Debit cards just surpassed cash as the most commonly used payment method in Switzerland.
About 35% of consumer transactions in stores were resolved using debit cards last year, and physical money makes up 30%, according to Switzerland National BanksurveyPosted on Tuesday. This is compared to 21% and 70% in 2017. Another 18% was solved using mobile payment applications and 14% via credit cards.
Money is an emotional issue in Switzerland, where every residents are worth $ 10,481 in accounts and coins on average. This is the second largest posture of all economies in which the bank for international settlements is gatheringdata.
But in recent years, signs of declining use have become clearer. SNB said in October that public transport operators planshortentransactions in accounts or coins, andPayment apps– Particularly popular domestic Twint solution – are now widely accepted in companies than cards.
Nonetheless, the Swiss government said last year that it would support a popular initiative that wants to install the existence of cash in the Constitution. Unless the campaign of the right -wing group withdraws its proposal, the vote will be held in the coming years.
SNB claims that it remains an agnostic for the payment funds that citizens want to use. Still, the central bank, the government and the private sector convened an expert group for identificationSupply problemsphysical money if they appear. Publicly, President Martin Schlegel reminded citizens that the availability of law and coin also determines how wide they use.
“It’s about preventing a vicious circle,” he said last year when SNB discovered plans for aA new ATM series. “If the population wants to keep the current availability of cash, then it must continue to use cash.”
This story is originally shown on Fortune.com
