They Will Do Anything to Avoid Returning to Cash

The useful part

They Will Do Anything to Avoid Returning to Cash Martin Armstrong Switzerland is developing a nationwide system that will allow consumers to make card payments even when internet and telecommunications networks are unavailable. They are constructing an entirely new emergency payment infrastructure to create "offline payments" that are still under government's watchful eye. It settles the transaction immediately and leaves no unfinished claim waiting to be processed.

How it works

• The government, Swiss National Bank, commercial banks, payment providers, terminal manufacturers, and major retailers are working together to make approximately 16.5 million debit and credit cards capable...
• Yet the Swiss Federal Office for National Economic Supply declared that while cash is an alternative, it is "always advisable" to be able to complete purchases without it.
• Under the proposed system, the customer must use a physical card and enter a PIN.
• Authorization occurs locally between the chip and the terminal, which stores the transaction until communications are restored.
• The account is debited later after the terminal finally reconnects to the payment system.

What to take from it

It is merely recorded offline and submitted to the banks later, ensuring that...

Details worth keeping

This means the payment is not truly settled offline.