The Swiss Social Initiative "The Cash is Freedom", which has been partially successful, providing pro-cash changes to the country's constitution, far beyond the question of safety and convenience of payments. due to the fact that in this case, it's not about money at all.
To begin with, I gotta admit that I went for the gallows a while ago. I went to the marketplace where I visited, and tried to hand the stickers to the owners of the booths in the marketplace so that they could express their support for the action. It seems that this classically cash environment will be a large thought for specified an action. But it wasn't. I suffered a spectacular defeat coming home with all the materials taken. There may have been quite a few reasons for this, but 1 is peculiarly crucial in the full discussion on the defence of cash.
Although this seems to be an intuitive matter, in fact it requires deep reflection and intellectual substructure. The first impression, erstwhile we hear about cash, is: “There is not much to defend.”
For no 1 straight says that cash is forbidden.
If there's no problem, why engage in conspiracy theories?
On a somewhat deeper level, erstwhile we start the discussion, we will encounter populist slogans about conspiracy theories, as well as simply enemies of cash from the sign of the obsessive statolatria [the cult of the centralized state – ed.] and progress, so we must learn to defend ourselves from them. It is only erstwhile we have the time and the place to do so that we can begin to discuss why and how we can halt or even slow the way to full virtual money.
There is no request to hide that the sound and dynamics of the bazaar does not favour it. Like in general the momentum of everyday life, which makes it hard for us to stop, think and take time to act for the common good. And that's what cash is all about.
Cash in the Constitution
Although the referendum process in Switzerland has not been completed, it is already rather certain that the cash records will be entered in the Constitution. There are 3 legislative initiatives in the public circulation, including 2 citizens.
This initiative, "So for the free and independent Swiss currency in banknotes and coins (cash is freedom), founded in February 2023, is inactive under parliamentary procedure. Although the national Council and Parliament rejected this initiative in its first form, they developed and approved a direct counter-proposal which was adopted by Parliament this year, both by the National Council and the legislature (unanimously June 15, 2025). For procedural reasons, the referendum will not take place until 15 August 2026 and both proposals will be put to the vote unless the initiative committee withdraws its proposal (in which case only a counter-proposal would be voted on, or it would enter into force unless an optional referendum is launched).
The signatures were not collected (had time until mid-2024) and were rejected by Parliament by the referendum initiative "Wer mit Bargeld bezahlen will, must mit Bargeld bezahlen können!". This initiative did not receive parliamentary designation (and did not collect signatures) due to much more extremist slogans, large complexity and precise requirements.
From our point of view, it may be interesting that it obliged, among others, everyone and everywhere to recognise cash (e.g. besides in public transport erstwhile buying a ticket), as well as defining the minimum distance of ATMs – all 2 km in cities and 15 min transport outside the city (both points became controversial).
The device is slow but effective
On this occasion, it is worth to outline in respective sentences what the Swiss political strategy looks like, which stands out for a strong direct democracy, which allows citizens to propose changes to the national constitution through folk initiatives.
This mechanics requires the collection of 100,000 signatures within 18 months so that the proposal can be put to the vote throughout the country.
The national Constitution is the highest level of Swiss law, and folk initiatives may aim to change it directly.
However, Parliament and the national Council can respond to initiatives by making counter-proposals. These may be direct (proposing another constitutional change) or indirect (proposing a change of law).
If the initiative is not withdrawn by the committee under the influence of national authorities (i.e. counter-proposal), both the initiative and the direct counter-proposal are put to the vote. If both are accepted, the additional question determines which option voters prefer.
The adoption of a fresh law traditionally takes, as you can see, rather a long time.
The Swiss direct democracy strategy is not just a binary yes/no mechanics for legislative proposals. Instead, it functions as a tool for establishing a legislative agenda. Public concerns, even if they are articled through initiatives which are yet considered besides extremist or imprecise, force the political establishment to address the problem, refine demands and integrate them into the existing legal order in a more acceptable way.
Switzerland, or money
The debate in Switzerland and subsequent government on cash protection take place in a global landscape, where many institutions aggressively advance digital payments and despite their comparatively limited character (the government proposal's records sanction, but they only perpetuate the current state) can have considerable symbolic significance. due to the fact that they are showing that society and the Swiss authorities not only support the preservation of cash, but besides see serious risks to its functioning in the future and decide to constitutionally guarantee its defence.
Swiss action is not ad hoc and does not aim to facilitate payments or increase safety or convenience of payments, and is in fact a far-reaching strategy to defend the fundamental aspect of financial sovereignty and the autonomy of citizens from possible future pressures on a completely non-cash society (which was considered to be realistic adequate to defend themselves against constitutional records).
This is erstwhile the March 2025 survey of the Swiss National Bank showed that debit cards (35%) overtook cash (30%) in store transactions as early as 2024, which represents a crucial decrease from 70% of cash usage in 2017. In Switzerland, the ATM network, although reduced from around 7300 in 2019 to around 6200 at the end of 2024, is inactive characterized by advanced density.
At the end of 2021, there were 798 ATMs per million inhabitants.
The average distance to the nearest cash access point (bank office, branch of bank or post office) was 800 metres and to the nearest ATM is 1.2 km; 90% of residents are within a radius of 3 km from the ATM.
By comparison, in Poland the full number of ATMs was 20,741 in 2024, which represents a decrease from 22,085 in 2023. ATM density in Poland was 700 ATMs per million people in 2023; 97 percent of Poles have access to the nearest ATM within a radius of 10 km.
So formally, the problem with cash in Switzerland is not visible, but it is at this point that the Swiss like to simply defend themselves.
