptance obligation to be appropriate or necessary.

The Bundesrat wants to keep an eye on developments

Cash is still widely used in Switzerland and acceptance is limited only in certain areas, he writes. An exception should also be made for online trading, he emphasizes. Because an acceptance obligation would be “hardly feasible”.

However, the Bundesrat wants to keep an eye on the development of cash. He has instructed the Ministry of Finance (FDF) to report regularly on the development of access to cash and innovations in alternative means of payment. If necessary, the FDF should indicate options for action.

The FDF should also set up a roundtable on cash transactions. The Swiss National Bank (SNB), the federal government, banks, retailers, service providers and consumer associations and other stakeholders will take their place. (SDA)