Switzerland moves towards cashless future with instant payments

ByAFP
August 21, 2024

The Swiss National Bank said the instant payments system was a 'commitment to the future of cashless payments' - Copyright GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File BILL PUGLIANO

Switzerland’s new instant payment system will bolster the future of cashless payments in the country, the Swiss central bank said Wednesday after the scheme went live.

The Swiss National Bank said around 60 financial institutions were now able to receive and process instant payments, covering more than 95 percent of Swiss retail payment transactions, following Tuesday’s market launch.

“By end-2026 at the latest, all financial institutions active in retail payment transactions will be reachable,” the SNB said in a statement.

The central bank said the first institutions had already launched retail offerings enabling customers to send instant payments, with further banks to follow in the coming months.

“Instant payments allow private individuals and companies to perform account-to-account transactions with immediate execution and final settlement in seconds,” around the clock, the SNB said.

“This market launch represents a further important milestone and reflects the collective stakeholder commitment to the future of cashless payments in Switzerland.”

The SNB said the scheme offered significant advantages due to shorter settlement chains, with funds received being immediately available.

The central bank anticipates that instant payments “are likely to become established in Switzerland in the medium term, and form the basis for further innovation in payment transactions”.

The SNB’s latest Payment Methods Survey of Companies in Switzerland, published in February, found that “cash acceptance continues to be high”, and said there was “a broad desire among the population for cash to continue to be available as a payment method”.

While mobile payment app acceptance has risen by 19 percentage points since 2021 to 59 percent, the survey found that more than 90 percent of companies doing face-to-face business accepted cash.

The Swiss franc is the legal tender of Switzerland, Liechtenstein and the Italian exclave of Campione d’Italia.

Unusually, Swiss banknotes have a vertical orientation. They are printed in the four national languages: German, French, Italian and Romansch.

The 10-centimes coins minted in 1879 are the oldest coins still in circulation, according to Guinness World Records.