The popularity of payment apps is rising in Switzerland, according to the findings from a new survey carried out by the country’s central bank.

Around 60% of businesses with physical stores now permit customers to pay via app, which represents a 19% increase in two years, according to the central bank’s poll of 1,750 companies headquartered in Switzerland.

In comparison, debit or credit cards are accepted in around half of stores, the survey shows.

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) carries out the survey on businesses’ chosen payment methods every two years, with the current one undertaken in summer last year, Bloomberg reports.

In the previous survey, the companies ranked debit or credit cards ahead of apps.

The central bank went on to add that businesses opted for their accepted payment methods based on customer preference. This was followed by reliability factors.

The SNB reiterated earlier comments that in order to maintain an extensively accessible cash infrastructure, consumers need to continue the usage of bills and coins

Switzerland is one of the world’s most banknote-savvy countries, with each citizen holding on average over $10,000 in physical cash, the Bloomberg report goes on to say.

According to the central bank, cash is still viewed as the cheapest method of payment by businesses.

“Cash is considered to have the lowest costs of the accepted payment methods, followed by debit cards, mobile payment apps and finally credit cards,” the central bank stated.

The most commonly used payment app in the country is Twint, which is a joint offering by the largest Swiss banks and stock market operator SIX. According to its operator, the payment app, largely confined to Switzerland, is used by more than half of the country’s population.