Switzerland has taken a substantial step toward becoming a cashless society with the launch of its instant payment scheme. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) and financial infrastructure operator SIX made the announcement on Wednesday. This new system allows funds to be transferred within seconds rather than waiting days for transactions to clear.
Launching Instant Payments
Instant payments work as credit transfers, with funds available in the recipient’s account within 10 seconds of the payment order being made.
According to the SNB, around 60 financial institutions can now process and receive instant payments. This development covers over 95% of Swiss retail payment transactions. The scheme was launched on Tuesday.
The central bank expects more banks to adopt similar services in the coming months. The SNB indicated that all financial institutions in Switzerland are expected to offer instant payments by the end of 2026.
“This market launch represents a further important milestone and reflects the collective stakeholder commitment to the future of cashless payments in Switzerland,” the SNB said.
Earlier, SIX, the Swiss National Bank (SNB), and six commercial banks launched a pilot project exploring the use of tokenized central bank money, known as wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC), as reported by Finance Magnates.
The initiative, referred to as Helvetia Phase III, represents the first application of wCBDC for settling digital securities transactions in Swiss Francs. The pilot will take place on SIX Digital Exchange, a regulated financial market infrastructure for digital assets built on Distributed Ledger Technology.
Instant Payments Reduce Risks
Though traditional payment methods remain available, the SNB believes instant payments will become the standard in the medium term. The central bank and SIX initiated the project in November 2023, aiming to keep pace with Europe and the United States, where instant payments have been available since 2017 and 2022, respectively.
Instant payments between banks reduce settlement risks. The debit and credit occur instantaneously, providing both parties with up-to-date account balances.
