Debit cards are the preferred payment method in Switzerland
There are various forms to pay for a product or a service, be it cash, card or smartphone app. The Swiss Payment Monitor by the ZHAW has been examining the payment behaviour of Swiss people twice a year since 2018.
According to the most recent survey, debit cards are the most popular payment method in Switzerland. The long-term survey conducted jointly by the ZHAW and the University of St. Gallen monitors developments in the payment behaviour of the Swiss population. The survey carried out in the summer of 2023 revealed that a majority of transactions involved either a debit card (29 percent) or a credit card (16 percent). However, cash is far from dead, especially when it comes to small amounts under 20 Swiss francs. Cash payments decreased significantly during the Covid-19 pandemic, but this downward trend has since levelled off. Their share currently stands at 28 percent.
Apps on the rise
Payments with mobile devices such as mobile phones, tablets or smart watches are becoming more and more popular and now make up 21 percent of payments in Switzerland. TWINT accounts for around 70 percent of these payments, which also include e-wallets such as Apple Pay or Samsung Pay. “Besides online payments, TWINT also plays an increasingly important role for in-person payments,” says Marcel Stadelmann of the ZHAW School of Management and Law. When looking at the amounts rather than the number of transactions, credit cards are the second most popular payment method (22 percent). Invoices paid through online banking account for 15 percent of turnover, excluding recurring payments such as rent payments.