Switzerland Begin Reversing Course on the Cashless Society —but 2026 Will Still Require Vigilance By Breeauna Sagdal THE SOLARI REPORT AND BREEAUNA SAGDAL 24 DEC 2025 AT 03:31
Two European countries—Sweden, which though an EU member is not a member of the eurozone, and non-EU member Switzerland—currently provide interesting windows onto the worldwide battle to maintain cash as a meaningful payment option. Once a leader in cashless “innovation,” Sweden is now actively reversing course to preserve cash. In 2023, it abandoned plans for an all-digital e-krona and is prioritizing payment system safety, while its Defense Ministry—citing vulnerabilities in electronic banking to potential cyberwarfare—distributes brochures advising households to keep at least a week’s supply of banknotes on hand. Meanwhile, Switzerland’s Liberty Movement is making progress toward enshrining cash in the constitution. But emerging circumstances prove the importance of continued vigilance in 2026. Let’s dive in. Sweden’s Cash Inquiry In recent years, Sweden has been a pioneer in digital payments, and mobile apps like Swish have dominated transactions, to the point where Sweden is one of the two countries in the world (along with Norway) with the lowest amount of cash in circulation (as a percentage of GDP). In 2024, however, amid rising concerns over cybersecurity threats, power outages, and geopolitical instability, Swedish officials did an about-face and launched a “Cash Inquiry.” One of the central proposals to have emerged from the Cash Inquiry is a requirement to accept cash for the sale of essential goods and services. This requirement would apply to supermarkets and other businesses and organizations providing essential goods, and entities like health centers that charge fees under public law. Sweden’s central bank, the Riksbank, supports this measure as crucial, with Riksbank Governor Erik Thedéen stating in a press release that “People should always be able to pay for food, healthcare and medicines both digitally and with cash.” In its submission to the country’s Cash Inquiry, the Riksbank has strongly advocated for legislative measures to protect physical money, warning that “the cash infrastructure is currently very vulnerable” and highlighting cash’s critical role in resilience. Says Thedéen, “The increasingly turbulent global situation, increased cyber attacks and also the major power outages in southern Europe show the importance of being able to make payments even when the internet is down.” In addition, Thedéen has emphasized that banks must take greater responsibility for handling cash, including strengthening mechanisms for overnight deposits and for supplying businesses with petty cash. The Riksbank also wants banks to be legally required to provide private individuals with access to basic cash services (such as depositing banknotes)—until now, not a legal obligation. Switzerland’s Referendum Switzerland is another low-cash economy where mobile app and card payments are increasingly dominant. But though physical money comprises only around a quarter of transactions, the country appears to be locked in a clash over cash. Politicians in the Liberty Movement submitted more than 100,000 signatures, enough to force a public referendum on their “Cash is Liberty ” initiative. If passed, cash acceptance would be permanently enshrined in the country’s constitution, guaranteeing the continued circulation of Swiss franc coins and banknotes. While paying lip service to the “major importance of cash for the economy and society,” the national government opposed the initiative and introduced a counterproposal. However, the lower house of parliament overwhelmingly rejected the government’s attempt to block the constitutional amendment, and the measure is now expected to be voted on by the upper house in the coming year. In October, the recently appointed president of the Swiss National Bank, Martin Schlegel, reaffirmed that cash remains a “widely used payment method” and unveiled plans for a new series of franc notes. Schlegel also highlighted the unique strengths of cash—most notably, its reliability during power outages and technical failures. Vigilance Required Both Sweden and Switzerland illustrate the tensions surfacing amid the growing recognition that fully cashless societies risk exclusion and fragility. The recent developments around cash seem to signal a broader global rethink. As digital threats mount, cash is reemerging not as a relic, but as a vital pillar of secure and accessible payment systems. However, as nations seek to balance innovation with preparedness, the U.S. adoption of stablecoins and enabling legislation, and other digital currency developments worldwide, could tip the scales back in the other direction. For example, though Sweden determined in 2023 that there was no societal need for an e-krona, Riksbank Governor Thedéen—closely eyeing digital currency developments in the U.S. and EU—stated in early December that Sweden might need to investigate the matter anew to avoid being left behind. Thedéen said,
瑞士開始扭轉無現金社會的路線
—但2026年仍然需要保持警惕
Switzerland Begin Reversing Course on the Cashless Society
—but 2026 Will Still Require Vigilance
By Breeauna Sagdal
THE SOLARI REPORT AND BREEAUNA
SAGDAL
24 DEC 2025 AT 03:31
https://open.substack.com/pub/solarireport/p/sweden-and-switzerland-begin-reversing
Two European countries—Sweden, which though an EU member is not a member of the eurozone, and non-EU member Switzerland—currently provide interesting windows onto the worldwide battle to maintain cash as a meaningful payment option.
