How it works: Payment Link instead of terminal – why psychotherapists in Switzerland collect payments differently

A card terminal in the therapy room disrupts the therapeutic setting – the payment link is the more elegant alternative. Psychotherapists send a payment link via SMS or WhatsApp after the session. Clients pay discreetly at home using TWINT, card, or mobile wallet. For online sessions, the payment link is the only sensible solution anyway.

This guide shows you what the payment link workflow looks like in practice for a psychotherapy practice, how you can use it for online sessions, and how you can permanently eliminate outstanding payments.

1. The Problem with the Terminal in Therapy

Imagine: A client has just completed an intensive session. The conversation ends, the therapist accompanies them to the exit. And then: hold out the terminal, insert the card, enter the PIN, receipt. This checkout moment disrupts the therapeutic transition and feels clinical – not because money has bad intentions, but because the context is wrong.

Many psychotherapists describe this moment as awkward. Some avoid card payments entirely and accept only cash or TWINT transfers – with the familiar problems: no structured bookkeeping, no refund option, manual entry.

The payment link resolves this structural problem without compromise: The payment process is decoupled in time from the session. The therapist sends the link after the session – in their own time, discreetly, without interrupting the end of the session.

2. The Payment Link Workflow Step by Step

The entire workflow takes less than 2 minutes per session and can be completed entirely from a smartphone:

• Conduct and conclude the session – no checkout process

• Create a new payment link in the Payrexx Dashboard: enter the amount, set an optional title (e.g. 'Session 3 June'), generate the link

• Send the link to the client via SMS

• Client pays at home: TWINT, card, or mobile wallet, in under a minute

• Payment appears immediately in the Dashboard – no further action required

For practices with fixed session fees, a pre-configured payment link with the standard amount is recommended, which can be shared directly from the Dashboard. Even simpler: A Payrexx Page with the fixed session price as a permanent URL – set up once, always the same.

3. Online Sessions: Payment Link Before or After the Session

Remote therapy via Zoom, Teams, or other video conferencing tools has become permanently established in Switzerland. For these sessions, there are two sensible payment link variants:

Prepayment before the session

The therapist sends the payment link with the appointment confirmation. The client pays before the session. Advantage: No payment step after an intensive session, the session starts with the financial context resolved. Particularly suitable for new clients or when the no-show risk is high.

Payment after the session

Just like with in-person sessions: Send the link via WhatsApp after the session, the client pays afterwards. Advantage: More flexible handling, the amount can still be adjusted after the session (e.g. if the session lasted longer). Less upfront friction for existing clients.

4. Recurring Payments: Automatic Collection Without Manual Links

For clients who attend weekly or fortnightly, Recurring Payments are the most elegant solution: The client enters credit card details once, and the amount is debited automatically after each session. No manual link creation, no payment reminders, no outstanding balances.

Recurring Payments are available in all Payrexx plans, including Free. Important: Only Visa and Mastercard (debit and credit) support Recurring Payments via Payrexx – TWINT does not support tokenised recurrence. The client must explicitly authorise the automatic debit once. This takes place when accessing the payment link for the first time once Recurring is set up.

5. Eliminating Outstanding Balances: Why Payment Discipline Matters

In psychotherapy, the relationship with money is a subject of its own. Some therapists hesitate to send payment reminders – the therapeutic relationship should not be strained by dunning notices. This leads to tacit tolerance of outstanding balances that accumulate over months.

The payment link establishes a different framework: Payment is part of the agreed setting, not a retrospective demand. When the client knows that a link will follow every session, paying becomes normal and expected – no awkward moment, no social embarrassment. Practices that consistently implement this system report significantly fewer outstanding balances.

In the event that a payment does not arrive: In the Payrexx Dashboard, the payment status of each link is immediately visible. You can see at a glance which links are open and follow up specifically – friendly and without a formal dunning notice: simply send the link again via WhatsApp.

6. Discretion and Data Protection with Payment Links

The payment link directs to a secure Payrexx payment page. The link itself contains no diagnoses, names, or other sensitive data – it contains only the amount and an optional title. The client sees 'Session EUR 160' – nothing more. Payrexx is PCI DSS certified. Payment data is stored in tokenised form, no plain-text credit card numbers.

Under the revised FADP (since September 2023), Payrexx qualifies as a data processor. For the practice, this means: Data processing pursuant to Art. 9 FADP is regulated in the Payrexx Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy. Do not use diagnoses in the transaction description: Initials or a patient ID are sufficient for internal allocation.

7. Checklist: Setting up the Payment Link Workflow in a Psychotherapy Practice

• Create a Payrexx account – the Free plan is sufficient for payment links

• Pre-configure a standard amount link or set up a Payrexx Page with the session fee

• Activate TWINT and credit card as payment methods

• Prepare a WhatsApp or SMS template: 'Your payment link for today: [Link]'

• For weekly clients: Set up Recurring Payments with credit card

• Define a transaction description convention: initials or ID, no diagnoses

• Review open links daily or weekly in the Dashboard

• Conclude a data processing agreement (DPA) with Payrexx (Art. 9 FADP)

Payrexx payment links are available in all plans, including Free. For psychotherapy practices that exclusively use payment links and Recurring Payments, the Free plan offers a complete setup with no monthly fee. Transaction fees: TWINT Standard 1.25% + EUR 0.18, Visa/Mastercard Standard 1.65% + EUR 0.18. Status: October 2026.