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News 2. Financial Services Swiss vote places right to use cash in country's constitution Switzerland joins Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia as European countries looking to make it a right to hold cold, hard cash. Listen AI generated Text-to-speech * Copy Link Copied * Share via email * Share on X * Share on WhatsApp * Share on LinkedIn Free article usually reserved for subscribers SWITZERLAND-BANKING-NOTES The vote means Switzerland will join the likes of Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia, which have already written the right to cold, hard cash in their constitutions. | Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images March 8, 2026 6:18 pm CET By Bjarke Smith-Meyer BRUSSELS -- The right to use Swiss franc banknotes and coins will be enshrined in Switzerland's constitution after voters on Sunday backed a measure designed to safeguard the use of cash in society. Official results revealed that 73.4 percent of voters backed the legal amendment, which the government proposed as a counter to a similar initiative by a group called the Swiss Freedom Movement. The Swiss Freedom Movement triggered the national referendum after its initiative to protect cash collected more than 100,000 signatures, triggering a national referendum. Its initiative secured only 46 percent of the final vote after the government said some of the group's proposed amendments went too far. Advertisement Advertisement Swiss Federal Council member Karin Keller-Sutter unveiled the results at a press conference Sunday evening. The vote means Switzerland will join the likes of Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia, which have already written the right to cold, hard cash in their constitutions. Austrian politicians are also debating whether to follow suit, as people's payment habits become increasingly digital -- especially since the pandemic. The trend has fanned Big Brother conspiracy theories that governments aim to control populations by withdrawing cash altogether. The European Central Bank's plans to issue a virtual extension of the euro have fanned those fears, prompting the EU's executive arm to propose a bill that will cement physical cash in societies across the bloc. Switzerland, too, has seen a drop in cash payments over the past decade. More than seven out of 10 payments at the till were in cash in 2017. In 2024, cash only featured in 30 percent of in-shop transactions, according to data from the Swiss National Bank. The Swiss Freedom Movement has previously pursued campaigns to sack unpopular government ministers, ban electronic voting, and protect citizens from professional or social retribution if they refuse to be vaccinated against Covid-19 -- none of which made it to the ballot box. 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