Swiss Franc surges 30%: how will that affect you?

Today the Swiss Franc has soared in value after it changed the terms under which it’s pegged to the Euro. You’ll probably have seen that on the news.

But what might that mean for SMEs, ecommerce and cross-border trade? Economist Ed Hardy from World First gives Tamebay his perspective:

“This morning, currency markets underwent one of the most tumultuous adjustments in recent times as the Swiss National Bank removed their intervention tool used to keep the CHF weak against the EUR. As such, CHF strength that has built up since 2011 has finally been realised, shooting the CHF higher against the EUR by up to 30% within minutes. As such, any currency forecasts and budgets for cross-border companies dealing in/with Switzerland will have to be dramatically altered due to the CHF’s now relative expensiveness against all other currencies. This will be a boon for any companies looking to sell to Swiss consumers, whose wallets (when measured internationally) have just ballooned by as much as a quarter. On the other hand, those with Swiss-based fixed costs may now be facing a far greater bill at the end of the month, as every EUR, GBP and USD buys you significantly fewer CHF today than at yesterday’s prices.”