Switzerland’s ‘cash initiative’ – what’s at stake?

swissinfo.ch

Swiss citizens look set to vote on a people’s initiative to try to ensure their economy never becomes cashless. What do the campaigners behind the idea really want?

Cash is widely used in Switzerland, much more so than in many other countries. In Sweden, only 9% of people still pay with notes and coins; in the United States the figure is around 60%. Meanwhile, 97% of people in Switzerland still keep some cash at home or in their wallets.

But some Swiss citizens are worried about this cashless trend, and the Swiss franc could well become a hot political issue again. Campaigners have collected enough signatures to try to force a nationwide vote to ensure the Swiss National Bank and government always maintain a sufficient quantity of banknotes and coins in circulation.

Who is behind this popular initiative? What are their aims? And what are the arguments for still printing coins and banknotes and using cash these days? Find out all this and more in the latest Geldcast update below.

From stock exchanges and bitcoin to inflation and monetary policy, the Geldcast update features the latest from the world of international finance – in a clear and entertaining format for everyone who wants to stay up to date. The podcast is hosted by monetary economist and business journalist Fabio Canetg.External link

The SWI swissinfo.ch Geldcast

Author Fabio Canetg completed his doctorate in monetary policy at the University of Bern and the Toulouse School of Economics. Today he is a lecturer at the University of Bern. As a journalist, he works for SRF Arena, Republik Magazin and SWI swissinfo.ch, where he hosts the monetary policy podcast “Geldcast”.