g. from atms, and it must be widely accepted in retail trade. cash accessibility, use and acceptance are interrelated – if access declines, then so too does its use and thus also its acceptance in retail. as a result, the use of cash decreases further, and a downward spiral ensues. indeed, the use of cash, the number of atms and the acceptance of cash in retail have declined in recent years. with a view to gaining a range of perspectives on these developments, the snb and the federal finance administration held a first roundtable on cash at the end of october. banks, retailers, cash - in - transit operators, public transport companies as well as trade and consumer associations took part in this exchange. the participants are in agreement – any threat of a downward spiral within the cash system should be countered at an early stage. the supply and distribution of cash is one of the snb ’ s core tasks. we are currently assembling a broad - based group of experts. the aim of this group is to identify challenges to cash distribution and to develop solutions. in particular, it is necessary to maintain access to cash so that, in turn, both consumer use and acceptance by companies remain unrestricted. in conclusion, let me emphasise the following point. the freedom of choice between cash and electronic payment methods is not only dependent on the snb – it is the responsibility of all stakeholders. to preserve this freedom of choice, it is important that shops and businesses accept cash, banks and the post office dispense cash, and consumers actively use cash. page 4 / 6 berne, 14 december 2023 thomas jordan, martin schlegel and thomas moser news conference ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your attention. i will now hand over to thomas moser. the new generation of the central swiss payment system on 17 november, the swiss national bank and sic ltd successfully launched sic5. this new generation of the central swiss payment system changes the way payments can be processed thanks to the introduction of instant payments. in the future, private individuals and companies will be able to execute electronic payments end - to - end, from one account to another, within seconds – around the clock and including on weekends and public holidays. financial institutions will now connect to the system and start offering this functionality to their customers, at the latest from august 2024 onwards. until now, cash has been the only payment method with which customers could effect an immediate and

final transfer of value. thanks to instant payments, this may now also be achieved with electronic transfers. both private individuals and companies stand to benefit from this. the advantages include the immediate availability of funds received, and thus greater scope for process automation, as well as simplified liquidity management and lower settlement risk. the launch of sic5 is an important milestone in the development of switzerland ’ s payments landscape. it was made possible thanks to a close cooperation between the snb, sic ltd and financial institutions, and reflects the commitment of these parties to a future - proof swiss payments infrastructure. the snb is convinced that instant payments will become the new standard in electronic payments. page 5 / 6 berne, 14 december 2023 thomas jordan, martin schlegel and thomas moser news conference page 6 / 6