54% of Switzerland supports abolishing the five-rappen coin

A recent survey by philoro has revealed that 54 percent of Swiss citizens support abolishing the five-rappen coin, despite a growing preference for keeping physical cash.

Majority of Swiss would get rid of the five-rappen coin

A recent survey by precious metals dealer philoro found that a majority of Swiss citizens (54 percent) would abolish the five-rappen (cents) coin, despite cash being a popular payment method in Switzerland.

The survey was conducted in collaboration with the University of St. Gallen between July and September 2025. 3.012 participants were asked about their “attitudes towards physical precious metals as an investment”, according to a philoro press release.

“The study results show that the question of abolishing the five-cent coin is viewed inconsistently in Switzerland,” says philoro CEO Christian Brenner. 80 percent of residents in Ticino were supportive of getting rid of the smallest Swiss coin, and 68 percent in French-speaking Switzerland. Opinions in German-speaking Switzerland were more evenly distributed.

Protecting cash increasingly popular in Switzerland

Furthermore, the number of people who support keeping cash as a payment method has been increasing, even as digital payments become more widely used. In 2025, 11,2 percent said they would abolish cash compared to 28 percent in 2023 and 12,4 percent in 2024. 

Ticino was again the region most in favour of getting rid of cash, with 21,5 percent of respondents in favour. Comparatively, 13 percent supported abolishing cash in French-speaking Switzerland and 9,8 percent in German-speaking Switzerland.

Swiss voters to decide on Cash initiative in March

According to Brenner, the two questions represent different debates: “The five-cent coin question is about deciding whether a coin with such an extremely low face value is still needed”, while cash is about “self-determination, privacy, and immediate availability.”

On March 8, 2026, Swiss voters will decide on the “Cash initiative” and the government’s counter-proposal. Both proposals want to protect the supply of cash and require that the Swiss franc can only be replaced by referendum but differ in terms of specific wording.