Swiss politicians have voted in favour of enshrining cash in the country’s constitution as mobile and card payments have taken a dominant position.
The members of the lower house of parliament voted overwhelmingly against a government proposal for a referendum on the issue.
Last month, the Swiss Liberty Movement, which groups together opponents of Covid-19 public health restrictions, submitted more than the 100,000 signatures needed to force a public referendum in the country.
The initiative would add a provision to the constitution that Swiss franc notes and coins remain in circulation.
The government opposed the move, although its proposal still recognised the “major importance of cash for the economy and society”.
The vote means the upper house of parliament must now take up the measure.
Around a quarter of payments in Switzerland are made with cash, according to the latest survey by Swiss Payment Monitor, a group that brings together academics and the payments industry.
It found that mobile transactions – those made using a smartphone or another connected device – were the top method for the first time last October and November, with a 30.7% market share.
Debit cards followed at 24.4% and cash at 24.2%.
Last October, President of the Swiss National Bank Martin Schlegel – the country’s central bank – announced plans for a new series of franc notes, saying cash would remain a “widely used payment method in the future” despite the rising market share of mobile and card transactions.
He noted that cash continues to have many advantages, including when power failures and technical problems occur.
