The two systems were combined into a single solution that pools their strengths.
Thierry Kneissler
CEO of TWINT Ltd
TWINT
The Swiss solution for mobile payment
Paying with your smartphone at the checkout, shopping online, redeeming a coupon or paying your girlfriend back for a cinema ticket: all these things are possible with TWINT, the digital wallet. The merger of TWINT and Paymit now offers Switzerland a powerful mobile payment solution.
Rebecca sets down her purchases at the checkout. The man in front of her is picking coins out of his wallet. For Rebecca, this has not been an issue since TWINT came along: she holds her smartphone up to the so-called beacon and that’s it – the purchase amount has already been debited from her account. Rebecca doesn’t have to show her customer card, because it’s already stored in the TWINT App. And thanks to the coupon in her digital wallet, Rebecca automatically gets her strawberry yoghurt at half price.
Pooling strengths
From spring 2017, the TWINT App will be able to do even more: the tried-and-tested functions will be supplemented with direct account debiting when paying with TWINT. This became possible thanks to the merger of TWINT with Paymit, the mobile payment solution from SIX and Swiss banks. “The two systems with their different focuses were combined into a single solution that pools their strengths. This makes TWINT even better,” says Thierry Kneissler, CEO of TWINT Ltd.
The six biggest banks on board
The new TWINT Ltd was launched following the positive decision of the Competition Commission. Once the Commission gave the green light in September 2016, development of the system and negotiations with partners proceeded at full throttle. “We can say with some pride that the six biggest Swiss banks and SIX are involved in TWINT,” says Thierry Kneissler. Even before the merger, TWINT and Paymit together had more than 500,000 customers.
From cash to mobile payment
The CEO regards the biggest challenge not as other payment solutions such as Apple Pay, but as deeply ingrained habits: “Many people still prefer to pay with cash. Convincing them that mobile payment is for them is our most important and at the same time most difficult task.”
What is TWINT?
TWINT is the Swiss solution for mobile payment that works with all bank accounts and all smartphones. With TWINT, you can do more than just pay: the app provides additional features such as sending and receiving money, storing customer cards, benefiting from coupons and loyalty cards, and making donations.