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The Swiss franc, denoted as CHF, was established as the official currency for the country in 1798. It was at that time that the Helvetic Republic established a currency that had its roots in the French franc and was known as the first franc. The second franc, which also followed a decimal system, was introduced in 1850 at par with its predecessor, replacing various currencies in individual Swiss cantons. Fifteen years later, Switzerland joined the Latin Monetary Union, which required its members to value their national currencies at 4.5 grams of silver. Switzerland maintained this standard until 1936 (although the union itself had dissolved almost a decade earlier), when the currency was devalued for the first and only time due to the Great Depression. By the conclusion of World War II, Switzerland pegged its currency to the US dollar. It is the only remaining European currency still named franc.

The Swiss franc's conversion rate to British pounds remained remarkably stable until the 1970s, being either 12.2443 GBP to CHF and then later 10.4951 GBP to CHF during that time. During that decade the conversion rate fell dramatically before momentarily stabilizing at about 3.5 in the early 1980s. However, that period of stabilization was short lived, and it soon gave way to another decline that continued until 1995. During that year the rate reached an all-time low of 1.8661 GBP to CHF. At that point the rate rose a bit before tapering off and stabilizing again at an average of approximately 2.3 GBP to CHF. Overall, the conversion rate for the Swiss franc fell dramatically in the last half of the Twentieth century, from 17.623 GBP to CHF at its height in 1948 to 2.5552 GBP to CHF in 2000.

Thanks in part to an almost 80-year-old legal provision that required a minimum of 40% of currency to be backed by gold reserves, the Swiss franc has long been considered a very reliable place for currency, especially since there is virtually no inflation. However, in May 2000 a referendum concerning Swiss banks and the Nazi gold affair caused this provision to be terminated. Despite the generally held view that the Swiss franc is a safe haven currency, it has not been immune in the recent global economic crisis. The conversion rate between this currency and the British pound dropped markedly in 2008, hitting 1.68822 GBP to CHF by year's end. As time progresses, the Swiss franc should get back to its stable status once again.