Bern government against forcing restaurants to accept cash

Bern should not introduce a legal obligation for restaurants and hotels to accept cash payments, according to the cantonal government.

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The government thus recommends rejecting a motion tabled by parties on the political right.

The initiators point out that more and more public establishments in the canton only accept electronic or digital payments. According to the petitioners, this discriminates against the elderly, young people without a credit or debit card, people without a bank account, and those who wish to pay with notes and coins for reasons of privacy.

Federal legislation recognises cash as a legal means of payment, but the rule is dispositive: premises can exclude it with a notice at the entrance or on the menu.

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In a recently published position paper, the cantonal government said it shared the concern about the social exclusion of certain sections of the population. According to the executive, however, the implementation of the motion would be problematic.

First of all, it is not certain that the cantons have the competence to introduce such a rule: a cantonal law would risk being annulled by the Federal Court.

Moreover, the catering industry is strongly opposed to the obligation: Bernese restaurants would be disadvantaged compared to those in other cantons and would have to bear additional costs.

Finally, the cantonal government points out that the use of cash is also declining in many other branches, so it is not clear why the obligation should only be imposed on the catering industry.

The last word now rests with the cantonal parliament.

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Adapted from Italian by AI/ts