Switzerland: small purchases paid in cash

According to an article in the Swiss Handelszeitung, the Swiss use their debit card the most, while small purchases in-store are most often paid in cash. This is a conclusion from a research made by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) and the University of St. Gallen. Looking at the numbers, 37 percent of all expenses are paid by debit card, while 36 percent is paid in cash. 23 percent is paid with credit card. The study concludes that customers prefer to pay with multiple payment methods, depending on the occasion, the place of their purchase and the total amount of the purchase.

The National Bank of Switzerland (SNB) concluded something completely different, though. In their liquidity research of May 2017, they stated that 70 percent of registered transactions were payments in cash, 45 percent of all expenses. The researches of the current research claim this difference can be explained. They say that cash is still indispensable in the Swiss economy, but the interest in other payment methods is growing. Payment-behaviour is changing. It is expected that digital payment methods are on the rise, like contactless payments and mobile payments.