Swiss banknotes: past and future

In 1911, Roald Amundsen became the first explorer to reach the south pole. In the same year, Marie Curie received the Nobel Prize for chemistry and became the first woman to win two Nobel Prizes.

“Mother Helvetia” also wrote her own success story in 1911: the Swiss National Bank (SNB) issued the first “real” banknote series, following on from the so-called interim notes. Ferdinand Hodler was one of the artists who worked on the design of the banknotes. Nowadays, around 90% of the world’s banknotes are “Swiss.” This is because Swiss companies are heavily involved in some parts of the banknote production process, for example in ink formulation, printing and paper manufacture.

On 30 April 2021, the SNB recalled the eighth Swiss banknote series. The ninth series was brought into circulation in 2016 and the tenth series is expected to follow in the early 2030s. Series 10 “Switzerland and its altitudes,” aims to reflect the diversity of life at the various altitudes. But let’s start at the beginning.

Currently, insofar as we are paying cash, we are using notes from the ninth series. These were issued in stages between 2016 and 2019. The reason for the new banknote series was – or rather is – to uphold the highest security standards and therefore ensure the best-possible protection against forgery.

It wasn’t just the series itself that was new: the design concept for the 10-franc, 20-franc, 50-franc, 100-franc, 200-franc and 1,000-franc notes also broke new ground. In a move away from famous persons and toward the many facets of Switzerland, each banknote represents the country in a different way.

The sixth, seventh and eighth series are no longer considered official means of payment, but you can return the notes to the SNB at any time and exchange them at their respective face value. In the event that you still have notes from earlier series, you may be able to find a collector to take them. 

It is impossible to give a general answer as to how much the various older notes are worth. What we can say, however, is that it’s worth taking a look at the history of the Swiss banknotes. While the first to eighth banknote series have a nostalgic aspect for some, for others they prompt significant aha moments.

How often do you pay with cash and how often do you use your debit, credit or prepaid card? Anyone who claims that people only pay by card nowadays overlooks the fact that cash still plays a central role, despite declining use. In fact, over the past 40 years, the amount of cash in circulation relative to gross domestic product has been greater than ever before.

Why does cash remain so popular? It offers unique advantages: anonymity, independence from infrastructure and security. In addition, paying with cash is deeply rooted in our culture. In short, cash is and will remain an important element of a functioning economy.

Nevertheless, electronic payment methods and digital currencies are becoming increasingly important and are expected to account for an even larger share of payment transactions soon. In the case of digital currencies, the question is no longer if but when they will be in widespread use.