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Why is Switzerland making cash a constitutional right?

Despite being a progressive country in many ways, Switzerland is still a big fan of paying with cash. Now the government wants to make coins and notes a constitutional right.

Published: 31 August 2023 16:07 CEST
Updated: 3 September 2023 08:09 CEST
A man holding a supermarket bag bearing the Swiss cross walks across a square on September 21, 2012 in downtown Lausanne.
A man holding a supermarket bag bearing the Swiss cross walks across a square in Lausanne. AFP PHOTO / FABRICE COFFRINI (Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP)

If you live in Switzerland, you’re probably used to carrying cash around with you. 

That’s because, although card payments are much more widely accepted and common compared to previous years, people do still enjoy using cash to pay (and some smaller businesses still demand it). 

Now the Swiss government is taking things a step further. 

The Federal Council announced this week that it was opening a consultation on a draft law on the “preservation of cash” in Switzerland.

It follows an initiative by the Swiss Movement for Freedom (MSL), which called for the supply of coins and banknotes to be guaranteed, and for any project to replace the Swiss franc by another currency to be subject to referendum vote by the population. 

The government said it had rejected this initiative because the wording in the proposal wasn’t clear enough. 

Instead, it launched a counter-proposal which would make it “possible to incorporate both concerns by means of precise legal regulations”.

READ ALSO: Why do the Swiss love coins and banknotes so much?

The Federal Council said that it “recognises the importance of the role played by cash for the economy and society”, adding that both the supply of cash and the use of the Swiss franc as national currency are currently guaranteed under the law.

Therefore, the government “is prepared to reinforce the importance of these principles stated at the legal level by enshrining them in the Constitution”.

The consultation period will last until November 30th.

Swiss francs.

Swiss francs. Photo: Pixbabay

Is cash really that important to Switzerland?

According to a survey on payment methods in Switzerland conducted in 2022, cash and debit cards are the two most widely used payment forms in Switzerland. 

A huge 96 percent of respondents to the survey said they keep cash in their wallets or at home to cover everyday expenses. 

Meanwhile, cash is used by the population in 36 percent of transactions, making it one of the most used methods for day-to-day payments.

Yet there has been a decline in the use of banknotes and coins. 

In 2020, the share of transactions with cash stood at 43 percent, while in 2017 it was 70 percent.

People are using payment cards, particularly contactless, more often as well as mobile payment apps. 

Meanwhile the Swiss Movement for Freedom has launched a second initiative on the subject, which aims to ensure that people can continue to pay in coins or banknotes when it comes to public services, such as on transport, shops or public toilets. 

Under the banner “whoever wants to pay with cash must be able to pay with cash”, the movement said it is concerned about society moving in a digital direction and cash payment being phased out.

Does cash really need to be enshrined in the constitution?

There is no right or wrong answer, but Switzerland obviously feels cash is super important to society.

Meanwhile, neighbouring Austria has launched a similar plan. 

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, of the conservative Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP), announced in July that he wants to go forward with a plan to make cash a constitutional right.

“We understand that cash is a very important theme to people,” Nehammer said. “It’s important to me that cash use is constitutionally guaranteed.”

READ ALSO: Why is Austria so set on making cash payments a constitutional right?

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What you can be fined for in Switzerland if you don’t follow everyday rules

If you are a new arrival in Switzerland, or even if you have been living here for a while but are not familiar with local laws, these are the rules you need to follow to avoid being slapped with a fine.

Published: 12 June 2024 12:13 CEST
What you can be fined for in Switzerland if you don't follow everyday rules

Switzerland has numerous rules and regulations in place for a variety of infractions.

The good news (if you can call it that) is that you can be fined only for not complying with official laws. If you break one of many unwritten rules, you may get hostile looks and comments, but no legal repercussions.

Some of the offences are obvious — not speeding or being drunk while driving; not causing a disturbance in public; and not instigating or participating in criminal activities, among other infractions — everything that you shouldn’t do anywhere, not just in Switzerland.

Others, on the other hand, like the ones mentioned below, are more related to Switzerland’s own, and often quirkily unique, regulations.

These are some of the rules you may inadvertently break and the fines that could be handed to you for non-compliance.

Not registering your address at your commune

When you rent an apartment or buy a property in Switzerland, you will have to announce your arrival at your local municipality. 

The ‘address registration’ rules may come as somewhat of a shock to people from some other places, like the United States, where you can move from one location to another and stay pretty much under the radar.

Not so in Switzerland because Swiss authorities want to know who is living in their country and where.

When you settle in a new home, you have 14 days to announce your arrival in your new commune of residence, though in some places the deadline may be longer.

