On-site payment at the food truck and webshop — how does the combined solution work?

Swiss food trucks, market stalls and catering businesses can combine a simple online ordering shop with an on-site payment solution without running two separate systems. To do this, you use a Payment Service Provider (PSP) that offers both online payments and card terminals or Tap to Pay — ideally with a shared Dashboard for all sales in EUR. Registration fees or transaction fees range from 1.3 % (TWINT) to 2.5 % (credit card) per payment, depending on the payment method.

This guide shows you step-by-step how to set up an online shop for pre-orders, integrate on-site payment and manage both via Una cuenta — with concrete costs, provider comparisons and a practical checklist for Swiss mobile gastronomy.

1. Why food trucks and market stalls must sell online and on-site today

Swiss gastronomy is changing. According to the Swiss Payment Monitor, over 70 % of Swiss consumers regularly use cashless payment methods. For food trucks and mobile stalls, this means: those who only accept cash lose customers. At the same time, regular customers increasingly expect the option to pre-order online and pick up their food at the desired time.

The combination of online shop and on-site payment solves several problems at once: queues at the stall become shorter because pre-orderers only need to pick up their food. Walk-in customers can pay spontaneously by card, TWINT or smartphone. And you as the operator see all sales — both online and offline — in one place.

Particularly for recurring locations (weekly markets, company premises, festivals), a pre-ordering system is a competitive advantage: you can plan stock quantities better and reduce food waste. At the same time, you build a digital customer relationship through the webshop that goes beyond physical contact at the stall.

2. Three scenarios: Pre-order + Pick-up, Walk-in customers, Catering orders

Scenario A: Pre-order and Pick-up

Your customer orders a lunch menu the evening before or in the morning via your online shop, pays online by TWINT or credit card and picks up the prepared food at an agreed time at the food truck. You prepare the order specifically and avoid overproduction. This model is particularly suitable for weekly markets with regular custom or food trucks on company premises.

Scenario B: Walk-in customers on-site

A passerby discovers your stall and orders spontaneously. They pay contactlessly using a debit card, credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or a TWINT QR code. For this, you need a mobile card terminal or Tap to Pay on your smartphone. Tap to Pay means that your iPhone or Android device itself becomes a card reader — without any additional hardware.

Scenario C: Catering and event orders

A company orders catering for 30 people via your online shop and pays by QR-invoice or in advance. On the day of the event, you deliver the food and collect any additional orders from guests on-site using a terminal. In this scenario, you also need the option to create invoices with QR references, which many Swiss PSPs offer.

3. Setting up a simple online ordering shop — without programming skills

For most food truck operators, a fully-fledged online shop with inventory management is oversized. What you need is a simple product page with a shopping cart, where your customers can select a menu or individual dishes, specify a pick-up time and pay online.

Several Swiss providers make this possible without programming skills. The most common options:

The crucial point for the combination solution for events: Choose a provider where the online shop and on-site payment run through the same account. This way, you avoid double billing and have a single Dashboard for all sales. If you combine a separate online shop provider (e.g. WooCommerce) with a separate terminal provider (e.g. SumUp), you have two separate systems and two statements.

Regardless of the provider, you should consider the following points when setting up the online shop: Limit the assortment to a few, clearly described products. Offer pickup time slots so you can plan food preparation. Enable at least TWINT and credit cards as payment methods — this covers the majority of Swiss customers. And link the online shop visibly on your Instagram profile or your Google Business page.

4. Seamlessly connect on-site payment: terminal, Tap to Pay or TWINT QR to the same account

For payment at the stall, you have three common options in Switzerland:

Mobile card terminal

A physical device (e.g. from SumUp, Worldline or via Payrexx) that accepts debit cards, credit cards and contactless payments. The devices cost a one-off payment of between EUR 16 and EUR 400, depending on the range of functions. A SumUp Air costs around EUR 16 without a contract commitment, while a Worldline terminal is often rented (from approx. EUR 25–40/mth.).

Tap to Pay on your smartphone

Tap to Pay transforms your smartphone into a card terminal. The customer holds their card or smartphone against your device and the payment is processed via NFC. Various PSPs offer this function — with Payrexx, Tap to Pay is available from a one-off check fee of EUR 49, with SumUp via the app. Tap to Pay is particularly suitable for businesses that want to carry as little hardware as possible.

TWINT QR code

A TWINT QR sticker at your stall allows payments directly via the customer's TWINT app. The fee for the basic QR sticker is 1.3 % of the transaction amount — with no monthly fixed costs. Alternatively, TWINT runs via your PSP, in which case their TWINT conditions apply (e.g. 1.25 % + EUR 0.18 with Payrexx Standard or 1.30 % + EUR 0.30 with Payrexx Free).

The key to the combination solution: The on-site payment method should run through the same PSP as your online shop. Then all transactions flow into one Dashboard and you receive a consolidated statement. When choosing, make sure that the PSP supports both online payments and physical payments (terminal or Tap to Pay).

