| Generically, payments cover all monetary payments in the form of cash as well as cashless payments via the transfer of funds from one account to another. Most cashless payments in Switzerland are settled via the Swiss Interbank Clearing system, through the various interbank services (e.g.
debit card transactions, credit cards or debits to stored-value cards) or via Swiss Post's payments system.
Exchange relationship between various goods, measured in monetary units (money, price level, interest rate).
A price index is an instrument for measuring percentage changes in the prices of an individual commodity or a basket of goods. One of the most important price indices is the national consumer price index, which plays a central role in Swiss monetary policy. The Federal Statistical Office also calculates a number of other indices which measure price movements in various sectors, on various markets and at various stages of production (e.g. building price index, wage index, producer price index).
The average level of all prices of goods and services supplied in a national economy at a given time. A rise in the price level means a decline in the purchasing power of money (inflation). Changes in the price level are measured with the help of price indices (price index). The trend in the price of consumer goods is of particular importance for monetary policy (national consumer price index).
Price stability describes a situation in which there is no change, or only very little change, in the price level. According to a broad consensus, there is price stability when inflation is less than 2% per annum. The National Bank defines price stability as a rise in the national consumer price index of less than 2% per annum (inflation forecast).
The purchasing power of money expresses how many goods can be purchased for a given sum of money. If the price level rises, the purchasing power of money declines and the quantity of goods that can be purchased for a given sum decreases (inflation). Conversely, the purchasing power of money rises if prices fall (deflation). The objective of monetary policy is to keep the purchasing power of money as stable as possible by ensuring an appropriate money supply.
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