Swiss political movement has collected signatures for a referendum to protect cash
A lobby group has said Swiss citizens will have a chance to try to ensure their economy never goes cashless, once they collect enough signatures by Monday to trigger a popular vote on the issue.
The FBS (Movement for Free Switzerland) argues that cash is reducing its role in many economies, as electronic payments become the norm for transactions in increasingly digitized societies, making it easier for the state to monitor the actions of its citizens. The association wants a clause to be added to the Swiss currency law, which regulates how the central bank and the government manage the money supply, stating that a "sufficient amount" of banknotes or coins must always remain in circulation.
There is no evidence that the Swiss authorities are moving towards a cashless society.
The FBS said it had collected more than 111,000 signatures in support of the measure, more than the 100,000 needed to trigger a popular vote. Under Switzerland's system of direct democracy, the proposal will become law if approved by voters, although the government and parliament decide how to implement it.
“It is clear that … getting rid of cash not only touches questions of transparency, simplicity or security … but also carries a huge danger of totalitarian surveillance,” FBS President Richard Koller said on the group's website.
Koller also sees Switzerland as a European standard-bearer for the defense of cash, as introducing such guarantees in the European Union would involve the "almost impossible" process of getting approval from all 27 member states. Despite this, the ECB is trying to introduce the Digital Euro which would increase the level of control over financial transactions. Exactly what the Free Swiss movement wants to avoid.
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The article Swiss political movement has collected signatures for a referendum to protect cash comes from Scenari Economici .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/movimento-politico-svizzero-ha-raccolto-firme-per-un-referendum-per-proteggere-il-denaro-contante/ on Tue, 07 Feb 2023 11:00:41 +0000.