2024 was a historic year for Swiss online trade. According to the study “Internet Use and E-Commerce Switzerland 2024” by the Research Center for Retail Management at the University of St. Gallen, e-commerce revenue in Switzerland reached 18 billion francs – a sum that not only surpasses all previous years but also exceeds the peak values during the Corona pandemic.

The figures from Payrexx also confirm this trend. The leading Swiss payment provider for SMEs based in Thun supports around 60,000 merchants worldwide, including renowned Swiss companies such as BKW, Carvolution, Zweifel Pomy-Chips, Hotelcard, and Selecta. Furthermore, numerous SMEs, non-profit organizations and associations rely on the intuitive payment solutions from Payrexx.

Most used payment methods and high revenue industries

All Payrexx merchants together achieved a transaction volume of 805.6 million francs in 2024. This represents an increase of 31 percent compared to the previous year, making Payrexx grow above average in industry-wide comparison. The aforementioned study by the University of St. Gallen attributes industry growth to a higher number of Swiss users and an increasing spending amount. So not only are more people buying online, they are also willing to spend more money doing so.

Comparing the individual sectors based on their total revenue, the service sector proves to be particularly successful. The 132 Payrexx merchants belonging to it collectively achieved a transaction volume of around 54 million Swiss francs. In second place is the retail sector with 30 million Swiss francs, closely followed by the travel industry with 27 million Swiss francs.

As Payrexx data shows, Swiss buyers prefer to pay online with TWINT. Around 60 percent of all transactions were processed via this payment method, followed by Mastercard (20%) and Visa (16%).

Looking at international transactions, the data paints the following picture: Mastercard is in first place with 45 percent usage, Visa in second place with 39 percent, and American Express in third place with 6 percent.

International buyers and innovative products

In addition to well-known domestic payment methods, country-specific and international ones are also gaining importance for Swiss merchants. For example, Payrexx offers the payment method WeChat Pay, which is particularly popular in China, for customers from the Asian market. The Swiss payment provider is always striving to provide its merchants with a wide range of payment methods. Accordingly, the offer was further expanded in 2024 to include the following methods:

• Payrexx QR Pay: The innovative product has been supplemented with free stickers and table displays. This significantly expands the most popular payment method for Swiss people, that via TWINT. With Payrexx QR codes, customers can pay not only via the TWINT app but with all popular payment methods.

• “Pay by Bank”: This new payment method taps into the trend from Germany, where online shoppers prefer to pay by real-time transfer from their bank account. This means that customers in Germany can now shop with Swiss merchants seamlessly, quickly, and securely.

• Discover® Global Network: As the first Swiss payment provider, Payrexx has tapped into this global network. This means merchants can now accept payments with one of the many cards from the Discover Global Networks, including the well-known Discover® Card and Diners Club International®.

• Click to Pay with Visa: This new feature allows buyers to safely store their credit cards and make future purchases with just a few clicks – for an accelerated check-out and fewer cart abandonments.

• POS terminal pilot phase: Already more than 60 merchants across Switzerland are using the modern card readers that Payrexx launched in a protected test phase. After a successful test phase, the product will be available to all merchants as soon as possible.

Payrexx invests substantially and continuously in the further development of its products and services. Only through constant innovation is it possible to expand the lead over competitors and further advance the merchants and their businesses. As confirmation of these efforts, the Volkswirtschaft Berner Oberland awarded Payrexx with the 2024 Innovation Prize – a significant moment for the entire Payrexx family!

Upcoming projects and small successes

In the current financial year 2025, Payrexx continues to focus on the success and well-being of its merchants. As one of the first projects, the new Tap to Pay application is to be released in the coming weeks. This will turn any NFC-enabled Android device into a payment terminal – very simply and particularly cost-effective compared to conventional card readers.

The release of this new product is intended to bring the Swiss payment provider a significant step closer to fulfilling its vision: Payrexx wants to become the leading omnichannel payment provider in Switzerland, helping SMEs succeed through innovative and seamless payment solutions. In addition to various growth projects, the company will also focus on its core business – after all, at Payrexx, even small successes are celebrated. Therefore, the following points should be positively highlighted:

• 9,344 new customers have registered with Payrexx.

• 25 new platforms use the White Label Gateway from Payrexx.

• Two new plugins were released for easy integration with existing shop systems, specifically for JTL and Shopify. This now offers Payrexx a total of ten self-developed plugins.

• Various new adapters have been integrated, including PayPal. This means a total of 30 third-party providers are connected to Payrexx.