Swiss favour smartphone payments over cards and cash

Smartphones have for the first time become the most popular means of payment in Switzerland, ahead of cards and cash, according to a Visa survey.

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Some 28% of the Swiss population prefer mobile payment, according to the Visa Payment Monitor 2026. This is closely followed by debit cards (27%) and cash (25%).

“People who make contactless payments with their smartphone use the card that is stored on the device,” Santosh Ritter, country manager Visa Switzerland, told the news agency AWP. “We also see that the trend towards digital payment is continuing.”

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Young people in particular are interested in the spread of digital payment options. Almost three quarters of 18 to 35-year-olds are of the opinion that it should be possible to pay by card or mobile phone everywhere today.

Among young adults, two out of three people already make mobile payments, while in the population as a whole, around half of all people pull out their smartphone at the checkout.

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Instant payment concerns

Just under half of those surveyed stated that they only carry cash with them for fear of not being able to pay digitally in a shop. At the same time, 32% of the population stated that they actively avoid shops that only accept cash.

“Those who don’t accept digital payments are potentially losing customers and therefore business. Companies are well advised to give their customers the choice to pay the way they want,” said Ritter.

Half of the Swiss believe that it will no longer be normal to pay with cash in five years’ time. Just under one in three currently assume that artificial intelligence will take over shopping in the future.

When it comes to real-time transfers, the picture is ambivalent. Although the service has arrived in the everyday lives of the Swiss – one in two people use real-time transfers at least irregularly – trust still needs to be built up.

For example, 72% still have reservations about using instant payments, mainly due to the lack of chargeback options.

For the Visa Payment Monitor, the market research institute Forsa conducted a representative online survey in November 2025 among 1,022 people aged 18 and over in Switzerland (including 505 18- to 35-year-olds) about their attitude towards digital payments.

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Translated from German by AI/mga