Comparison of Swiss Online Payment Providers for 2023

Online Payments: Theory for Understanding

To accept payments in an online shop, Comerciantes need an acceptance agreement with an acquirer and a processing contract with a payment provider. Below we explain exactly what an acquirer and a payment provider are and how they interact with the online shop.

What is a Payment Service Provider (PSP)?

A payment service provider, or PSP, is a company that takes care of the technical integration of online payment methods into online shops. An online merchant (Comerciante) only has to negotiate with one payment provider to obtain all desired payment methods, integration systems and e-commerce tools and to meet security requirements. The corresponding contract with the payment provider is called a processing contract because it refers to the technical handling and processing of payments.

How a Payment Service Provider (PSP) works

What is an acquirer and an acceptance agreement?

An acquiring or acceptance agreement is an agreement between a Comerciante and an acquirer (also known as an acquiring bank). This agreement governs the acceptance and processing of credit card payments and other electronic payments. The acquiring bank is the financial institution that processes card payments for Comerciantes. Comerciantes can conclude an acceptance agreement, for example, with acquirers such as Worldline or Concardis, or with a payment facilitator (PF) such as Payrexx.

What is a Payment Facilitator?

A payment facilitator (also known as a PF or collecting PSP) is in direct contact with the Comerciante and manages the account with the acquirer. The payment facilitator can sign the acceptance agreement on behalf of the acquirer, making setup easier because the Comerciante has fewer direct relationships. The payment facilitator therefore enables the integration of various payment methods in the online shop with just one contract.

How a Payment Facilitator (PF) works

How do you choose the right provider?

Crucial for Comerciantes is a simple and reliable connection, a wide range of payment methods and tools, good support and a payment provider that is as cost-effective as possible to avoid unnecessary costs. In addition, every online shop should clarify the following prerequisites:

• Which payment methods should be offered in the online shop? Not every provider supports all common payment methods. Depending on the region or origin of the provider, different payment methods are available.

• Which tools are needed for the online shop? Each provider has a slightly different offer of integrated e-commerce tools. For example, some providers specialize in donation sites, others in online shops. However, some also offer an all-in-one solution for different business models.

• Which shop system do you use? Most providers offer plugins for the most popular shop solutions* for integrating the payment solution into the online shop. If you do not yet have your own shop or if it was developed in-house, there are some providers that have a solution for all cases.

• How is payment security ensured? A payment provider meets the highest security standards for online payments. By signing a contract with a PSP, you also meet these standards and can guarantee your customers maximum payment security.

It is recommended to choose a payment provider that is also an acquirer or payment facilitator, so that Comerciantes have a single point of contact for everything.

Overview of the functions of each payment provider

The following table shows which payment provider provides which payment methods*, which shop systems are compatible and how the companies are rated on Google.

*The most common means in Switzerland are listed.

In addition to the most well-known shop systems, there are some providers that provide their own shop systems – setting them up does not require any programming knowledge. In the table, such offers are listed as "Integrated E-Commerce Tools". This tool enables the simple creation of shops for products, vouchers, subscriptions or donation pages.

Datatrans was merged with Planet as well as Hoist, protel and Proximis under the joint brand planet. In this article, we refer to Datatrans (planet).

Function matrix of the different payment providers

**Datatrans was merged with Planet as well as Hoist, protel and Proximis under the joint brand planet. In this article, we therefore speak of "Datatrans (planet)" and refer to the public conditions of Datatrans.

Cost analysis

In this section, a calculation of the monthly costs (subscription and transaction fees) is made. The calculation is carried out once for an online shop with a turnover of EUR 20,000 and once for one with a turnover of EUR 100,000.

For the cost analysis, the cheapest offers of the individual payment providers for the corresponding commercial turnover were selected. Most of the pricing details* are taken from the websites of the respective Payment Service Providers. Any setup costs are not included in the chart.

*For Datatrans, the acquiring costs are not publicly visible. Therefore, a value of 2% was assumed (average of all other providers).

Online shops with a monthly turnover of EUR 20,000

The cost analysis shows the monthly fees for smaller online shops with a commercial turnover of EUR 20,000 with 200 credit card transactions per month. The average value of a transaction is therefore EUR 100 per purchase.

Monthly costs with a turnover of EUR 20,000 (excluding setup)

The lowest fees as a smaller online shop are with Payrexx, closely followed by PostFinance. At a cost of EUR 790, PayPal is the most expensive for online shops with this volume. The absolute price difference between Payrexx and PayPal is EUR 441 EUR. The costs with the cheapest payment provider, Payrexx, are therefore more than 50% lower than with the most expensive offer. In addition, Payrexx offers startups and non-profit organizations exclusive discounts of 30% and 50% off all pricing plans respectively.

Online shops with a monthly turnover of EUR 100,000

The cost analysis shows the monthly fees for medium-sized online shops with a commercial turnover of EUR 100,000 with 1,000 credit card transactions per month. The average value of a transaction is therefore EUR 100 per purchase.

