The payments app belonging to the country's largest banks increased the number of users last year. Now, finews.com has learned that it is about to expand the breadth and depth of its offering.

The days of integrating Paymit, when Twint was mostly used to send and receive money transfers between private individuals, seem well and truly over. According to information released by Twint management on Monday, about three-quarters of a total of 590 million transactions in 2023 were made using the payment app that is owned by the country's largest banks.

Terminal Competition

That is both a new record (in 2017 the app processed just 4 million transactions) but it is also a significant uptake in use by sales outlets, which use a QR code generated by the app to settle transactions. According to Twint, the number of transactions at fixed retail locations has risen by 84 percent since 2022.

The initial teething problems are long past, with the app now an integral part of daily life in Switzerland. According to Twint, about 75 percent of online shops use the application, as do 77 percent of all retail sales outlets. They have become the main competitors of relatively expensive payment terminals such as those operated by French payments giant Worldline.

Another impressive fact is that the app now has roughly more than 5 million users in Switzerland.

Wide Availability

The app's offering is also increasing in range now that it has experienced mass success. This year, it will offer weekly Super Deals (discounts and special offers), digital vouchers, subscription comparisons, and auto fuel payment functions.

The buy now, pay later function, launched in 2023, will be made available to an increasing number of online shops this year as well.

Focus on Retail Sales

Still, Twint leadership will continue to focus on brick-and-mortar sales. Payment should become quicker and easier at points of sale, management indicates. For 2024, Twint will also introduce widgets for smartphones using Apple iOS, giving users the option to make payments from the main and locked screens of their smartphones.

Above and beyond that, it will be possible to include loyalty cards in the app and integrate them directly in the payments process.

New Payment Standard

The increasing breadth of the platform is also coming at exactly the right time given that the Instant Payment system will become standard in Switzerland this August. It uses a standard already implemented in the EU that guarantees 10-second payment completion while also having several additional functions including peer-to-peer transfers and payments, capabilities that are also the hallmark of the Twint app.