Revolut already has 1.3m customers in Switzerland. Now it wants a Swiss banking licence. Why? A new force may soon emerge in Swiss banking—though it is hardly a newcomer. Revolut, a British fintech firm, already has 1.3m customers in Switzerland. The firm has applied to the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma) for a banking […]
Swiss rail travel hits all time high
Switzerland travelled by train more than ever in 2025. Passengers covered almost 24bn passenger-kilometres, a third consecutive annual record, according to federal data. That was 3% more than in 2024 and confirms the recovery in rail travel since its sharp fall during the covid-19 pandemic. The increase was driven mainly by more journeys rather than […]
A quarter of Swiss buildings now have heat pumps
Switzerland’s housing stock is becoming greener. In 2025 one in four residential buildings was equipped with a heat pump, six times the share in 2000. Among homes built over the past decade, the technology is already dominant: three-quarters use one. Yet oil and gas still heat half of the country’s 1.8m residential buildings. The figures, […]
What is going wrong in Swiss schools?
Switzerland still has one of the stronger school systems in the rich world. Its 15-year-olds score above the OECD average in PISA. But the ranking conceals a less reassuring trend: Swiss pupils are getting worse at some of the basic things schools are meant to teach. In the latest results Switzerland scored 499 points in […]
Geneva’s ban on religious symbols faces legal challenge
A narrowly approved constitutional amendment bars parliamentarians from wearing conspicuous religious symbols. Opponents say it breaches fundamental rights. Geneva’s attempt to keep religion out of politics is heading to court. A constitutional amendment bars members of cantonal and municipal parliaments from wearing conspicuous religious symbols, such as headscarves, kippahs and crosses. Voters approved the measure […]
Swiss housing acutely scarce again
Switzerland’s housing market tightened further in 2026 to reach a vacancy rate below 1% for the first time since 2013. On June 1st, 45,493 homes stood empty, according to the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), equivalent to 0.93% of the housing stock. That was 0.07 percentage points lower than a year earlier. The number of vacant […]
Support for an immigration levy grows in Bern
Switzerland may one day charge employers an “entry fee” for recruiting workers from the European Union. The idea, long dismissed as anti-business and potentially incompatible with the country’s agreements with Brussels, is gaining support in Parliament. The Federal Council now backs it too. The proposal forms part of Parliament’s debate over Switzerland’s new package of […]
Most Swiss electricity bills to fall in 2027
Swiss households will get some relief from high electricity bills next year. Prices in the regulated basic-supply market will fall by a median 4% in 2027, according to ElCom, the federal electricity regulator. A typical household consuming 4,500kWh a year will pay about CHF 1,194, CHF 53 less than in 2026. The decline is being […]
Swiss canton votes on a 12% tax cut
On September 27th voters in Vaud will decide whether to cut cantonal income and wealth taxes by 12%. Business groups say the measure would ease the tax burden and bolster purchasing power. The cantonal government, left-wing parties and trade unions warn that it would blow a hole in the public finances. The initiative is one […]
Switzerland’s biggest battery joins the grid — for now
This week, a 58.4MW battery-storage plant has opened in Gurtnellen, in the canton of Uri, reported Axpo. It is the largest of its kind in Switzerland, though probably not for long. What is it? Switzerland’s biggest battery-storage facility has been connected to the grid in Gurtnellen. The project was developed jointly by Axpo and Energie […]