Monthly costs with a turnover of EUR 100,000 (excluding setup)

Payrexx is the cheapest provider with costs of EUR 1,549 per month, followed by wallee. PayPal, Stripe and Worldline are significantly more expensive than the other providers for medium-sized online shops. Overall, Payrexx is EUR 2,401 cheaper than the most expensive provider, which represents a percentage price difference of over 60%.

No calculation was carried out for large online shops, as most payment providers do not offer public special terms for larger customers – e.g. Datatrans, Payrexx, Stripe, wallee, Worldline and zahls.ch.

All payment providers in detail

Payrexx: Payment Facilitator with integrated e-commerce tools

Payrexx is both a payment provider and a payment facilitator. Thanks to a favorable pricing model and a variety of payment interfaces and e-commerce tools, Payrexx represents a modern and user-friendly all-in-one solution.

With integrated tools such as payment links, One Page Shop with its own URL, virtual terminal, QR-Pay and digital invoices, Payrexx meets the individual needs of almost every Comerciante. Payrexx is suitable for selling products, services, online tickets or vouchers, but also for collecting membership fees or processing donation projects. Thanks to the 30-day trial phase, the payment platform can be tried out free of charge. Payrexx has an average Google rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars with a total of 126 reviews.

Pricing overview of Payrexx

* Preferred rates between 1.5% and 1.3%

What do Comerciantes need to do for integration?

Since every Comerciante receives a payment website with their own internet address, neither integration nor programming knowledge is required. If you already have a shop, you can integrate the payment solution using the available plugins. To register with Payrexx, you only need a valid photo ID and, if applicable, an entry in the commercial register.

PostFinance Checkout: a comprehensive e-payment solution

PostFinance enjoys high customer acceptance in Switzerland. PostFinance Checkout is a payment solution that offers all common payment methods (PostFinance E-Finance, PostFinance Card, TWINT as well as Visa and Mastercard) as well as various shop plugins. The prices listed below already include all payment provider and acquiring costs. PostFinance also offers a free trial period of 30 days in a simulation mode. PostFinance has an average Google rating of 2.5 out of 5 stars based on 119 reviews.

Pricing overview of PostFinance Checkout

What do Comerciantes need to do for integration?

PostFinance Checkout is available to all companies based in Switzerland or the Principality of Liechtenstein that have a business account in EUR with PostFinance.

Worldline: Acquirer and payment provider

Worldline offers both acquiring and payment provider services and therefore usually provides the offers in a package. With the Worldline E-Commerce Package, payments can be processed directly via a payment window. Transfers are possible in more than 20 currencies and customers can decide for themselves which currency they want to pay in. This is also because Worldline provides so-called Dynamic Currency Conversion. In addition, Worldline offers various payment functions, such as subsequent debiting or the booking of partial amounts. Worldline has an average Google rating of 2.8 out of five stars based on a total of 420 reviews.

Pricing overview of Worldline

What do Comerciantes need to do for integration?

No programming knowledge is required. According to Worldline, it is particularly suitable for existing e-commerce solutions and static websites.

Datatrans: Provider with plenty of experience

Datatrans is the largest provider in Switzerland and can be integrated both as an external payment option (external payment window) and through implementation (via API in the shop layout). With the Datatrans Payment Pages, Comerciantes have access to all payment methods with a single integration. Datatrans Secure Fields blend seamlessly into the design and help improve Comerciantes' conversion rates. In addition, you also have the option to create a test account with this provider. Datatrans has an average Google rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars based on 16 reviews.

Pricing overview of Datatrans

The setup costs cannot be found on the Datatrans website and an average value of EUR 100 was assumed. In addition, the minimum monthly charge is EUR 290 (excluding external acquiring costs) and external acquiring fees of approximately 2% apply in addition to the Datatrans costs.

What do Comerciantes need to do for integration?

Datatrans itself does not have an online shop tool, so you must already own an online shop. This can be a custom-developed shop or you can use a standard shop system. Since Datatrans is neither an acquirer nor a payment facilitator, Comerciantes also need acceptance agreements with another acquirer.

PayPal: an international payment provider

PayPal is a simple solution for shop providers, but quickly becomes more expensive with larger order volumes. Payment links, email invoices and various plugins are available. According to its own statements, the payment facilitator PayPal has more than 240 million active users and offers the possibility to carry out payments in over 100 currencies. PayPal is an international provider, allowing Comerciantes to choose from a wide range of different languages. PayPal has an average Google rating of 1.7 out of 5 stars based on a total of 474 reviews.

Pricing overview of PayPal Switzerland

PayPal charges neither setup fees nor monthly subscription costs, which is particularly worthwhile for shops with very few transactions.

What do Comerciantes need to do for integration?

To use PayPal, Comerciantes only need to provide business information as well as a commercial register number. No developer knowledge is required.

