People in Switzerland will have the opportunity to ensure the economy remains cashless as a pressure group collects enough signatures to spark a popular vote.

The Free Switzerland Movement (FBS) has stated cash is playing an ever-reduced role in numerous economies as societies becoming increasingly digital, thereby making it easier for the state to oversee people’s actions.

The pressure group is seeking a clause to be added to the country’s law, governing how the government and central bank control the money supply, stipulating that a “sufficient quantity” of coins and banknotes must stay in circulation, Reuters reports.

To date, there is no evidence of moving towards a cashless society by the country’s authorities.

So far, the Free Switzerland Movement has collected more than 111,000 signatures supporting the measure, surpassing the 100,000 required to trigger a popular vote. The proposal would become law should it be approved by voters, within Switzerland’s direct democracy system. Nevertheless, the government and parliament would decide on how the law was applied.

“It is clear that ... getting rid of cash not only touches on issues of transparency, simplicity or security ... but also carries a huge danger of totalitarian surveillance,” according to FBS president Richard Koller.

He also sees the country as a European standard-bearer in defence of cash, as he says gaining approval from the 27 European Union member states on such guarantees would be “almost impossible.”

The shift towards cashless payments, although accelerated by the impact of lockdowns during the pandemic, was clear back in 2017. According to the findings of an Ipsos study, over a third of Europeans and Americans would be happy to go cashless, 20% of whom already did so.