Once a leader in cashless “innovation,” Sweden is now actively reversing course to preserve cash. In 2023, it abandoned plans for an all-digital e-krona and is prioritizing payment system safety, while its Defense Ministry—citing vulnerabilities in electronic banking to potential cyberwarfare—distributes brochures advising households to keep at least a week’s supply of banknotes on hand.
Meanwhile, Switzerland’s Liberty Movement is making progress toward enshrining cash in the constitution.
But emerging circumstances prove the importance of continued vigilance in 2026. Let’s dive in.
Sweden’s Cash Inquiry
In recent years, Sweden has been a pioneer in digital payments, and mobile apps like Swish have dominated transactions, to the point where Sweden is one of the two countries in the world (along with Norway) with the lowest amount of cash in circulation (as a percentage of GDP).
In 2024, however, amid rising concerns over cybersecurity threats, power outages, and geopolitical instability, Swedish officials did an about-face and launched a “Cash Inquiry.”
One of the central proposals to have emerged from the Cash Inquiry is a requirement to accept cash for the sale of essential goods and services. This requirement would apply to supermarkets and other businesses and organizations providing essential goods, and entities like health centers that charge fees under public law.
Sweden’s central bank, the Riksbank, supports this measure as crucial, with Riksbank Governor Erik Thedéen stating in a press release that “People should always be able to pay for food, healthcare and medicines both digitally and with cash.”
In its submission to the country’s Cash Inquiry, the Riksbank has strongly advocated for legislative measures to protect physical money, warning that “the cash infrastructure is currently very vulnerable” and highlighting cash’s critical role in resilience. Says Thedéen, “The increasingly turbulent global situation, increased cyber attacks and also the major power outages in southern Europe show the importance of being able to make payments even when the internet is down.”
In addition, Thedéen has emphasized that banks must take greater responsibility for handling cash, including strengthening mechanisms for overnight deposits and for supplying businesses with petty cash. The Riksbank also wants banks to be legally required to provide private individuals with access to basic cash services (such as depositing banknotes)—until now, not a legal obligation.
Switzerland’s Referendum
Switzerland is another low-cash economy where mobile app and card payments are increasingly dominant. But though physical money comprises only around a quarter of transactions, the country appears to be locked in a clash over cash.
Politicians in the Liberty Movement submitted more than 100,000 signatures, enough to force a public referendum on their “Cash is Liberty ” initiative. If passed, cash acceptance would be permanently enshrined in the country’s constitution, guaranteeing the continued circulation of Swiss franc coins and banknotes.
While paying lip service to the “major importance of cash for the economy and society,” the national government opposed the initiative and introduced a counterproposal. However, the lower house of parliament overwhelmingly rejected the government’s attempt to block the constitutional amendment, and the measure is now expected to be voted on by the upper house in the coming year.
In October, the recently appointed president of the Swiss National Bank, Martin Schlegel, reaffirmed that cash remains a “widely used payment method” and unveiled plans for a new series of franc notes. Schlegel also highlighted the unique strengths of cash—most notably, its reliability during power outages and technical failures.
Vigilance Required
Both Sweden and Switzerland illustrate the tensions surfacing amid the growing recognition that fully cashless societies risk exclusion and fragility. The recent developments around cash seem to signal a broader global rethink. As digital threats mount, cash is reemerging not as a relic, but as a vital pillar of secure and accessible payment systems.
However, as nations seek to balance innovation with preparedness, the U.S. adoption of stablecoins and enabling legislation, and other digital currency developments worldwide, could tip the scales back in the other direction.
