Payment solutions for Swiss associations – 5 practical guides

In Switzerland, there are over 100,000 clubs – and almost every one of them is faced with the question sooner or later: How do I collect membership fees, donations, tickets, and event revenues digitally? Whether cashless at the club festival, membership fees via payment link, donations via an online form, merch and tickets in the club shop, or a central platform for the entire association – our five guides show you step-by-step for every payment occasion how to set up the appropriate solution, what it costs, and which Swiss providers are suitable.

This overview page summarizes all five guides and helps you find the right entry point – whether you are planning a club festival, want to modernize the annual collection of membership fees, or as an umbrella association want to bring 50 sections under one platform.

Guide 1: Collecting cashless payments at club festivals

QR Code · Tap to Pay · Card Terminal · Festival Catering

At the club festival, bratwurst and a lack of cash collide: visitors have no cash, helpers juggle with change, and at 11:00 PM the treasurer is still rolling coins. This guide compares three methods for cashless payment collection at the booth – printed QR code (EUR 0 hardware), Tap to Pay on the helper's smartphone, and mobile card terminal – and shows you how to get ready to go in 30 minutes.

For whom: Sports clubs (neighborhood tournament, home-game catering), music clubs (annual concert with bar), scouts (local festival booth), shooting clubs (village festival), any club with 1–4 festivals per year.

Key topics: Three methods compared (8 criteria), cost calculation for 80–200 transactions, setup instructions per method, billing for club accounting, three practical examples (football tournament, concert, scouts flea market).

→ To the Guide: Collecting cashless payments at club festivals

Guide 2: Collecting membership fees digitally

Payment Link · Recurring · QR Bill · Club Software

The annual collection of fees is the biggest time-killer for any club treasurer: Excel lists, sending out QR bills, following up for weeks, writing reminders. A payment link (Paylink) via email solves the problem: member clicks, chooses TWINT or credit card, pays in seconds. The treasurer sees the payment immediately. This guide compares four methods – from the paying-in slip to club software – and calculates at what point the switch is worth it.

For whom: Any club with 30+ members that collects annual or seasonal fees. Especially valuable for gymnastics clubs, music clubs, choirs, and martial arts clubs with monthly fees.

Key topics: Four methods compared (Excel vs. Paylink vs. Webshop vs. Club Software), cost calculation for 200 members at EUR 120 each, recurring payments, practical example "Gymnastics club: from 6 weeks to 12 days", step-by-step instructions.

→ To the Guide: Collecting membership fees digitally

Guide 3: Collecting donations as a Swiss club

Donation Form · QR Code Donation · Recurring Donations · Tax Basics

For non-profit clubs, support clubs, animal clubs, and social projects, donations are the main source of income. This guide shows you how to set up an online donation form with your logo and suggested amounts, offer QR code donations on-site at the stand or on flyers, and automate supporter contributions as recurring donations. In addition, it explains the tax basics: When is a club allowed to issue donation receipts, and what is required for cantonal tax exemption?

For whom: Non-profit clubs, support clubs, animal shelters, parents' associations, charities, social projects – all clubs where donations are a central source of income.

Key topics: Four donation channels (Form, QR, Paylink, Recurring), provider comparison (RaiseNow vs. PSP vs. Club Software), TWINT-only-QR vs. Multi-payment-method-QR, supporter levels, tax exemption and donation receipts, cost calculation for EUR 15,000 donation volume.

→ To the Guide: Collecting donations as a Swiss club

Guide 4: Club Shop – Selling merch, tickets, and courses online

Mini Webshop · Fan Shop · Ticket Sales · Course Registration with Payment

Ordering jerseys via WhatsApp, paying for concert tickets via bank transfer, reserving course slots with a handshake – this works until orders get lost and payments are missing. A mini webshop displays the range, takes the order, and collects the payment in one step. Without programming skills, without your own website, set up in under an hour.

For whom: Sports clubs (jerseys, caps, drinking bottles), cultural clubs (concert tickets, theater), course clubs (yoga 10-session subscription, cooking course single booking), any club that wants to sell 3–20 products online.

Key topics: Three use cases (Fan Shop, Ticket Shop, Course Registration), comparison table (own webshop vs. mini webshop vs. social media), combining on-site + online (pre-order + pickup at the event), cost calculation for 50 orders/month, step-by-step setup.

→ To the Guide: Creating a club shop

Guide 5: Payment solution for associations – one platform for all sections

Platform · Split Payment · Sub-Merchants · Association Reporting

Umbrella associations with 20–500 sections face a structural problem: each section has its own payment solution (or none at all), the association has zero overview and must claim the association share manually. The solution: a central payment platform where each section gets its own account with its own branding and its own payout. Via split payment, the association share is automatically deducted from each transaction. No content in the Swiss market covers this topic – this guide is the first.

For whom: Cantonal sports associations, professional associations with training courses, music associations with regional sections, umbrella organizations with section structures.

Key topics: Three architecture models (decentralized vs. platform vs. white-label), split payment explained, sub-merchant onboarding, two reporting levels, three scenarios (sports association, professional association, music association), regulatory aspects (AMLA, FINMA, SRO), cost comparison with 40 sections and EUR 500,000 volume.

→ To the Guide: Payment solution for associations

Which guide suits your club?

All five guides at a glance – sorted by payment occasion, Payrexx product, and typical club type.

All prices excl. VAT. Fees apply to Swiss consumer cards and TWINT. As of 2026, guide values.

Accounting and Billing for Clubs

No matter which payment solution your club chooses – at the end of the event or the collection cycle, the cash register must balance. Modern Payment Service Providers provide you with an online Dashboard with end-of-day closing, CSV export, and breakdown by payment method. This significantly simplifies the work of the club treasurer and the audit by the auditors.

Booking in the Swiss chart of accounts SME: You book PSP transaction fees as bank charges (account 6840) – without VAT deduction, as payment services are tax-exempt according to Art. 21 Para. 2 No. 19 VAT Act. A transit account (e.g. 1090) neatly reflects the time delay between member payment and payout to the club account.

For most Swiss clubs: As long as the annual turnover remains below EUR 100,000 and the club is not registered in the commercial register as commercial, no value added tax is due. Income from fees, donations, festivals, and shop sales is recorded as revenue in the club accounting – regardless of whether payment was collected in cash or cashless.

All club payments from a single source

With Payrexx, you combine QR code payments, Paylinks, and a mini webshop via a single Merchant account – with consolidated billing and payout to your Swiss club IBAN. Non-profit organizations receive a 50 % discount on paid subscriptions.