QR-bill

The date of introduction was 30 June 2020. From this date on:

• Invoice recipients must be able to pay QR-bills
• Invoice issuers may dispatch QR-bills.

Yes, the payment section can be attached to a payment order in paper form.

With the payment information contained in the QR code, you are able to trigger payments in e-/m-banking or incorporate alternative payment methods such as eBill and TWINT.

The payment section must be separated from the QR-bill. Then the payment section can be used for payment at the post office counter or at sub-post offices. The receipt can also be used to confirm payments.

QR bills (or separate payment parts with receipt) in PDF format are only suitable for payments in e-/m-banking, but not for paper-based payment transactions at the counter. However, if they have to be paid at the counter, the payment part and receipt should be separated from the invoice. The payment part (without receipt) can then be attached to a payment order in paper form. 

Anybody who uses e-banking or mobile banking benefits most from the QR-bill. The Swiss QR Code can be easily scanned with a QR reader or the PC camera (depending on the bank offer) and the payment executed with a single click.

The QR code contains all relevant details of the payment recipient and payer, amount, currency etc. A complete list is provided in the “Swiss Implementation Guidelines QR-bill”.

No. People are still able to record payment orders in e-/m-banking and present the invoices at the post office counter/sub-post offices or as payment orders at the bank.

Separate them neatly from the bill and show them at the counter.

No, the fee logic of PostFinance doesn't change. This means that the fees continue to be debited to the creditor account.

Your house bank allows you to scan the Swiss QR Code via your e-banking or m-banking mask (e.g. with your smartphone camera). For counter payments, the scanning is done on the spot.

Yes, many QR code readers are available for free on the Internet. In addition, after scanning, the payment data is displayed in your e-banking or mobile banking application.

No. All payment transaction channels can be used. All the information included therein will be printed on the payment section; it can also be read with the naked eye, i.e. without technical equipment. This means that payments can still be recorded manually in e-/m-banking without any additional infrastructure. The same information is also included in the Swiss QR Code. This also means payers can automate their recording. In private households, this will be possible primarily through the use of banking apps on smartphones. Payers with large numbers of invoices will use document readers or scanners, which support the Swiss QR Code, for this automation.

Two cases must be distinguished here:

1. Payments from Switzerland to other countries: This is only possible if the invoice issuer offers a bank account in Switzerland or Liechtenstein.
2. Payments from abroad to Switzerland: We cannot influence whether banks abroad support the QR-bill. There may be corresponding offers for Swiss customers in regions close to the border.

We recommend using the QR-bill with Creditor Reference and IBAN for such payments.

An ultimate debtor is a person who receives a QR-bill. Data on the ultimate debtor must be forwarded from the debtor's institution to the creditor's institution in accordance with the agreement with the debtor, provided that this data is transmitted by the debtor in the payment order and no instructions to the contrary or special agreements with the debtor preclude forwarding.

Since SIX does not evaluate offers from third parties and does not favor individual software providers for competitive reasons, there are no recommendations to this effect. Various financial institutions offer their own solutions for their customers or keep lists of providers they know.