Shoppers in Switzerland can now make in-store mobile payments using Paymit, the P2P transfer service established by the country’s financial infrastructure operator SIX and telecommunications provider Swisscom. The in-store functionality is being piloted with select merchants until the end of the month.

SIX told NFC World in August 2015 that the in-store feature would be enabled by NFC, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) or a “combination of both”. However, the service being piloted uses QR code technology at the point of sale.

“Shop or restaurant owners that are interested can register from now via the website,” SIX says. “After SIX carries out a check, they receive a QR code as a sticker, which they can attach to their point of sale. To make a payment, the customer scans this QR code with his Paymit app, enters the amount and then pays.

“Domino’s Pizza, Dieci, Coppolini, Il Caffè and the Student Union (SHSG) of the University of St Gallen are among the first pilot merchants. The new solution is particularly suitable for merchants and service providers that previously only accepted cash such as small cafes, takeaways, market stalls or unstaffed points of sale.

“To activate the new merchant function, all Paymit apps from SIX, UBS, Zürcher Kantonalbank and Luzerner Kantonalbank are being updated. All Paymit apps will have the new, standardized Paymit logo for the national mobile payment standard. Customers can then pay at all Paymit points of sale, irrespective of which app they use and even if they are not a customer of the respective Paymit provider.”

Merchant solutions

“Paymit is now being gradually expanded with additional merchant solutions,” the company adds. “In May 2016, Paymit will launch an app for merchants. In addition to payment functions, this will offer a simple checkout function which makes the problem of handling cash even easier. Paymit will also allow in-app payments from May. In addition, SIX is aiming to connect all SIX terminals to Paymit by autumn.”

Paymit is currently supported by banks including UBS, Zürcher Kantonalbank, Banque Cantonale de Genève, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise, Luzerner Kantonalbank, Obwaldner Kantonalbank (OKB), Raiffeisen, St Galler Kantonalbank (SGKB) and Zuger Kantonalbank (ZGKB). Discussions with other banks are underway, says SIX.

Next: Visit the NFCW Expo to find new suppliers and solutions