Swiss umbrella organisations can provide their sections with a central payment platform, through which each section independently collects membership fees, event tickets and course fees – with its own branding and its own payout to the section's bank account. The association maintains an overview via an aggregated Dashboard and can automatically deduct an association share (e.g. licence fee or umbrella organisation contribution) per transaction via split payments before the remainder flows to the section.

This guide explains how such a platform solution works, which architectural variants exist, and shows three concrete scenarios for Swiss associations.

1. The Problem: why decentralised payment solutions hold associations back

In many Swiss associations, each section has its own payment solution – or none at all. The gymnastics club in Zug uses PostFinance E-Finance and QR-bills, the section in Bern works with club software, and the section in Lausanne collects in cash. The umbrella organisation has no overview of the payment flows, cannot provide aggregated figures for the delegates' meeting and has no way of collecting the association's share automatically.

This scenario leads to three concrete problems. Firstly, the association must manually request and track the contribution of each section – a considerable administrative effort for 40–500 sections. Secondly: the sections offer their members an inconsistent payment experience – some accept TWINT, others only bank transfers. Thirdly: for continuing education offers, licences or events offered centrally by the association, there is no uniform processing.

2. The Solution: a central platform with decentralised accounts

An association platform is understood as a central payment infrastructure through which all sections of an association process payments – without the association itself accepting the payments. Each section has its own sub-account (sub-Merchant-account) with its own branding, its own products and its own payout to the section's IBAN.

The association acts as the platform operator and takes care of the onboarding of the sections. In the background, payment processing is handled by a Payment Service Provider (PSP) which, as a technical partner, covers the regulatory requirements (KYC verification, Anti-Money Laundering Act) for each section. The association itself usually does not require its own financial market licence because it does not act as a payment intermediary – the funds flow directly from the payer to the section via the PSP.

2.1 Split Payment: automatically deducting the association share

Split Payment means that an incoming payment is automatically split into two or more parts. For associations, this is the decisive mechanism: for each transaction of a section, a predefined share (e.g. 5% or a fixed amount of EUR 2) is remitted to the association, and the rest goes to the section. In this way, the association does not have to claim its contribution separately – it is automatically deducted for each payment.

Example: a member of the Bern section pays their annual contribution of EUR 120 via TWINT. The PSP automatically deducts EUR 6 (5%) as the association's share and transfers EUR 114 minus transaction fees to the IBAN of the Bern section. The association's share is collected and periodically paid out to the umbrella organisation. No manual effort, no invoices, no chasing up.

2.2 Reporting: two levels, one Dashboard

A platform solution typically offers two reporting levels. The association sees aggregated figures: total transaction volume of all sections, association shares, number of active sections, top sections by turnover. Each section sees only its own transactions: incoming payments, payouts, open items. The sections have no insight into the data of other sections.

3. Architectural variants: which model fits your association?

Depending on the size of the association, technical know-how and budget, three architectural variants can be considered.

Most Swiss associations perform best with Model B: a platform solution via a PSP that handles onboarding, KYC verification and payment processing. The association configures the platform, onboards the sections and defines the split payment rules. Providers with platform solutions in Switzerland include Payrexx, Stripe Connect and wallee.

4. Three scenarios: how Swiss associations use the platform solution

4.1 Cantonal sports association with 40 local clubs

A cantonal gymnastics association has 40 local clubs with a total of 6,000 members. Each local club collects its own annual contribution (EUR 80–150 per member). The association charges a licence share of EUR 5 per member. Previously, each local club had to transfer the licence share separately to the association – 20% forgot, 10% paid late.

With the platform solution: the association sets up a sub-Merchant-account for each local club. When a member of TV Aarau pays their contribution of EUR 120 via TWINT, EUR 5 goes automatically to the association, and EUR 115 (minus transaction fee) goes to TV Aarau. The association sees in real time which local clubs have billed how many members.

4.2 Professional association with continuing education offers

A professional association offers central continuing education courses (EUR 350–800 per course) and has 12 regional sections that host their own networking events (EUR 25–50 per event). Via the platform, the association sells the courses centrally, while each section processes its events via its own sub-Merchant-account. The association has an overview of all bookings – central and regional – in one Dashboard.

4.3 Music association with regional sections

A Swiss music association with 80 regional sections (brass bands, choirs, orchestras) wants to offer sections a uniform solution for ticket sales at concerts. Each section receives its own sales page with the club's logo and colour scheme. Tickets are sold via the section's mini webshop, and revenues flow directly into the section's account. The association receives a fixed amount of EUR 0.50 per ticket sold as a contribution to platform funding.

5. Regulatory aspects: does the association need to have a licence?

When an association processes payments via a platform, the question arises whether it is considered a financial intermediary within the meaning of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) or a payment intermediary under the Banking Act (BankA). The short answer: usually not, if the association uses a licensed PSP as a technical partner and the funds do not flow through the association's account.

The crucial distinction: as long as the PSP forwards payments directly from the payer to the section (with automatic split for the association's share), the association does not accept client funds and does not carry out any payment transaction activities. The regulatory responsibility (KYC, AMLA compliance) lies with the PSP. The association merely acts as an intermediary connecting its sections to the PSP.

Important: If, on the other hand, the association accepts the payments itself, collects them in its own account and then forwards them to the sections, it may be regarded as a financial intermediary and will require an SRO affiliation (Self-Regulatory Organisation) or even a Fintech licence pursuant to Art. 1b BankA. This model is not recommended for associations. The platform solution via a licensed PSP avoids this problem.

Note: This section does not replace legal advice. The regulatory requirements depend on the specific business model. In case of doubt, consult a lawyer specialising in financial market law.

6. Costs: how much an association platform costs

The costs for a platform solution depend on the model, the number of sections and the transaction volume. The following table provides guidelines for an association with 40 sections and an annual total volume of EUR 500,000.

Additional advantage for the association: by negotiating transaction fees centrally, the association can often secure better conditions for its sections than each section would achieve individually. With a total volume of EUR 500,000+, negotiations for individual conditions are possible with most PSPs.

7. Checklist: setting up an association platform for payments

• Determine needs: how many sections? Which payment occasions (contributions, events, courses)?

• Choose architecture model: Decentralised (A), Platform (B) or White label (C)?

• Evaluate PSP with platform solution and obtain a quote (Payrexx, Stripe Connect, wallee or similar)

• Define split payment rules: percentage share or fixed amount per transaction for the association

• Define onboarding process for sections: what data does the PSP need (statutes, IBAN, board members)?

• Start pilot with 3–5 sections and test the process

• Clarify reporting requirements: what figures does the association need, and what does the section need?

• Prepare communication to the sections: explain benefits, create guidelines

• Clarify regulatory question: do funds flow through the association or directly via the PSP?

• Plan rollout: phased onboarding (e.g. 10 sections per month)

8. How to build an association platform with Payrexx

With its platform solution, Payrexx offers a model specifically designed for associations with multiple sections. The association receives a central Dashboard through which it onboards sections as sub-Merchants – including KYC verification, which Payrexx handles as a licensed payment facilitator. Each section receives its own account with its own branding, its own products (contributions, events, shop) and its own payout to its IBAN account.

Split payments can be configured per section or per product: the association defines which share is automatically deducted. Reporting shows the association aggregated key figures and each section its individual transactions. The sections pay transaction fees – the association can acquire these as a buy rate and determine itself which fees it passes on to the sections. For an individual evaluation, contact the Payrexx platform team for a non-binding discussion.