Stripe: Provider for developers

Stripe offers developer-friendly tools for connecting payment provider services to various web and mobile apps with a modern design. It enables credit card payments and also offers some other payment methods such as Alipay. Stripe, like Payrexx and PayPal, is a payment facilitator. Basically, Stripe is attractive due to its pricing, especially for smaller online shops. The provider has a Google rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars based on 48 reviews.

Pricing overview of Stripe

Stripe also charges no one-time setup costs or fixed monthly fees. No additional fees are charged for refunds either.

What do Comerciantes need to do for integration?

Comerciantes must have developer knowledge for the implementation. In addition, a valid photo ID and a business number are required for verification.

wallee: Omni-pay provider from Switzerland

Wallee is a Swiss payment provider based in Winterthur. Over 1,000 customers trust this company. Payments can be processed online either integrated on the website or via redirection. Templates can be changed as desired, and plugins for various shop systems are also available. A test mode is also available. Wallee has a Google rating of 3 out of 5 stars based on 39 reviews.

Pricing overview of wallee

What do Comerciantes need to do for integration?

To use one of the many integrations, Comerciantes typically need to take a few technical steps and integrate a wallee plugin or API into their shop.

saldiaPay: Payment provider with its own shop system

SaldiaPay is a Swiss payment provider that offers digital payment solutions for businesses. They enable the processing of credit card payments, accept digital wallets and offer secure, user-friendly payment services. saldia offers diverse solutions such as online payments, online shops or logistics services, earning a good reputation in various industries.

Pricing overview of saldiaPay

What do Comerciantes need to do for integration?

Programming knowledge is not necessary to use saldiaPay. With saldiaShop, you can easily create an online shop and immediately have the appropriate payment provider saldiaPay and many other integrations such as bexio, saldiaLogistics and swissbilling. The verification process includes personal identification with a photo ID and, if available, the entry in the commercial register.

zahls.ch: New Swiss payment solution for the web

Zahls.ch is a Swiss provider whose offer is very clearly structured. In addition to classic payments, e-commerce tools are also available. This includes an online terminal, payment links, digital invoices and a self-configurable payment page (small online shop). Zahls.ch provides all Swiss payment methods and a large selection of foreign payment methods. Zahls.ch has an average Google rating of 5 out of 5 stars based on a total of 3 reviews.

Pricing overview of zahls.ch

What do Comerciantes need to do for integration?

Programming knowledge is not necessary to use zahls.ch, on the contrary. You can easily create an online shop using the built-in tool. The verification process includes providing a photo ID and, if available, the entry in the commercial register.

Conclusion: Which payment provider is right for you?

Basically, it is recommended to clarify the individual requirements of the online shop carefully and then, if possible, start with cost-effective options instead of starting with too high expectations and paying unnecessarily much. For young and digital companies, Payrexx, for example, is an exciting option. Payrexx offers an all-in-one solution with various tools that you can test and is the cost leader for medium-sized online shops – followed by PostFinance and wallee. PayPal, Stripe and Worldline, on the other hand, charge relatively high transaction fees and Datatrans incurs high monthly fixed costs.

In addition to prices, the range of functions and supporting services should also be considered. The most diverse and useful tools are offered by zahls.ch and Payrexx.

With over 200 payment methods (including integrated External providers), Payrexx offers the largest selection of payment methods, followed by Datatrans (planet) with over 40 different payment methods.

In terms of simplicity of installation, PayPal, Payrexx and zahls.ch surpass the other payment providers. In general implementation, Stripe is more comprehensive than the other providers. With PostFinance, you need advanced developer skills to install the plugins.

The ability to test the provider and its features during a free trial phase is of great advantage to Comerciantes, as it ensures that the payment provider meets their needs. Datatrans, Payrexx, PostFinance, wallee, Worldline, saldiaPay and zahls.ch allow customers to try out the provider.

Datatrans, PostFinance and Worldline have the most experience in the field of payment service providing.

In summary, when choosing a payment provider, it is worth not only looking at the well-known ones, but also keeping an eye on the newer digital payment providers. These are often cheaper, yet still offer a variety of tools and can better address the individual needs of each Comerciante. For smaller and medium-sized shops, Payrexx and wallee offer major advantages, while for larger companies it may be worth looking into the larger providers that have a lot of experience. Basically, Payrexx is clearly among the frontrunners in the areas of price, diversity and simplicity.

Sources

Prices: Datatrans, PayPal, Payrexx, PostFinance, Stripe, wallee, Worldline 1, Worldline 2, saldiaPay, zahls.ch

Plugins for shop systems: Datatrans, PayPal, Payrexx, PostFinance, Stripe, wallee, Worldline, saldiaPay, zahls.ch

Payment methods: Datatrans, PayPal, Payrexx, PostFinance, Stripe, wallee, Worldline, saldiaPay, zahls.ch

Icons: Flaticon

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Authors

Authors: Melanie Frutiger and Sven Otziger, Payrexx AG

Email address: melanie.frutiger@payrexx.com