Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
When it comes to banking, more and more tasks can be carried out on a mobile phone screen. But as today’s news selection shows, this shift is not to everyone’s liking.
Elsewhere on Wednesday’s agenda: Gaza, which continues to occupy the Swiss foreign ministry, and the question of overtourism on the “Roof of Europe”.
Enjoy your reading!
Online banking is taking another step forward in Switzerland. Developed by SIX, the bLink platform has now been rolled out for private customers. Eight major banks – including UBS, PostFinance and the cantonal banks of Vaud and Zurich – are already part of the initiative, which is expected to bring together 30 financial institutions and two fintech firms.
In practical terms, the new platform enables users to combine accounts from different banks and third-party service providers in a single application and carry out transactions on them. By way of analogy, it’s a bit like an email application that lets you connect to and manage several email accounts.
While well-established abroad, this technology has been slower to develop in Switzerland due to the absence of a legal requirement – unlike in the EU, where banks must open access to data – and the prudence of institutions focused on security and data protection. Now that the shift has begun, it could pave the way for a broader Open Finance model including insurance and investment.
So it’s another step towards the digitisation of payments. But not everyone is happy. According to the daily 24 Heures, more small retailers are banning TWINT because they consider the fees too high. Interviewed by Blick, a TWINT spokesperson said he was “fed up” with recurring criticism, insisting that TWINT’s pricing remains “very competitive”.
Those who participated in the Gaza flotilla have just received a letter from the Swiss foreign ministry asking them to reimburse the government for services. Assistance from Switzerland to its citizens abroad is not free, particularly when risks are known in advance.
The invoices concern 19 Swiss nationals who took part in the “Waves of Freedom” and one in the “Thousand Madleens to Gaza”. The flotilla sought to break the Israeli blockade and deliver humanitarian aid, but participants were arrested and detained for several days by Israeli authorities.
Bills ranging from CHF300 to CHF1,047 ($371 to $1,296) cover repatriation, interventions with Israeli authorities and prison visits. Lawyers had been warned that costs could be charged if official advice against taking part in such operations was ignored.
Those affected reacted sharply, calling the invoices “incomprehensible” and saying they had received only minimal assistance, in some cases just a brief visit. Some spoke of “total abandonment” and labelled the decision “dishonourable”. Appeals against the foreign ministry’s decision have already been announced.
At its weekly meeting on Wednesday, the Federal Council decided to support implementation of the American plan for Gaza: the “Gaza Peace Plan for peace in the Middle East”. Switzerland will make an additional CHF23 million available for this purpose.
The contribution was presented by Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis. Most of the aid will go towards emergency humanitarian action, with priority given to access to water, healthcare and basic goods. Of the total amount, CHF17.5 million ($21.6 million) will be distributed to organisations including OCHA (CHF5 million), the ICRC (CHF4 million), the Palestinian Red Crescent (CHF2 million) and the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization (CHF1 million).
Child protection is another major focus, with CHF5.5 million earmarked for UNICEF (CHF2.5 million), WHO (CHF2 million) and Save the Children (CHF1 million), supporting education, psychosocial care and evacuations of the injured. A project with FIFA also foresees the construction of mini-pitches as safe spaces for young people. A further CHF4 million will go to the EU’s PEGASE mechanism (health in East Jerusalem), CHF1 million to the World Bank for financial reforms and CHF500,000 for mine clearance.
This additional contribution to the CHF127 million made available since October 2023 brings Switzerland’s humanitarian aid to a total of CHF150 million. The Swiss federal government considers that this aid is still necessary: “Despite the increase in aid following the October 10 ceasefire, the emergency on the ground remains vast,” the government said.
It’s no secret that crowds flock to the summit of the Jungfrau, to the “Top of Europe” so extolled by tourism marketing. But are there too many visitors? The American travel guide Fodor’s thinks so and has placed the destination on its “No List”.
This is the first time a Swiss site has appeared on the guide’s list of destinations to avoid due to overtourism, pressure on nature or local resistance. The Jungfrau now finds itself alongside the Canary Islands, Mexico City and Paris’s Montmartre.
The head of tourism for the Jungfrau region naturally disagrees. Comparing the Jungfrau with Mexico City or the Canary Islands is like “comparing apples and pears”, Marc Ungerer told Blick, noting that the area receives fewer tourists and that there is no backlash from residents.
Meanwhile, the spectre of overtourism may be fading in famous US national parks. Swiss media report broadly on a new proposal from the Trump administration: from next year, foreign visitors would pay three times more than US citizens to enter the parks. The administration says the aim is to give “priority to Americans”.
Translated from French using DeepL/amva
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