5. One dashboard, all sales: centrally manage online and on-site payments

The biggest operational advantage of a combined solution is central management. Instead of reconciling two statements from two providers at the end of the month, you see in a single Dashboard:

All online orders from the webshop, all on-site payments via terminal or Tap to Pay, all TWINT transactions — whether online or at the stall — as well as total daily, weekly and monthly sales broken down by payment method.

This not only simplifies accounting but also planning: you can quickly identify what proportion of your sales comes from pre-orders and what from walk-in customers. If you work with a fiduciary, you can use the consolidated statement directly as the basis for bookkeeping.

Payout to your Swiss bank account (IBAN) occurs daily, weekly or monthly depending on the PSP. For correct bookkeeping within the Swiss SME chart of accounts, a transit account (e.g. account 1090) is recommended to account for the time delay between customer payment and payout. You book the PSP's 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.

6. Practical example: How a food truck uses Payrexx for weekly markets and Instagram orders

Lisa operates a poke bowl food truck in the Zurich Region. On Saturdays she stands at the Bülach weekly market, and during the week on company premises in Wallisellen. This is how she set up her combination solution:

Webshop for pre-orders: Lisa created a one-page shop using the Payrexx Storefront, which lists her five poke bowls (each EUR 18.50) and three drinks. Customers select a pickup window (e.g. 11:30–12:00) and pay by TWINT or credit card. She shares the shop link every Wednesday evening in her Instagram story.

On-site payment at the market: At the weekly market, Lisa uses Tap to Pay on her iPhone. Walk-in customers hold their debit card or smartphone against Lisa's phone and pay contactlessly. Additionally, she has a TWINT QR sticker on the counter for customers who prefer to pay by TWINT app.

Central billing: All payments — the Instagram pre-orders and the impulse purchases at the market — run through the same Payrexx account. Lisa sees on the Dashboard that around 35 % of her revenue now comes from pre-orders. She exports her weekly billing as CSV for her fiduciary.

Monthly costs: Lisa uses the Payrexx Standard plan for EUR 15/mth. With a monthly revenue of around EUR 8’000 (of which approx. EUR 5’000 is card/TWINT), she effectively pays between EUR 65 and EUR 115 in transaction fees, depending on the payment mix — plus the EUR 15 subscription fee.

7. Keeping costs under control: What the combined solution costs for small businesses

The costs of a combined online and on-site payment solution consist of three components: monthly fixed costs (subscription), transaction fees per payment and potentially hardware costs for a terminal. The following table compares the relevant providers for a typical food truck with EUR 5’000 monthly card volume:

All prices are exclusive of value added tax. The credit card fees shown apply to Swiss consumer cards (Visa/Mastercard). Business cards and foreign cards may trigger higher fees.

A concrete sample calculation: With EUR 5’000 monthly volume, of which 60 % is credit card/debit card and 40 % TWINT, the total monthly cost with Payrexx Standard is around EUR 90–100 (EUR 15 subscription + approx. EUR 50 card fees + approx. EUR 25–35 TWINT fees). With SumUp without a subscription (only card payment, no TWINT), you are at about EUR 75–125 in pure transaction fees — however, without an online shop function with integrated TWINT.

Keep in mind: The lowest transaction fees are of little use if you have to manually reconcile two separate systems. The time required for dual billing, manual reconciliations and separate exports can quickly consume any cost advantage. Calculate for your specific turnover whether an individual solution or a combined solution is more cost-effective.

8. Checklist: Set up online shop + on-site payment for your food truck

• Check business form: As a sole proprietorship or GmbH, you can register directly with most Swiss PSPs. An entry in the commercial register accelerates activation.

• Select a PSP that offers online and on-site payments from a single source. Make sure that TWINT, Visa/Mastercard and debit cards are covered.

• Set up online shop: Enter products, prices in EUR, pickup time slots and contact details. Less is more — keep the range clear.

• Activate payment methods in the webshop: At least TWINT and credit card. Check whether the QR invoice makes sense for catering orders.

• Set up on-site payment method: Order a terminal, activate Tap to Pay or request TWINT QR stickers.

• Run a test order: Place an order yourself in your online shop, check the payment process and test the terminal or Tap to Pay before first use.

• Enter payout account: Enter Swiss IBAN and define payment frequency (weekly is recommended for food trucks with ongoing purchases of goods).

• Spread the webshop link: Instagram bio, Google Business Profile, flyers at the stall, QR code on the menu.

• Prepare accounting: Set up transit account 1090, book fees to account 6840. For small volumes, a monthly collective entry is sufficient.

• Evaluate after the first month: How much turnover comes online, how much on-site? Is the payment mix correct? Adjust your subscription or payment methods if necessary.

How you combine webshop and on-site payment for your food truck with Payrexx

As a Swiss PSP, Payrexx offers a combination solution for precisely this scenario: Via the Payrexx Storefront, you create an ordering webshop without programming skills, activate TWINT, credit card and other payment methods and simultaneously accept on-site payments via Tap to Pay or terminal.

All transactions — online and at the stall — run through one account with consolidated billing and payouts to your Swiss IBAN account. The Free-Plan is suitable for trying it out, while the Standard plan from EUR 15/mth. offers lower transaction fees and API access for advanced integrations.

You can test Payrexx for 30 days for free, without a credit card or obligation.