The Swiss will vote to prevent a cashless society, the pressure group says – #Swiss #vote #prevent #cashless #society #pressure #group

Feb 6 (Reuters) – Swiss citizens will get a chance to ensure their economy never runs out of cash, a pressure group said after it collected enough signatures by Monday to launch a referendum on the issue.

FBS (Free The Swiss Movement) says cash plays a diminishing role in many economies as electronic payments become the default for transactions in increasingly digitalized societies, making it easier for the state to monitor the movements of its citizens.

He wants to add a clause to Switzerland’s currency law governing how the central bank and government manage the money supply, which would require a “sufficient amount” of notes or coins to be in circulation at all times.

There is no evidence that the Swiss authorities are moving towards a cashless society.

FBS, which is necessary to cause popular vote 10More than 0,000 said it had collected more than 111,000 signatures in support of the measure. Under the Swiss system of direct democracy, offer will become law if approved by the voters, although the government and parliament will decide how this law is implemented.

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“It’s clear that … getting rid of cash doesn’t just address issues of transparency, simplicity or security … it also carries the grave threat of totalitarian control,” FBS President Richard Koller said on the group’s website.

It is also Switzerland for the protection of cash Europe because it considers the bearer of standards Europe The introduction of such guarantees in the Union would lead to an “almost impossible” process to secure the approval of all 27 member states.

Accelerated by the impact of the COVID-19 bans, the growing trend of cashless payments is still in 2017, an Ipsos study found that more than a third of Europeans and Americans would be happy to live cash-free, and 20It was obvious when % already did it. .

Reporting by John Stonestreet; Edited by Emelia Sithole-Matarise

Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

2023-02-06 16:33:24
Source – reuters

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