The Swiss voice in the world since 1935

Digital payment systems briefly disrupted in Switzerland

Electronic payment systems across a variety of platforms experienced a brief disruption on Saturday. The outages affected banking services and digital payment apps.


A person uses the Twint cashless payment system via app on a smartphone.
A person uses the Twint cashless payment system via app on a smartphone. © Keystone / Christian Beutler

The services of Swiss bank UBS and Raiffeisen, along with credit card company Visa, were among those affected. The outage blocked card payments in shops, online payments and access to ATMs and e-banking.

The payment app Twint and PostFinance, the banking arm of the state-run Post Office, also experienced technical problems. The cause was not reported in their social media statement on the topic.

UBS payment troubles were concentrated in German-speaking Switzerland. The situation was reportedly back to normal by 2 pm.

Switzerland has a high level of e-commerce and does well in global digital competitiveness rankings.

A smartphone displays the SWIplus app with news for Swiss citizens abroad. Next to it, a red banner with the text: ‘Stay connected with Switzerland’ and a call to download the app.

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR