Switzerland Chooses New Banknote Designs for 2030s
The winning design firm, Emphase, expressed excitement over the opportunity, marking a significant achievement for their team.
By : Reuters
Update: 2026-03-05 00:50 GMT
Zurich: The Swiss National Bank on Wednesday unveiled the winning designers for its next bank note series, which includes one of the world's most valuable denominations: the 1,000 Swiss franc note ($1,281.39).
The 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1,000 franc notes due to enter circulation in the 2030s come despite physical money losing ground to other payment methods such as mobile apps.
SNB Vice Chairman Antoine Martin said Switzerland still liked bank notes even though their use was declining.
"The Swiss population continues to want to have access to cash," Martin told a press conference.
The winning design features plants on one side of the yellow, red, green, blue, brown and purple notes, with notable landmarks and Swiss cultural touchstones on the reverse side.
The final notes, which will boast new security features, may differ from the winning entry, the SNB said.
Sebastien Fasel, a partner at Emphase, the winning design firm, said he had dreamed of making a bank note ever since the company was founded 16 years ago. "It was like a distant fantasy, a little out of reach," he said.
($1 = 0.7804 Swiss francs)