This is how to go about this process.

(The entire process will have to be repeated when you move to another home, even if you remain in the same commune. You will have to de-register your old address and register the new one.)

What happens if you don’t do this?

Local authorities will find you anyway sooner or later — probably sooner — and impose a hefty fine on you, the amount of which will depend on the reason why you didn’t register in the first place.

Not having a health insurance

Health insurance is compulsory in Switzerland for all legal permanent residents.

Anyone who moves here must get health coverage within three months of their arrival. 

If you fail to do so, your local authority will choose a plan on your behalf and you will have to pay the premiums.

If you don’t (and have no valid reason for being exempted from this obligation), two things will happen.

Firstly, you could be denied medical care other than in case of emergencies.

Secondly, your unpaid bills will add up, and you could be subject to debt proceedings. This, in turn, could be held against you if you ever decide to apply for naturalisation.

READ ALSO: Could personal debt stop you from becoming Swiss? 

Driving without a vignette

If you use Swiss motorways, even if it’s only for a short stretch, you must purchase a 40-franc sticker to affix to the inside of your window shield.

Unlike many other countries, Switzerland has no tolls on their highways, so the vignette compensates for the cost of maintaining the roads.

Vignettes are valid for one year, from January 1st to December 31st, and can be purchased at petrol stations, post offices or online.

If you drive on the motorway without a vignette or if it is not stuck on correctly, you risk getting a 200-franc fine.

READ ALSO: What you need to know about Switzerland’s motorway charge sticker

Trash disposal and recycling

In nearly all Swiss towns and villages, trash must be segregated and placed in special bags or in bags that have a special sticker on them, and placed in a designated collection point on assigned days.

Not segregating your trash — for instance, throwing out PET bottles with tin cans or paper, or not putting it out on correct days — can result in heavy fines, the amount of which is determined by each individual commune.

Municipal workers have the right to go through trash bags to identify garbage offenders — and they do.

Just to give you an idea of the amount you could be expected to pay, a woman in the Lausanne area was fined 190 francs after she allegedly put out her garbage on a Wednesday, rather than on Monday, which was a designated trash collectin day on her street.

Another offender, a US citizen living in Zurich, threw a carton box with his name and address into a ‘regular’ trash can, instead of recycling it.

At the time of this incident, the offender had not yet received his fine, but it was expected to be as high as 320 francs. 

This article will help you avoid such penalties. 

Being loud on Sunday

Under the law, Sunday is a day of rest in Switzerland, so you should do nothing to disturb your neighbours, either sonorically or visually.

This means no loud noises like lawn mowing, vacuuming, or recycling bottles. Also, you cannot hang your laundry out to dry, as the sight of your undies may be offensive to your neighbours on a Sunday.

This is what  a 35-year-old German woman should have known, but clearly didn’t: she committed a faux-pas of recycling glass on Sunday.

Her reaction after being slapped with a 250-franc fine: “I can understand that people don’t want to be disturbed, but going to the police over a few bottles seems a bit much”.

Not in Switzerland, apparently.

If someone complains and, even worse, reports you to police, you can expect a warning at best (if this is your first offence), or monetary penalties which depend on the noise ordinance in your community.

Just as an example, fines for excessive noise in Geneva could be as high 150 francs.

READ ALSO: Six things you shouldn’t do on a Sunday in Switzerland 

Buying your train ticket too late

If you purchase your ticket on your Swiss railway app just as the train is pulling out of the station, you commit an offence. 

This may be taking the notion of punctuality to new heights, but one of Swiss trains’ (SBB’s) regulations states that a ticket is not valid if it is purchased after the departure of the train, even if by a split second.

Anyone who does this, for whatever reason, is considered a fare dodger.

If you do this, you could be slapped with a 90-franc fine which, depending on the distance you are travelling, may be much more than you actually paid for your ticket.

That is the amount for first-time offenders.

For the second and subsequent infractions, the fine increases to 130 and 160 francs, respectively.

But that’s not all,: you could also be fined for putting your luggage on an empty seat of a crowded train, thus preventing another passenger from sitting down.

“The general rule is that one person only can occupy one seat,” said SBB spokesperson Jeannine Egi.

In theory, passengers can be asked to buy a ticket for their luggage. However,  this measure is rarely used in practice.”

“The train staff can enforce the ‘house rules’ on trains using their own judgement,” Egi said.

READ ALSO: Why putting your luggage on the seat on a Swiss train could cost you 

These are just some of the rules you may accidentally break while in Switzerland.

But there are others as well:

READ ALSO: Six ways you can be fined in Switzerland 

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