Réduire les frais de paiement – ce que coûtent vraiment les paiements par carte en Suisse

Payment fees are one of the few cost types that Swiss SMEs can control directly. Anyone who pays 2% on every turnover instead of 1% loses EUR 100 net margin for monthly turnover of EUR 10'000 – every month. This guide shows what card payment in Switzerland really costs, how different providers are compared, and when a subscription model is cheaper than the turnover-based option.

This guide shows you concrete fee calculations for Swiss industries, explains the difference between on-site and online fees – and gives you the basis to specifically reduce the payment costs of your business.

1. Why payment fees have become a margin issue

According to the Deloitte 2026 Retail Industry Global Outlook, 82% of retail executives expect margin increases – while at the same time 73% are adjusting their retail prices upwards. In an environment where every cost category is under the microscope, payment fees are particularly relevant: they are incurred on all turnover, they can be fixed contractually, and they differ significantly between providers.

For Swiss SMEs, a specific factor comes into play: TWINT and PostFinance Pay are cheaper payment methods than international credit cards – but only if you have a provider that supports these methods natively. Anyone who only relies on a provider without TWINT misses the cheapest payment methods and risks losing customers at the same time.

2. On-site payments: What a transaction really costs

The most common mistake when comparing fees: only the percentages are compared, not the fixed fees per transaction. For small amounts (EUR 8–20), a fixed fee of EUR 0.15 can massively increase the effective percentage.

Example: EUR 0.15 fixed fee on a EUR 8 transaction already corresponds to a 1.88% fixed share – even before the percentage fee is applied.

The following table shows the effective costs per transaction for a receipt of EUR 30 as well as the online fee comparison (as of May 2026). Worldline prices are not publicly available and have not been included.

Note on SumUp: The 0.99% rate for "Payments Plus" applies to debit and credit cards – but exclusively for cards. Neither TWINT nor PostFinance Pay are available with SumUp.

SumUp is a card provider – Payrexx is a Swiss PSP

This is the crucial difference that pure fee comparisons disguise: SumUp is a card reader provider. Payrexx is a complete Swiss payment service provider with TWINT, PostFinance Pay, QR invoice, recurring payments, and online checkout from a single system.

The following overview shows what each provider actually supports:

A hairdressing salon or food truck with a 30% TWINT share that switches to SumUp does not lose these customers to fees – they lose them altogether. They do not pay differently, they leave.

3. Monthly total costs: subscription vs. turnover-based

Whether a subscription model is cheaper than a purely turnover-based billing model depends on the monthly turnover and payment mix. The following table shows three typical scenarios for Swiss SMEs (as of May 2026). Calculation based on POS transactions:

From a monthly card turnover of EUR 4'000–5'000, a subscription model is almost always worth it. Below this, the turnover-based version without fixed costs is cheaper – especially for seasonal businesses like food trucks, pop-up stores, or weekly markets. Important: as soon as TWINT is in the mix, the comparison changes fundamentally, because SumUp simply does not offer this option.

4. Online payments: fees for Swiss e-commerce

For online transactions, there is no POS infrastructure, but a higher risk of fraud and card-not-present surcharges. Payrexx communicates the following fees for Swiss online merchants (as of May 2026):

With the Premium plan (EUR 49/mth.), Visa/MC fees drop to 1.35% + EUR 0.18. This is worth it from a monthly online card turnover of around EUR 30'000 – depending on the payment mix. For merchants with a very high TWINT share, Premium is less worth it, as TWINT fees are identical for Standard and Premium.

5. The break-even: when which plan pays off

For the Standard plan (EUR 19/mth.): the subscription advantage over the Free plan becomes apparent from a monthly turnover of around EUR 2'500–3'500 with a typical Swiss payment mix. Below this threshold, the Free plan is interesting for occasional transactions.

For the Premium plan (EUR 49/mth.): the lower transaction fees amortize the higher subscription cost from around EUR 20'000 monthly turnover. For seasonal businesses with fluctuating turnover, the Free plan with Tap to Pay (also included) is often the most sensible entry option. POS terminals require at least the Standard plan.

6. The hidden costs: what fee lists do not show

In addition to transaction fees, there are other cost components that are often missing from comparisons:

Particularly relevant for Swiss SMEs: Payrexx bundles all payments – POS, online, Tap to Pay, payment links – into a single weekly or monthly payout to the IBAN. This saves accounting effort, which does not appear in any fee list.

Checklist: targeted optimization of payment fees

• Analyze current payment mix: what % debit, credit, TWINT?

• Calculate break-even: subscription vs. turnover-based based on real monthly figures

• Check TWINT share: no TWINT = potential loss of customers in Switzerland

• Activate PostFinance Pay: reaches more payers at no extra cost

• Watch out for fixed fees for small receipts: EUR 0.15 for a EUR 8 receipt = +1.88% effective

• Include terminal rental costs in the overall calculation

• Seasonal businesses: check Free plan + Tap to Pay instead of subscription

• Compare online and POS: anyone who needs both benefits from an integrated provider

Payrexx offers transparent, publicly accessible fees for Swiss SMEs: TWINT POS at 1.25%, debit card POS at 0.95% + EUR 0.15, credit card POS at 1.25% + EUR 0.15 – all via the Standard plan for EUR 19/mth., including TWINT, PostFinance Pay, QR invoice and online payments from a single system.