Cashless Parking Arrives; UBS Plans Branch Closures; Cat Kerfuffle Continues

News For 11 January 2020

As of Monday this week, drivers in Basel-Stadt can now pay for their parking without cash using an IOS & Android based App called "ParkSmart Basel" on a Smartphone. The Basel Justice and Security Department (JSD) announced on Monday that the core elements of the new app are the ability to use paid parking spaces and purchase visitor parking cards for the blue zone.  In addition, the new app also helps drivers to find free parking spaces, pay only for the specific time used, and warns users of the expiry time on a parking reservation.  However, it is still possible to feed the parking meters the traditional way, with good old fashioned coins.

**********

UBS Bank Alex Lehmann announced yesterday the intention of the global banking giant to close 44 of its 250 branches in Switzerland.  Having already shuttered 28 branch outlets in 2020, the bank chief cited reduced demand for in-person retail services.  Conversely, the number of on-line banking transactions boomed last year, driven by corona related quarantine efforts, after having steadily increased in prior years.  The bank also announced that the threshold for negative interest rate fees would be lowered to 250,000 Swiss Francs.

**********

Late last week a woman in Basel Land learned the price of kindness to others' animals.  Last April, the woman spotted a Maine Coon cat hiding under a tram seat on her way home.  When the cat subsequently followed her off the tram and to her home, she made an appointment with her veterinarian to determine if the animal was "chipped" to assist with finding its owner.  Before the appointment could take place, the cat's owner had tracked the cat using social media and word-of-mouth to the woman's flat with the assistance of the police.  Although the prosecutor's office initially declined to pursue charges, a court has now ruled that she had an obligation to report the animal missing using the Cantonal resources for animal welfare.  She is now being investigated for confiscation of property, illegal appropriation, misappropriation and failure to report a find.