Citizens vote to secure right to use cash in Swiss Constitution

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This article requires pre-publication review by an uninvolved reviewer (someone not substantially involved in writing the article). There are currently 4 articles in the review queue.

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If your article is solid, consider giving another draft a pre-review. Even small fixes help — proofreading, clarifying sources, or checking attribution. Collaborative review gets everyone’s work published faster.

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Sunday, March 8, 2026

73.4% of Switzerland citizens voted yes in a national referendum to adding the right to use cash to the Swiss Constitution. On Sunday evening, Swiss Federal Council member Karin Keller-Sutter stated the results of the referendum at a press conference.

In the referendum, the citizens were presented with three questions, one was to vote yes or no to a popular cash preserving proposal by Swiss Freedom Movement (SFM); another was to vote yes or no to a counter-proposal from the government, which was reportedly clearer from legal perspective; and to specify their preference if both proposals passed. Unlike the SFM proposal, the government counterproposal did not require Swiss National Bank to provide cash in ‘sufficient quantities’, only to ‘guarantee cash supply’ to other banks in the country, meaning the government would not be required to regulate banks to ensure that branches and ATMs were widely available. While the government proposal passed, the SFM proposal didn’t pass, with only 46% supporting the initiative.

Brett Scott, an activist, commented that cash may be easier to use for some of the people with visual impairments and disabilities. Also, Nadine Frei, a sociologist, added that some people find it easier to not overspend with cash, compared with digital transactions. Swissinfo, a local news outlet, mentioned some people did not trust digital systems and were concerned about surveillance. Other reports mentioned that using cash does not involve paying transaction fees to a bank or a payment gateway.

Market Screener noted a Swiss citizen holds US$10,700 in physical cash per person on average, substantially more than in other countries.

Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia had already included the right to use cash in their constitutions. The Swiss National Bank had previously published data in 2024 showing 30% of transactions used cash and 70% of transactions did not, at that time.