“Switzerland Moves Towards Cashless Future with Instant Payments”
August 21st, 2024Optional, for now.
Via: AFP:
Switzerland’s new instant payment system will bolster the future of cashless payments in the country, the Swiss central bank said Wednesday after the scheme went live.
The Swiss National Bank said around 60 financial institutions were now able to receive and process instant payments, covering more than 95 percent of Swiss retail payment transactions, following Tuesday’s market launch.
“By end-2026 at the latest, all financial institutions active in retail payment transactions will be reachable,” the SNB said in a statement.
The central bank said the first institutions had already launched retail offerings enabling customers to send instant payments, with further banks to follow in the coming months.
“Instant payments allow private individuals and companies to perform account-to-account transactions with immediate execution and final settlement in seconds,” around the clock, the SNB said.
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The SNB’s latest Payment Methods Survey of Companies in Switzerland, published in February, found that “cash acceptance continues to be high”, and said there was “a broad desire among the population for cash to continue to be available as a payment method”.
