alt.hn

3/8/2026 at 9:26:38 PM

Swiss vote places right to use cash in country's constitution

 https://www.politico.eu/article/switzerland-cash-right-constitution-vote/

by 627467

3/9/2026 at 6:58:11 AM

Politco makes it sound much bigger than it actually is. Only two things are now secured in the constitution:

- The franc is the national currency - The swiss national bank is responsible for the supply of cash.

This doesn't have any effect in practice, since this is straight up copy and paste from the law about currency. This change only means that a change requires a mandatory referendum rather than having to launch a referendum.

It does nothing about acceptance of cash, afaik that initiative failed to reach the neccesary support to be voted on.

by nic547

3/9/2026 at 8:50:17 AM

> This change only means that a change requires a mandatory referendum rather than having to launch a referendum.

This seems a way of making sure that a future with Switzerland being part of the EU requires a vote to adopt the Euro. I do not see many other situations in which Switzerland changes its central bank or currency.

by Frieren

3/9/2026 at 9:24:20 AM

Switzerland can't join the EU without a referendum anyway, I don't think that's realistic anyway. The prevailing juristic opinion seems to be that changing away from the franc would have required a referendum because while it wasn't explicitly defined it was referenced a bunch of times.

The concern was about CBDC and "cashless", the original initiative comes from a conspiracy-adjecent group. They just kind of failed of doing anything major about it, the initiative was worded badly. The counter proposal was explicitly a symbolic copy paste with no real effect.

by nic547

3/9/2026 at 3:04:18 AM

Fantastic news. I don’t mind digital payments as an option, but without a guarantee like this, gatekeepers will always be motivated to kill off cash.

by iamnothere

3/9/2026 at 3:37:12 PM

I once saw a clip of a bus driver who was robbed with a gun for a few hundred euros. Public transportation in the Netherlands is card only nowadays and I don't think that drivers want to go back to the bad old days...

by expedition32

3/9/2026 at 7:13:12 PM

Oh well if one guy got robbed then let’s just ditch it all.

You know I heard that the same bus driver was insulted by someone so we should probably ditch freedom of speech too.

by iamnothere

3/9/2026 at 6:41:31 PM

Not surprised by the 73%. Even people who never carry cash anymore can see the problem with going fully digital — you're one outage or one policy change away from not being able to buy groceries. Cash doesn't need wifi, doesn't need approval, doesn't go down for maintenance.

The 30% usage stat makes it even more interesting. These aren't cash diehards. These are people who tap their card for everything but still don't want the analog option killed off. You protect the thing you might need, not just the thing you use every day.

by andreadev

3/9/2026 at 5:38:18 AM

We need this in America. I am increasingly seeing stores see that they do not accept cash. But it is also in public services. For example, transit systems where the only option is to use a smart phone because they’re getting rid of the cards that you could previously get from a kiosk.

by SilverElfin

3/9/2026 at 12:17:57 PM

What transit systems in America are getting rid of cards?

NYC is the most recent that I am aware that is in a payment system transition, but the new system has physical cards you can buy and reload to use with the new tap to pay system.

by delfinom

3/9/2026 at 11:52:22 AM

If you have any interest in local activism - stores are subject to local gov't. And transit systems are part of it. It might be relatively easy to assemble a local coalition, and get the local gov't to ban "de-humanizing" folks who don't have (or don't use, or don't trust, or ...) smart phones.

Biggest problem may be keeping that coalition - AI-phobics, Christians (real ones, not the "Blessed are the rich" hypocrites), Data Center opponents, Disabled & Elderly, Homeless advocates, ... Preppers, ... - working coherently enough to pass the laws.

by bell-cot

3/9/2026 at 3:27:46 PM

I have no idea how I would even get started. Like how do you find those people to get your coalition going? Are there guides on this sort of thing?

by SilverElfin

3/9/2026 at 4:30:37 PM

There are lots of "how to" web sites for Community Organizing. I'd just skim through a few of those - assuming your unfamiliar - then try to find real, involved local people who are already involved:

- If you have a good local politician who'd likely support this (probably from already being a supporter of affected groups), you could ask them.

- If your area has even half-decent services for the homeless, or a church serving meals to the needy, or a Salvation Army, or etc., then the people you want to talk to are within 2 or 3 degrees of separation from those. Or if your local transit org has in-person monthly public meetings, you could attend one of those & ask around.

Yes, I'm biased toward established, old-fashioned groups, which are already doing stuff in your area. They're the ones with the accumulated experience, local knowledge, and track record. Vs. (say) AI phobics are more like Level 0 NPC's, with default-to-zero skills or experience getting along in a group.

by bell-cot

3/8/2026 at 9:39:46 PM

Not mentioned - not unlike Finland's home emergency supply kits, having a cash-based backup payment system is an important part of national resilience.

by bell-cot

3/9/2026 at 12:13:47 PM

Denmark advised citizens to have some emergency cash, but then also advised people to use it sometimes — explaining that otherwise, the systems that deal with cash won't necessarily function properly in a crisis.

by Symbiote

3/9/2026 at 4:40:19 PM

If only there was some institution that could compel systems to meet the resiliency requirements.

by deltoidmaximus

3/8/2026 at 11:04:33 PM

Not following Switzerland, so I don't know whether this was part of the discussion: Most cards in Europe, Apple and Google are American. With Trump treating Europe like an enemy, it's stupid to use any of those. This year I have returned to use 90% cash after having no wallet since 2021.

by usr1106

3/9/2026 at 5:54:46 AM

Most cards in Europe also support American systems for international trade, but you don't need this to trade domestically.

by 1718627440

3/9/2026 at 2:48:37 PM

Most cards in Europe use Visa

by iberator

3/8/2026 at 9:32:47 PM

I contrast this with all then noise about megacorps passing private information to law enforcement, age verification, when discussing how (method of payment) we pay for services actually makes so much difference when facing these attempts at policing what is done online

by 627467

3/9/2026 at 5:53:17 AM

Being able to participate in the society financially is the ultimate necessity for people. You can be searched for by law enforcement and banned from "the Internet", as long as you can trade with random people for your food, you can live. The authorities can ban the Jews(or other group) from buying things, but then can not control everyone to enforce that. With digital money they can, and they even can apply that to a single person. Modern communist dictatorships use that as a threat instead of prison, because it is far more effective. Banning you from trading is a death sentence and being able to work, but just not being allowed to is a great way of mental torture.

by 1718627440

3/9/2026 at 10:20:50 AM

This is the defensive complement to what the EU is doing offensively with Wero and/or Digital Euro. Different direction but payment sovereignty is the same strategic impulse..

by 7777777phil

3/9/2026 at 2:51:35 AM

Meanwhile Canadian government funded media research organizations are tarring resistance to going cashless as conspiratorial:

They argue that digitization will enable governments to monitor financial transactions, restrict purchases, travel, and access to healthcare, freeze accounts, and punish people for exceeding their carbon limits or for dissent.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47299410

by like_any_other

3/8/2026 at 10:48:58 PM

[dead]

by nine_zeros