The Swiss Fall Out of Love With Cash
- Only one in three transactions done using physical money
- Citizens will get to vote on enshrining cash in constitution
In Switzerland every inhabitant holds the equivalent of $11,824 in bills and coins.
Photographer: Stefan Wermuth/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Switzerland’s formerly cash-obsessed citizens are falling out of love with physical money.
Some 36% of consumer transactions were settled using physical money last year, according to a Swiss National Bank survey published Thursday. That compares with 43% in 2020 — when the pandemic was raging, discouraging the use of cash — and 70% in 2017. Another 33% were settled with debit cards, 13% using credit cards and 11% via mobile payment apps.