Swiss banking app Twint has recorded a massive increase in users in the last year, a statement from the company confirmed. The simple QR and touch payment system was responsible for 590 million transactions last year, a 50 percent increase compared to 2022.

Twint boom continues in Switzerland

Seven years after the app was first officially launched on mobile phones, Twint has continued to cement its status as one of the most popular ways to pay in Switzerland. From humble beginnings and 4 million total transactions in 2017, the app recorded 590 million transactions in 2023, a new record and 50 percent more than the year before. The company estimated that it now has “well over 5 million” active users.

The company noted that the app is becoming increasingly popular not just on the internet but in physical stores and supermarkets as well. The use of the app on the high street grew by 84 percent in the last year, with most of the transactions being recorded in supermarket stores.

Part of the reason for the rise is the increasing number of Swiss entrepreneurs and businesses that accept Twint. The firm estimated that 77 percent of physical stores - from major supermarkets to small farm shops - and 76 percent of online stores in Switzerland accept the payment system.

What is Twint and how does it work?

Twint is a mobile phone app that allows users to pay for items in Switzerland, from parking to groceries to online shopping. This is done via either a scanned QR code, number code or through a phone number, with users either paying an amount requested or paying their own desired amount. Money for the purchase is then taken directly from a linked bank account. 

In the online space, this converts the hassle of having to fill out payment information into a few taps of a button, whereas in physical stores it means that all transactions can be completed via mobile phone. The option to use phone numbers also allows individual Twint users to send other users money. 

Twint’s success is partly because most Swiss banks now allow their account holders to use the system. Today, over 40 banks in Switzerland allow their customers to set themselves up with Twint, including heavyweights like UBS and Credit Suisse.

Twint looking to integrate Cumulus and Supercard in future

Looking to the future, Twint said that it hopes to integrate more functions into the app, namely a contactless version of the Cumulus and Supercard loyalty card schemes offered by Migros and Coop. They added that they are also looking to add a “direct from lock screen” feature similar to Apple Pay, so that users no longer have to unlock their phones to pay for items at payment terminals - although sadly, this innovation is currently only set to be available on iOS phones.

Image courtesy of Twint