The Swiss voice in the world since 1935

Debit card most popular means of payment in Switzerland

Debit card is now the most popular means of payment in everyday life, according to the SNB
Debit card is now the most popular means of payment in everyday life, according to the SNB Keystone-SDA

Pulling out a card to pay is already part of everyday life for many people in Switzerland. According to the latest survey on payment methods conducted by the Swiss National Bank (SNB), debit cards are becoming increasingly popular for payments on the spot and have now replaced cash.

+Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox

“The debit card is now the most frequently used means of payment,” writes the SNB in its report published on Tuesday. However, according to the currency watchdogs, payment apps are also gaining in popularity and are now used for almost one in five local payments.

But cash remains dear to the population. Despite this development, 95% of respondents said cash should continue to be available as a means of payment. “Only a very small proportion are in favour of abolishing cash,” according to the SNB survey.

+ Switzerland’s love affair with cash

At the same time, a growing number of respondents noted that it is becoming increasingly difficult to stock up on cash. According to the SNB, respondents criticised the fact that there are fewer opportunities to withdraw cash. This is causing resentment about the more limited access to cash, it said.

The SNB said it conducted its fourth survey on payment methods among private individuals in Switzerland in autumn 2024. Around 2,000 people were asked about their payment behaviour by telephone or online questionnaire.

Translated from German by DeepL/ts

This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.

If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

Trio of banks around UBS defend themselves in vain against multi-million fine

More

EU court maintains fine against UBS

This content was published on UBS, the Italian UniCredit and the Japanese bank Nomura have unsuccessfully defended themselves against a multi-million fine in the legal dispute over illegal collusion in the trading of government bonds.

Read more: EU court maintains fine against UBS

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR