Survey of Swiss Companies on Payment Methods

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) conducted a survey of 2,000 companies in the summer of 2021, representative of every industrial sector and region of Switzerland.

The aim of the survey was to understand Swiss companies, acceptance and use of payment methods, particularly cash, the use of cash as a store of value and the management of cash logistics and changes to the cash infrastructure. The survey was used in conjunction with the 2017 and 2020 household payment method surveys.

Findings on cash receipts

The key driver determining how to take payment was what customers wanted. 83% took payment against invoice, with 68% accepting bank transfers and 60% cash.

10% had restricted their cash acceptance and 16% increased their acceptance of non-cash payments as a result of the pandemic. They stated this was partially due to hygiene and partly customer demand.

73% of companies had not changed their level of acceptance of cash and 71% their acceptance of non-cash payments.

After payment against invoice, bank transfers, cash and credit cards, mobile payment apps and debit cards were each used for 25% of payments. The number of payments using mobile payment apps is increasing significantly. Clearly companies in the retail sector had a different profile from business-to-business companies.

The categories where cash was preferred to other payment options were customer needs, the overall cost for the company and reliability of payment – in this instance, reliability being resilience.

The categories in which cards were preferred to cash were the risk of theft, conscious customer management and hygiene. Where there was little or no difference was transaction speeds, which is different from the findings of the household survey, where non-cash payments were preferred.

Findings on how companies pay

Transaction speed and supplier needs were the principal factors influencing the choice of payment method. The pandemic did not particularly affect the results. 79% of non-recurring payments were made by bank transfer, 61% payment against invoice, 40% by credit card and 35% using cash.

The priority of companies when deciding how to pay was the practicality of the payment process, then the needs of their business partners and then the cost of the payment method.

Cash holdings

In terms of cash held as a store of value, 58% of companies held no cash. A third held up to CHF 50,000. 27% of companies said they held reserves as a ‘safety net’ but 41% declined to answer. Few respondents gave a specific reason.

Most cash was held for use in imminent transactions with 62% holding CHF 1-50,000. 25% held no cash for this.

Access to cash

Most companies use bank infrastructure for the supply and return of cash.

33% expect cash infrastructure to decline over the coming years – the number of ATMs, post offices and bank branches. 30% expect that this would affect them and that they will have to scale back their use of cash as a result and nearly 20% said they would take other unspecified action. 37% said they would take no action as a result.