2024 was a historic year for Swiss online commerce. According to the study “Internet Usage and E-Commerce Switzerland 2024” by the Research Centre 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 the peak values during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Payrexx's figures 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, or Selecta. In addition, numerous SMEs, non-profit organisations, and associations rely on the intuitive payment solutions from Payrexx.

Most Used Payment Methods and Booming Sectors

All Payrexx merchants together achieved a transaction volume of 805.6 million francs in 2024. This corresponds to an increase of 31 percent compared to the previous year, with Payrexx growing above average in the industry comparison. The aforementioned study from the University of St. Gallen attributes the industry's growth to a higher number of Swiss users as well as an increasing spending amount. So not only are more people shopping online, but they are also willing to spend more money doing so.

When comparing the individual sectors based on their total revenue, the service sector proves to be particularly successful. The 132 Payrexx merchants in this segment together achieved a transaction volume of around 54 million Swiss francs. Retail follows in second place with 30 million Swiss francs, closely followed by the travel sector with 27 million Swiss francs.

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

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

International Shoppers and Innovative Products

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

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

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

• Discover® Global Network: As the first Swiss payment provider, Payrexx has leveraged this global network. As a result, merchants now have the opportunity to accept payments with one of the many cards from the Discover Global Network, including the well-known Discover® Card and Diners Club International®.

• Click to Pay with Visa: This new function allows buyers to securely store their credit cards and make future purchases with just a few clicks – for a faster checkout and fewer shopping cart abandonments.

• POS terminal pilot phase: Already over 60 merchants nationwide are using the modern card reading devices that Payrexx launched in a protected test phase. After a successful test phase, the product will be made 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 companies. As a confirmation of these efforts, the Berner Oberland Economic Community awarded Payrexx the Innovation Prize 2024 – a significant moment for the entire Payrexx family!

Upcoming Projects and Small Successes

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

The release of this new product aims 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, it is part of Payrexx's everyday life to celebrate even the small successes. Finally, 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 have been released for easy connection to existing shop systems, specifically for JTL and Shopify. Payrexx now offers a total of ten self-developed plugins.

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