To this day, cash in Switzerland is the only form of legal tender that anyone can hold themselves. Admittedly, under the Federal Act on Currency and Payment Instruments (CPIA), sight deposits held at the Swiss National Bank (SNB) also count as such, but the accounts required for this are reserved for banks and other financial market participants under the National Bank Act (NBG).

The CPIA reflects the special status of cash compared with all other forms of payment by defining an obligation to accept it and differentiating this even for coins and banknotes. "Everyone is obliged to accept up to 100 Swiss regular issue coins in payment." And with regard to banknotes, it states clearly: "Everyone must accept Swiss banknotes in payment without restriction." Conversely, this means that, in principle, no one is obliged to accept payments in another form, such as Twint, debit and credit cards (and thus sight deposits at commercial banks), or foreign and cryptocurrencies.

Cash on the decline

However, contractual freedom also applies in Switzerland, which makes it relatively easy to waive the obligation to accept cash and exclude cash as a means of payment by mutual agreement. The fact that cash has been in retreat in payment transactions in recent years – so much so that even the SNB is concerned about cash infrastructure – is due to other reasons: primarily technological progress, which makes cashless payment options more attractive and convenient, and changing payment habits, especially among younger generations.

To what extent lobbying by providers of cashless payment methods, whose services are of course not offered for free, has contributed to this development, is naturally difficult to quantify. What is clear, however, is that the industry skillfully used the opportunity presented to it during the coronavirus pandemic to expand its market share. At the time, the authorities handed it a perfect opening with their infection-control-motivated – but not fact-based – recommendation to avoid cash payments.

Loomis, Orell Füssli, Sicpa and others

Now, however, away from civic movements such as the authors of the cash initiative (in March 2026, the Swiss electorate accepted the counterproposal), the cash lobby is also beginning to organize. The association "Swiss Cash" was founded as far back as May 6, 2025 (exactly 175 years after the introduction of the Swiss franc as the official national currency), but it now wants to increase its public visibility.

According to the website, members include cash logistics providers Loomis and Cima, a manufacturer of note-counting and note-verifying equipment headquartered in Italy and part of the Loomis Group. They also include companies involved in banknote production: Orell Füssli Security Printing (printing), Landqart (banknote substrate), Sicpa (banknote security) and Koenig & Bauer from Germany, whose Swiss subsidiary in Lausanne develops and produces banknote and security printing machines.

Broad support is sought

The association, chaired by Ernesto Zimmermann, Head of Operations and Chief Operating Officer of Loomis, aims to ensure that the payment system using cash will continue to be available to the Swiss population in the future, remain accessible to everyone and thus preserve freedom of choice.

However, this is not an exclusive club; rather, the association wants broader support and is therefore also seeking memberships from private individuals.

The four advantages of cash

The arguments used by Bargeld Schweiz are not new. However, that does not diminish their validity.

• Access: Cash must remain easily accessible to everyone in Switzerland. This requires cash to remain available and usable in practice: the prerequisites for this are a secure supply of cash and acceptance in everyday payment transactions.
• Resilience: A functioning cash payment system is part of the basic supply. It strengthens the resilience of the payment system because cash can also be used when digital systems do not work. Cash should therefore be regarded as part of Switzerland's crisis preparedness.
• Inclusion: Cash is easy to understand, immediately usable and requires neither a smartphone nor an app, a credit card, a bank account or digital experience. Cash excludes no one, including those who cannot or do not want to use digital systems in everyday life (because, for example, they do not want to leave a data trail).
• Freedom of choice: People should be able to decide for themselves how they pay. Cash gives people control over their payments and protects their privacy in everyday life. The more digital payment methods displace cash, the more this freedom is restricted.

Miguel Fonollosa, who recently began working part-time as the association's managing director, confirms to finews that Bargeld Schweiz wants to become more visible externally. The website has been redesigned, and the first current articles have been published. "You will be hearing more from us in the future," says Fonollosa, stressing that the aim is not to stir up hostility toward cashless payment methods. "We fully recognize that digital systems can be very efficient and convenient."

Parliament forces City of Zurich to ensure freedom of choice

The association does not want to turn cash into a political issue – and that is not even necessary, because it already has been one for some time. Last week, for example, the Zurich city council passed a motion with the votes of the left that stems from an SVP proposal. Companies of the City of Zurich and those supported by it are now required to accept cash.

Another announcement from last week also has to do with payment transactions. The Federal Council has opened a consultation on an amendment to the Federal Act on Unfair Competition.

More transparency on fees for cashless payment methods

Going forward, payment service providers will be required to disclose to merchants how the components of fees for cashless payment methods are made up. The merchant fee, the interchange fee and the payment system operator's license fee are to be disclosed, both before the contract is concluded and during its term. "Greater transparency about the individual fee components should make it easier for merchants to understand the composition of costs and compare offers from different providers," the Federal Council's statement says.

What the Federal Council does not write, but which is nevertheless sometimes a valid option, is that a merchant can also forgo all these offers and instead accept only coins and banknotes.