SNB Leaders Discuss Cashless Payments in Zurich

Petra Tschudin, Thomas Moser: Swipe, scan, tap - the cashless payments market

Speech by Ms Petra Tschudin, Member of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank, and Mr Thomas Moser, Alternate Member of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank, at the Money Market Event, Zurich, 16 April 2026.

Central bank speech | 22 April 2026 by Petra Tschudin and Thomas Moser PDF full text (225kb) | 7
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Ladies and gentlemen

How did you pay for your lunch today? Did you use cash, hold your card or smartphone up to a payment terminal, or scan a QR code? This decision will typically depend both on personal preference and on the specific situation at the physical point of sale. But economic and technological factors also play a role in the choice of payment method.

My colleague Thomas Moser and I are pleased to explain to you today how cashless payments work, both technically and economically. We will approach this from a macroeconomic perspective and examine the challenges involved in maintaining an efficient and resilient payments system. We will then discuss the SNB's role in cashless payments and outline how we contribute to overcoming these challenges.

How the Swiss pay at the cash register

Let us start with developments at the cash register. According to the SNB's payment methods surveys, the habits of households have changed significantly in recent years. You can see the figures on the slide. Cash is still used in around 30% of all transactions at cash registers, debit and credit card payments together account for around 50%, and mobile payment apps for around 20%. Over time, the use of cash – a medium that has been around for millennia – has declined; on the other hand, the trend for cards, which we have all been using for around 50 years, is stagnating. Mobile payment apps, which only emerged about ten years ago, are recording the fastest growth in usage.

When we pay for something, we rarely think about how the payment process works technically, and how economic mechanisms affect the supply – and our use – of payment methods. To make this more tangible, let us start by looking into the engine room of cashless payments.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect those of the BIS. About the authors Petra Tschudin More from this author Thomas Moser More from this author

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