The Federal Finance Administration and the Swiss National Bank held their second roundtable with stakeholders in the cash cycle, focusing on declining access to and acceptance of cash and presenting new “principles on adequate access to cash” alongside early work on optimising the national cash access network. The discussion highlighted that public preference for cash remains strong even as usage shifts to cashless payments, with cash payments at physical points of sale falling from over 70% in 2017 to 30% in 2024. SNB surveys indicate consumers can still generally choose their payment method, but cash acceptance has weakened over the past two years, including in retail, arts and entertainment, and public transport, while the number of ATMs, bank counters and post offices has also declined. The guiding principles were developed by the SNB-chaired group of experts on access to cash, established in spring 2024, to help operators maintain access and avoid uncoordinated reductions in infrastructure; SIX and Swiss Post have used the group’s findings to develop a concept study on shared cash access points (“pooling”), with the SNB coordinating communication and providing expertise. Public transport stakeholders also discussed how to preserve access for travellers without smartphones or cards as the sector anticipates up to 90% of ticket purchases moving to digital channels in the longer term. Next steps include more frequent and more comprehensive SNB surveys to detect developments early, ongoing review by the expert group of alignment with the access principles, continued work by SIX and Swiss Post on operational efficiency through pooled access points, and further development of pragmatic approaches to cash acceptance in public transport, alongside monitoring of European regulatory proposals affecting cash supply, distribution and acceptance.
Swiss National Bank 2025-11-21
Swiss National Bank and Federal Finance Administration present principles to maintain access to cash at second cash roundtable
The Swiss National Bank and Federal Finance Administration held a roundtable on declining cash access, presenting principles to maintain availability. Despite a shift to cashless payments, public preference for cash remains strong, though acceptance and infrastructure have declined. The SNB-chaired expert group is working with SIX and Swiss Post on shared cash access points, while public transport stakeholders explore solutions for non-digital ticket purchases.