SNB sticks to banknote color and denomination
Published: Wednesday, Oct 30th 2024, 13:10
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The Swiss National Bank (SNB) is planning to launch a new banknote series and is holding a design competition. The colors of the banknotes and the usual denomination of the series will not change, as SNB President Martin Schlegel explained to the media on Wednesday. The first notes from the new series will be issued in the early 2030s at the earliest.
The 1000-franc note, whose use declined again after the end of the negative interest phase and which is not without controversy, will continue to exist in the future. "The 1000-franc note remains an important means of payment and, in particular, a store of value for the Swiss population," said Schlegel. And according to the survey, the remaining denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 notes are also very popular in Switzerland.
In any case, the use of cash is still very important in Switzerland, even though payments are increasingly being made with cards or apps, Schlegel continued. Around one in three payments are made in cash in Switzerland today. "We are convinced that cash will remain a widely used means of payment in the future," said Schlegel.
The banknote series, which was introduced between 2016 and 2019 and is currently in circulation, is very counterfeit-proof, emphasized Schlegel. However, it has reached around half of its lifespan and it is therefore time to start planning the new series. The SNB usually launches new banknotes every 15 to 20 years.
The introduction of a new banknote series also costs money. Schlegel assumes that a mid double-digit million amount will have to be spent on this. He did not want to put a figure on how much the management of cash costs in total. Schlegel also only commented briefly on the SNB's monetary policy: "We have said that we will remain active on the foreign exchange market in the future if necessary." His focus remains on the mandate of price stability.
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