Contactless Payment
Contactless payment enables payments by briefly holding the card, smartphone, or smartwatch near an NFC-enabled terminal — fast, secure, and without a PIN for small amounts.
Contactless Payment
Contactless payment uses NFC (Near Field Communication) technology to trigger payments by briefly holding a payment method close to a terminal. The transaction takes less than a second and is therefore significantly faster than chip-and-PIN or cash.
Customers can pay contactlessly with NFC-enabled credit and debit cards, smartphones (Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay) and smartwatches. In Switzerland, contactless payment is possible for amounts under EUR 80 without a PIN. For higher amounts, a PIN or biometric confirmation is required.
For Comerciantes, contactless payment reduces waiting times at the checkout, lowers cash handling efforts and improves hygiene (no handling of cash). Contactless payment has become the standard in Switzerland since the COVID-19 pandemic — a large majority of all POS transactions are now contactless.
Contactless payment examples
A customer holds her Visa debit card to the terminal. EUR 35 are charged contactlessly in under a second — without a PIN.
A customer pays with Apple Pay: hold the iPhone to the terminal, confirm Face ID, and that's it.
A bakery switches to contactless payment and halves the average waiting time at the checkout.
Contactless payment FAQ
What is contactless payment?
Contactless payment uses NFC technology: a card, smartphone or smartwatch is briefly held against the terminal, and the payment is processed in under a second — without inserting the card.
Is contactless payment secure?
Yes. Contactless payments use the same encryption as chip payments. For higher amounts, a PIN or biometric confirmation is required. Mobile wallets offer additional security through tokenisation.
Up to what amount is contactless payment possible without a PIN?
In Switzerland, the limit is EUR 80. For higher amounts or after several consecutive contactless payments, a PIN is required. With Apple Pay/Google Pay, biometric confirmation is always required.
Do I need a special terminal for contactless payment?
All modern card terminals support NFC and thus contactless payment. Alternatively, with Tap to Pay you can use your NFC-enabled smartphone as a terminal.
