Q&A about Combo payment methods

Cashless payment collection at the point of sale: here you will find answers to questions about in-store payments.

  • Payment methods are different ways in which customers can pay for their (cashless) purchases. A cashless payment method can mean, for example, paying with a credit card or using a smart watch.

  • In Switzerland, cashless payments are made almost exclusively using the following payment methods.

    • Debit cards: Debit Mastercard, Visa Debit and the PostFinance Card
    • Credit cards: Mastercard and Visa
    • Mobile payment methods: TWINT, Apple Pay and Google Pay

    These payment methods are covered by a single acceptance agreement. 

  • Payment methods not covered in the agreement include

    • American Express
    • Lunch-Checks
    • ep2 gift cards

    You can connect several acquirers to a single card terminal with the ep2 standard. If you would also like to connect one of the above payment methods, you must conclude a separate agreement with the relevant provider.

  • Combo payment methods can be accepted on all ep2 payment terminals. As soon as the acceptance agreement has been concluded with PostFinance, your terminal manufacturer only has to enter the correct acquirer and the new agreement number on the payment terminal. PostFinance will be happy to help you implement the switch. 

  • No. You terminate your current agreement separately. Please do not terminate your existing acquiring agreement until the new agreement has been confirmed and changed on the payment terminal. We will be happy to discuss the procedure with you at your consultation appointment.

  • Order the change to your card acceptance agreement directly from the payment terminal provider. As soon as the agreement change is due on the activation day, the new acceptance agreement will be stored on your payment terminal. To complete the activation, you must carry out an end-of-day settlement and initialize the payment terminal. Only then will transactions be performed via the Combo payment methods acceptance agreement.

    If you wish, we can initiate the acquirer switch for you with your payment terminal provider (service center). We will be happy to inform you via e-mail as soon as the acceptance partner has changed with the terminal provider.

  • Yes, you can also use Combo payment methods with PostFinance terminals.

  • No. The acceptance agreement is not applicable to payments in online shops. If you are interested in a solution for your e-commerce, we offer the following checkout solutions for your online shop. 

  • No, a PostFinance account is not needed.

    If you would like to have the Combo payment methods paid to a bank account in CHF, you must also submit the “The link will open in a new window Business relationship without a PostFinance account” form.

  • Tel.: 058 667 98 74 (Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. )
    E-mail: aqs@postfinance.ch

    Please contact your terminal provider for any device-specific queries.

  • The agreement is generally checked and activated within a maximum of ten working days after receipt of the agreement by PostFinance. If you switch to us from an existing agreement, activation may be delayed depending on the provider. In our experience, this kind of changeover can take up to a month. 

  • Certain terminal providers may charge additional one-off fees to the merchant when changing acquirer. Whether this is the case depends on your existing terminal agreement and can be found in the general terms and conditions or the selected terminal service package.