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The
FBS (Free Switzerland Movement) says cash is playing a shrinking
role in many economies, as electronic payments become the
default for transactions in increasingly digitised societies,
making it easier for the state to monitor its citizens' actions.
It wants a clause added to Switzerland's currency law, which
governs how the central bank and government manage the money
supply, stipulating that a "sufficient quantity" of banknotes or
coins must always remain in circulation.
There is no evidence of moves towards a cashless society by
Swiss authorities.
FBS said it had garnered over 111,000 signatures in support of
the measure, above the 100,000 needed to trigger a popular vote.
Under Switzerland's system of direct democracy, the proposal
would become law if approved by voters, though government and
parliament would decide how that law was implemented.
"It is clear that ... getting rid of cash not only touches on
issues of transparency, simplicity or security ... but also
carries a huge danger of totalitarian surveillance," FBS
president Richard Koller said on the group's website.
He also views Switzerland as a European standard-bearer for the
defence of cash, as pushing through such guarantees in the
European Union would entail the "almost impossible" process of
securing approval from all 27 member states.
Accelerated by the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns, the trend
towards increased cashless payments was evident as far back as
2017, when an Ipsos study found more than a third of Europeans
and Americans would happily go without cash and 20% pretty much
did so already.
(Reporting by John Stonestreet; Editing by Emelia
Sithole-Matarise)
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