For example, though Sweden determined in 2023 that there was no societal need for an e-krona, Riksbank Governor Thedéen—closely eyeing digital currency developments in the U.S. and EU—stated in early December that Sweden might need to investigate the matter anew to avoid being left behind.
Thedéen said,
兩個歐洲國家——瑞典，瑞典雖然是歐盟成員國，但不是歐元區成員國，但非歐盟成員國瑞士——目前為保持現金作為一種有意義的支付選擇的全球鬥爭提供了有趣的視窗。
瑞典曾經是無現金「創新」的主管者，現在正積極扭轉路線，以保護現金。 2023年，它放棄了全數字電子克朗的計劃，並優先考慮支付系統安全，而其國防部以電子銀行對潛在網路戰的脆弱性為由，分發小冊子，建議家庭至少保留一週的紙幣供應。
與此同時，瑞士的自由運動在將現金載入憲法方面正在取得進展。
但新出現的情況證明了在2026年保持警惕的重要性。 讓我們開始吧。
瑞典的現金查詢
近年來，瑞典一直是數字支付的先驅，像Swish這樣的移動應用程式主導了交易，以至於瑞典是世界上流通現金金額（佔GDP的百分比）最低的兩個國家之一（與挪威一起）。
然而，在2024年，隨著人們對網路安全威脅、停電和地緣政治不穩定的日益擔憂，瑞典官員進行了轉變，併發起了「現金調查」。
現金調查提出的核心建議之一是要求接受現金來銷售基本商品和服務。 這項要求將適用於提供必需品的超市和其他企業和組織，以及根據公法收取費用的健康中心等實體。
瑞典央行Riksbank支援這一措施至關重要，Riksbank行長Erik Thedéen在一份新聞稿中表示：「人們應該始終能夠以數字方式和現金支付食品、醫療保健和藥品。」
在向該國的現金調查提交材料時，Riksbank強烈主張採取立法措施來保護實物貨幣，警告說「現金基礎設施目前非常脆弱」，並強調了現金在復原力方面的關鍵作用。 Thedéen說：「日益動盪的全球局勢、網路攻擊的增加以及南歐的重大停電表明，即使在網際網路癱瘓的情況下，能夠付款的重要性。」
此外，Thedéen強調，銀行必須在處理現金方面承擔更大的責任，包括加強隔夜存款機制和向企業提供零用金。 Riksbank還希望法律要求銀行為個人提供基本現金服務（如存入紙幣）——到目前為止，這不是法律義務。
瑞士公投
瑞士是另一個低現金經濟體，移動應用程式和卡支付越來越佔主導地位。 但是，儘管實物貨幣只佔交易的四分之一左右，但該國似乎陷入了現金衝突。
自由運動的政治家提交了超過10萬個簽名，足以迫使他們的「現金就是自由」倡議舉行公投。 如果透過，現金接受將永久載入國家憲法，保證瑞士法郎硬幣和紙幣的持續流通。
在口頭上支援「現金對經濟和社會的重大重要性」的同時，國家政府反對該倡議，並提出了一項反建議。 然而，議會下院以壓倒性優勢否決了政府阻止憲法修正案的企圖，該措施預計將在明年由上議院投票透過。
10月，最近任命的瑞士國家銀行行長Martin Schlegel重申，現金仍然是一種「廣泛使用的支付方式」，並公佈了一系列新的法郎紙幣計劃。 Schlegel還強調了現金的獨特優勢——最明顯的是其在停電和技術故障期間的可靠性。
需要保持警惕
瑞典和瑞士都說明了緊張局勢的出現，因為人們越來越認識到完全無現金社會存在被排斥和脆弱的風險。 最近圍繞現金的發展似乎預示著更廣泛的全球重新思考。 隨著數字威脅的增加，現金不是作為遺物重新出現，而是作為安全和可訪問的支付系統的重要支柱。
然而，隨著各國尋求平衡創新和準備，美國採用穩定幣和賦能立法，以及全球其他數字貨幣的發展，可能會使天平向另一個方向傾斜。
例如，儘管瑞典在2023年確定社會不需要電子克朗，但瑞典央行行長Thedéen密切關注美國和歐盟的數字貨幣發展，12月初表示，瑞典可能需要重新調查此事，以避免被拋在後面。
Thedéen說，