SNB research shows: payment apps are becoming more common

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This emerges from a study by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) published on Friday of around 1,750 companies in Switzerland. In the first survey in 2021, only 40 percent of companies accepted payment apps.

This means payment apps have overtaken credit cards (53 percent) and debit cards (48 percent) after reaching parity in 2021. In industries like hospitality or retail, where private individuals often pay on-site, acceptance of payment apps is much higher than elsewhere. In the hospitality sector, 78 percent of businesses can make payments via mobile phone application, and in the retail sector, 73 percent can make payments.

It’s no surprise that acceptance is growing: a 2022 payment survey among private individuals has already shown that payment apps are being used more and more frequently by the public. «It can be assumed that increased usage has a positive impact on their acceptance. This shows that acceptance and use of payment methods can influence each other,” SNB wrote.

While bank transfer acceptances also increased, invoice payments decreased slightly. The SNB wrote that a possible reason for this could be that companies are less willing to give their customers “short-term loans” through the purchase of accounts, due to the corona pandemic or the sharp rise in energy prices in recent years.

The cash situation is relatively good; It is the most widely accepted payment method for companies doing business face-to-face, at 92 percent. Overall, only a few companies plan to adjust cash acceptance. About 7 percent of companies doing in-person business say they want to limit cash acceptance in the next two years. On the other hand, 6 percent of companies plan to expand cash acceptance. (SDA)

Source :Blick