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 in concrete terms what the payment link workflow looks like in a psychotherapy practice, how to use it for online sessions, and how to permanently eliminate outstanding payments with it.

1. The problem with the terminal in therapy

Imagine this: A patient has just finished an intensive session. The conversation ends, the therapist accompanies them to the exit. And then: bringing out the terminal, inserting the card, entering the PIN, receipt. This checkout moment breaks the therapeutic transition and feels clinical – not because money has bad intentions, but because the context is wrong.

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

The Payment Link solves this structural problem without compromise: The checkout process is temporally decoupled from the session. The therapist sends the link after the session – in their own time, discreetly, without interrupting the end of the hour.

2. The payment link workflow step-by-step

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

• Conduct and close the session – no checkout process

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

• Send link via SMS to the client

• 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 prices, we recommend a preconfigured payment link with the standard amount that 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 permanently established itself in Switzerland. There are two sensible payment link variants for these sessions:

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 the intensive session, the session starts with a paid context. Particularly suitable for new clients or if the risk of a no-show is high.

Payment after the session

As with in-person sessions: Send the link via WhatsApp after the session, 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 with existing clients.

4. Recurring Payments: Collect automatically without manual link

For clients who come weekly or biweekly, Recurring Payments are the most elegant solution: Client enters credit card details once, the amount is automatically debited after each session. No manual link creation, no payment reminders, no outstanding payments.

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 happens during the first payment link access when Recurring is set up.

5. Eliminate outstanding payments: Why payment discipline is important

In psychotherapy, the relationship with money is a topic in itself. Some therapists hesitate to send payment reminders – the therapeutic relationship should not be strained by payment demands. This leads to a silent tolerance of outstanding payments that accumulate over months.

The payment link sets a different framework: Payment is part of the agreed setting, not a subsequent demand. If the client knows that a link will follow after each session, paying is normal and expected – no awkward moment, no social embarrassment. Practices that consistently introduce this system report significantly fewer outstanding payments.

In the event that a payment is missed: 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 – in a friendly manner and without a formal reminder: simply send the link again via WhatsApp.

6. Discretion and data protection with payment links

The payment link leads to a secure Payrexx payment page. The link itself does not contain any diagnoses, names, or other sensitive data – it only contains the amount and an optional title. The client sees 'Session CHF 160' – nothing more. Payrexx is PCI DSS certified. Payment data is stored in tokenised form, no plain text credit card numbers.

According to the revised FADP (since September 2023), Payrexx is considered a processor. For the practice, this means: Conclude a data processing agreement (DPA) according to FADP Art. 9 with Payrexx – Payrexx provides this upon request. Do not use diagnoses in the booking description: Initials or a patient ID are sufficient for internal allocation.

7. Checklist: Set up payment link workflow in the psychotherapy practice

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

• Preconfigure standard amount link or set up Payrexx Page with session price

• Activate TWINT and credit card as payment methods

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

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

• Define booking text convention: Initials or ID, no diagnoses

• Check open links daily or weekly in the Dashboard

• Conclude DPA with Payrexx (FADP Art. 9)

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