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The Swiss love cash. Did you know that 70% of all transactions here are made in cash? We do see people using plastic from time to time, and of course there’s plenty of online shopping that requires people to use electronic payments, but, by and large, people prefer cash. The biggest banknote available is 1000 francs (£850, US$1000), and there are 50 million of these in circulation in Switzerland (population just 8 million) today.

Indeed, many businesses do not even accept credit cards. Try to use one in Rocks or the Tanne or the Crystal bar, and you’ll be sent scurrying off to the cashpoint. The popular Jungfrau hotel at Wengernalp costs hundreds of francs a night, and they don’t accept cards. You can’t even use them in the post office – it has to be cash. And that’s before we get to popular payment apps like Apple and Google Pay, which are almost unheard of here. I used Google Pay in Central Sport once, just to see whether it would work. It did, but I bet it’s the only such transaction they’ve ever had.

So why my fascination with cash today? Thumbing through my bank statement earlier this afternoon, I was amazed to find that I haven’t been to a cash machine since the 13th of March. With no bars, cafes or restaurants open, there’s simply no need for it any more. Every so often we buy eggs that come from the farm at Innerwengen with cash, but that’s about it. How times change.

In case you haven’t already guessed, it’s been raining all day, so we’re stuck indoors.