Swiss Money Map

The project "Swiss Money Map" has the aim to provide an analytical tool to monitor cash access points. This is particularly relevant in the era of decreasing transactional cash usage and increasing costs of cash withdrawals, respectively. We therefore hope to contribute to a comprehensive understanding of optimal cash circulation.

The project is a collaboration between researchers at the University of St.Gallen and is led by Dr. Tobias Trütsch.

ATMs and Bank Branches in Switzerland over time

Source: snb.ch

Access to ATMs

Distance and travel time to the nearest ATM

Closest ATM is selected by lowest travel time per hectare. Population weights use STATPOP 2024 BBTOT.

Distance and travel time to the nearest ATM by population share

Cumulative shares show the population living in hectares below each threshold.

Access to Bank Branches

Distance and travel time to the nearest Bank

Closest bank branch is selected by lowest travel time per hectare. Population weights use STATPOP 2024 BBTOT.

Distance and travel time to the nearest Bank by population share

Cumulative shares show the population living in hectares below each threshold.

Access to Post Branches

Distance and travel time to the nearest Post

Closest post branch is selected by lowest travel time per hectare. Population weights use STATPOP 2024 BBTOT.

Distance and travel time to the nearest Post by population share

Cumulative shares show the population living in hectares below each threshold.

Travel time

Filters

Distribution of average travel time by region

Population-weighted quantiles across municipalities. Weights: STATPOP 2024 BBTOT.

Travel time distribution by municipality type

Share of population by travel time bucket. Weights: STATPOP 2024 BBTOT.

Car Travel Distance

Filters

Distribution of average distance by region

Population-weighted quantiles across municipalities. Weights: STATPOP 2024 BBTOT.

Distance distribution by municipality type

Share of population by distance bucket. Weights: STATPOP 2024 BBTOT.

Swiss Money Map

The project "Swiss Money Map" has the aim to provide an analytical tool to monitor cash access points. This is particularly relevant in the era of decreasing transactional cash usage and increasing costs of cash withdrawals, respectively. We therefore hope to contribute to a comprehensive understanding of optimal cash circulation.

The project is a collaboration between researchers at the University of St.Gallen and is led by Dr. Tobias Trütsch.

The project was inspired by similar initiatives in other countries such as:
Austria: OeNB A spatial analysis of access to ATMs in Austria
UK: Access to cash coverage in the UK
Australia: How far do Australians need to travel to access cash?
France: French Money Map

Data, Definitions & Calculations

Data Sources

Population

The number of households in a hectare is based on the BFS dataset STATPOP . At the time of update, the most recent version of STATPOP is used. The dataset provides information on the population residing within a specific hectare. The sum of the hectare values can slightly deviate from the total population in a municipality as a) not all persons of a municipality can always be clearly assigned to a hectare what results in "residual population" and b) for data privacy reasons, there is a minimum displayed value. These statistical properties of the data should not have a strong impact on the overall results.

ATMs

The list of ATMs containing all Swiss ATMs provided by SNB.

Bank Branches

Bank branches contain all bank branches that offer cash service (banknotes/coin deposit/withdrawal) provided by SNB.

Post Branches

Post branches contain all post branches and post agencies that offer cash service (banknotes/coin).

Calculations of Distances/Travel Times

Distances are measured from the center of each hectare to the nearest access points, categorized by type, service, and transport mode.

For locations within a 500-meter radius of an access point, we calculate Euclidean distance based on the assumption that individuals will walk. Beyond this 500-meter threshold, we utilize the OSRM database to determine driving travel times to the 15 nearest access points. These car-based calculations assume an 8:00 AM departure with free-flowing traffic conditions.

Public transport travel times to the 5 nearest access points are calculated using the opentransportdata.swiss API. These estimates assume an 8:00 AM departure on a typical Monday morning, excluding initial waiting times and assuming no service delays.

Contact

Dr. Tobias Trütsch: tobias.truetsch@unisg.ch

Data preparation, calculation & dashboard: Novalytica AG