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Keystone
![A discontinued model? Only a quarter of all Swiss still use cash regularly.]()
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A discontinued model? Only a quarter of all Swiss still use cash regularly.
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keystone-sda.ch
![The increase in the limit for contactless payments from 40 to 80 francs in April this year has ...]()
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The increase in the limit for contactless payments from 40 to 80 francs in April this year has …
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Keystone
![... gave a significant boost to contactless payments with debit and credit cards.]()
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… gave a significant boost to contactless payments with debit and credit cards.
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imago images / Blickwinkel
![Soon there could even be digital money from the central banks.]()
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Soon there could even be digital money from the central banks.
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A simple measure with major consequences: by increasing the limit for contactless payments from 40 to 80 francs in April of this year, the Swiss card issuers gave contactless payments with debit and credit cards a significant boost.
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75 percent of the Swiss use contactless payment – a year ago it was only 60 percent, as a survey by the comparison service Comparis shows.
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And not only that: 7 percent of the population already paid mostly with their smartphone. In the previous year it was only 2 percent. Before the lockdown, 27 percent of those surveyed would have paid with their mobile phones at least once a week. Now it is already 32 percent.
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E-banking is also growing
Conversely, the use of cash has collapsed. Before the corona measures, 39 percent of those surveyed would have pulled out coins and franc notes every day. Since then, only 25 percent have handled cash every day.
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A study by the Boston Consulting Group came to a similar result on Wednesday. In the first month after the lockdown, 41 percent fewer cash payments were made than in the previous year, according to the result. The Swiss would have paid 16 percent more often by credit or debit card.
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A further 8 percent of those surveyed in this study also stated that they had used e-banking for the first time during the peak of Corona. In addition, a good fifth wanted to visit a bank branch less often or never at all, the consulting firm had written.
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Skeptical about digital banks
While bank customers in Switzerland tend to be progressive with their payment behavior, they prefer to stick with the tried and tested when choosing their bank. In the banking country of Switzerland, traditional finance houses are trusted far more than their digital counterparts.
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According to a survey by the Boston Consulting Group, over half of those surveyed, 55 percent, think their money is safest with a traditional bank. However, only 18 percent would trust the digital banks. This is the lowest value among the respondents in all countries.
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Concerns about digital means of payment are still great – despite the current increase. According to Comparis, two out of three Swiss people have security concerns if their cards are lost and 55 percent do not trust that the systems will always function properly from a technical point of view.
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Fear of surveillance
Also, every second person still rejects the idea of a complete abolition of cash. Many feared that digital payments would be monitored too closely, they say.
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According to the information provided by the market research institute Innofact, the Comparis online survey was carried out in July 2020 among 1011 people in all regions of Switzerland. In the study by the Boston Consulting Group, 11,600 people in 30 countries, 514 of them in Switzerland, were interviewed.
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Digital money from the central bank
Ralf Wintergerst, head of the Munich banknote manufacturer Giesecke + Devrient, reckons that there could be digital money issued by central banks in the foreseeable future. This would give private cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, state competition.
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Technically, for example, a digital euro would be similar to Bitcoin. But unlike the famous cryptocurrency, it would be under the supervision of a central bank. Digital currencies work on the basis of a so-called blockchain – i.e. a chain of data blocks that grows with each transaction. Such a euro would exist as a digital unit and be available for online business.
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As with Bitcoin, you would need your own wallet in which the digital money is stored. Modern smartphone banks have these already docked to the current accounts as standard.
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G + D boss Wintergerst sees three major challenges: the basic security of a digital currency, the protection of privacy and the risk to the banking system. (SDA / koh)
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