Shopping with your smartphone

CASHLESS PAYMENTS Switzerland's first integrated payment and shopping app is now available. Starting immediately, users can make cashless purchases with their smartphones using TWINT at select partners in the fashion, lifestyle, and dining sectors in Zurich and Bern. Over the next few weeks, around 50 of the hippest stores, restaurants and bars in eight Swiss cities will be working with TWINT a completely new shopping experience. It will initially be launched in Zurich and Bern. From tomorrow, Zurich residents will be able to pay for their new fashion favorites at Jo Brauer, their Thai curry at Lily's and their concert tickets at El Lokal directly with their smartphone. In Bern, the fashion store Toku, which specializes in Swiss design, the dessert wizards Apfelgold and the popular gift store Chat Noir are also on board. The Stade de Suisse has also become a strong partner in time for the tenth anniversary. On August 9, at the home match against FC Thun, the obligatory YB sausage can be purchased with TWINT for the first time. The cities of Basel, Lausanne, St. Gallen, Lucerne, Winterthur and Geneva will follow in the course of late summer, and all that is needed to set up the mobile payment system is modern cash register software or a tablet with the TWINT app. The payment solution, which can be used anywhere, can be used not only at the checkout and at vending machines, but also in the web store or integrated into your own app. However, the transactions are not free of charge. For example, for purchases of up to five francs, two centimes, up to ten francs, six centimes, up to 100 francs, ten centimes and from 100 francs, 20 centimes will have to be paid in arrears, and the nationwide launch will follow in October. In addition to Swiss Post and various online stores that accept the digital wallet from PostFinance, Coop and SBB are also currently testing this payment option. TWINT will also enable direct payments between friends (P2P) in just a few weeks.With marketing functionsPartners will soon also be able to use an online tool to create their own mobile marketing campaigns, store existing customer cards and design attractive offers. TWINT relies on Bluetooth. In addition to the new payment solution, TWINT will soon have mobile marketing functions such as coupons or stamp cards. In contrast to previously known "wallet" solutions, TWINT does not require any credit or debit cards and works with any postal or bank account and independently of telecom providers - in exactly the same way as paying with cash in a traditional wallet: first load money, then spend it. TWINT is independent, runs on all common iOS and Android operating systems and is now available in the app stores.