Payment solutions for Swiss associations – 5 practical guides

In Switzerland, there are over 100,000 clubs – and sooner or later, almost every one of them faces the question: How do I collect membership fees, donations, tickets, and event revenues digitally? Whether cashless at the club festival, membership fees via payment link, donations via an online form, merch and tickets in the club shop, or a central platform for the entire association – our five guides show you step-by-step for every payment occasion how to set up the right solution, how much it costs, and which Swiss providers are suitable.

This overview page summarises all five guides and helps you find the right starting point – whether you are planning a club festival, want to modernise the annual fee collection, or want to bring 50 sections under one platform as an umbrella association.

Guide 1: Cashless payment collection at the club festival

QR code · Tap to Pay · Card terminal · Food stall

At the club festival, bratwurst and a lack of cash meet: visitors have no cash, volunteers juggle change, and at 11 p.m., the treasurer is still rolling coins. This guide compares three methods for cashless payment collection at the booth – printed QR code (EUR 0 hardware), Tap to Pay on the volunteer's smartphone, and mobile card terminal – and shows you how to get ready to go in 30 minutes.

For whom: Sports clubs (amateur tournament, home game food stall), music associations (annual concert with bar), Pfadi (neighbourhood festival booth), shooting clubs (village festival), any club with 1–4 festivals per year.

Core topics: Three methods compared (8 criteria), cost calculation for 80–200 transactions, setup instructions per method, billing for club accounting, three practical examples (football tournament, concert, Pfadi flea market).

→ To the guide: Cashless payment collection at the club festival

Guide 2: Collecting membership fees digitally

Payment link · Recurring · QR-bill · Club software

The annual collection of fees is the biggest time-killer for every club treasurer: Excel spreadsheets, sending out QR-bills, following up for weeks, writing reminders. A payment link (Paylink) via email solves the problem: the member clicks, chooses TWINT or credit card, and pays in seconds. The treasurer sees the payment immediately. This guide compares four methods – from the payment slip to club software – and calculates from when the switch pays off.

For whom: Any club with 30+ members that collects annual or seasonal fees. Particularly valuable for gymnastics clubs, music associations, choirs, and martial arts clubs with monthly fees.

Core topics: Four methods compared (Excel vs. Paylink vs. Webshop vs. Club software), cost calculation for 200 members at EUR 120, recurring payments (Recurring), practical example "Gymnastics club: from 6 weeks to 12 days", step-by-step guide.

→ To the guide: Collecting membership fees digitally

Guide 3: Collecting donations as a Swiss club

Donation form · QR code donation · Recurring Donations · Tax basics

For non-profit clubs, support associations, animal welfare clubs, and social projects, donations are the main source of income. This guide shows you how to set up an online donation form with your logo and suggested amounts, how to offer QR code donations on-site at the booth or on flyers, and how to automate patron contributions as recurring donations. In addition, it explains the tax basics: When is a club allowed to issue donation receipts, and what is required for cantonal tax exemption?

For whom: Non-profit clubs, support associations, animal shelters, parents' associations, charities, social projects – all clubs where donations are a central source of income.

Core topics: Four donation channels (form, QR, Paylink, Recurring), provider comparison (RaiseNow vs. PSP vs. Club software), TWINT-only-QR vs. Multi-payment method-QR, patron levels, tax exemption and donation receipts, cost calculation for EUR 15,000 donation volume.

→ To the guide: Collecting donations as a Swiss club

Guide 4: Club shop – selling merch, tickets, and courses online

Mini-webshop · Fan shop · Ticket sales · Course registration with payment

Ordering jerseys via WhatsApp, paying for concert tickets via bank transfer, reserving course slots with a handshake – this works until orders get lost and payments are missing. A mini-webshop shows the range, takes the order, and processes the payment in one step. Without programming knowledge, without a separate website, set up in under an hour.

For whom: Sports clubs (jerseys, caps, water bottles), cultural associations (concert tickets, theatre), course-providing clubs (yoga 10-session pass, single cooking course booking), any club that wants to sell 3–20 products online.

Core topics: Three use cases (fan shop, ticket shop, course registration), comparison table (own webshop vs. mini-webshop vs. social media), combination of on-site + online (pre-order + collection at the event), cost calculation for 50 orders/month, step-by-step setup.

→ To the guide: Creating a club shop

Guide 5: Payment solution for associations – one platform for all sections

Platform · Split Payment · Sub-Merchants · Association reporting

Umbrella associations with 20–500 sections face a structural problem: each section has its own payment solution (or none at all), the association has zero overview and has to request the association's share manually. The solution: a central payment platform where each section receives its own account with its own branding and its own payout. Via Split Payment, the association's share is automatically deducted with every transaction. No content in the Swiss market covers this topic – this guide is the first.

For whom: Cantonal sports associations, professional associations with continuing education offers, music associations with regional sections, umbrella organisations with a section structure.

Core topics: Three architecture models (Decentralised vs. Platform vs. White-Label), Split Payment explained, Sub-Merchant onboarding, two reporting levels, three scenarios (sports association, professional association, music association), regulatory aspects (AMLA, FINMA, SRO), cost comparison for 40 sections and EUR 500,000 volume.

→ To the guide: Payment solution for associations

Which guide fits your club?

All five guides at a glance – sorted by payment occasion, Payrexx product, and typical club type.

All prices excl. VAT. Fees apply to Swiss consumer cards and TWINT. Status 2026, reference values.

Accounting and billing for clubs

No matter which payment solution your club chooses – at the end of the event or the collection cycle, the cash register must balance. Modern payment service providers provide you with an online Dashboard with daily closing, CSV export, and breakdown by payment method. This significantly simplifies the work of the club treasurer and the audit by the auditors.

Posting in the Swiss SME Chart of Accounts: You post PSP transaction fees as bank charges (Account 6840) – without VAT deduction, as payment services are exempt from tax according to Art. 21 Para. 2 No. 19 VAT Act. A transit account (e.g. 1090) neatly reflects the time delay between member payment and payout to the club account.

For most Swiss clubs: As long as the annual turnover remains below EUR 100,000 and the club is not registered in the commercial register as a commercial entity, no VAT is payable. Income from fees, donations, festivals, and shop sales is recorded as revenue in the club's accounts – regardless of whether payment was collected in cash or cashless.

All club payments from a single source

With Payrexx, you combine QR code payments, paylinks, and mini-webshops via a single Comerciante account – with consolidated billing and payout to your Swiss club IBAN. Non-profit organisations receive a 50% discount on paid subscriptions.