Frequently asked questions

No, it will continue to be possible to submit physical payment instructions via the bank or to make deposits at the post office counter. The Swiss QR Code will, however, promote dissemination of electronic processes; i.e. they will become increasingly established.

All information needed for the payment will still be legible with the naked eye; i.e. without technical aids. And with the Swiss QR Code it will also be possible to pay bills in e-banking, at the post office counter or to submit physical payment instructions at the bank. 

PostFinance will also offer a solution with the QR-bill, which enables pay-ins to be made in the same way as with the blank payment slip. The solution is currently being drafted. The blank payment slip can be used until the parallel phase is completed.

The most important elements, such as the consistent use of the IBAN, the replacement of the encoding line with the QR code, and the reduction to a single solution, are being retained.

However, additional requirements upon the data content of the QR code were received from the market. The implementation of these market requirements has led to a situation in which the reserve planned to meet future requirements for the QR code has been used up. The data scope of the QR code must therefore be expanded to again create a reserve to meet future requirements. More data led to a need for more space, which required a new layout. We are convinced that the new specifications will be sustainable in the long term and that we will thus create added value for companies.

The financial institutions are supporting their customers during the migration and have worked closely together with the software industry for several years to ensure that updates will be available on time. Numerous ERP software vendors have already launched software modules and are actively committed to the timely and successful switchover. 

The Swiss financial center has decided to replace all versions of the currently used orange payment slip with reference numbers (ISR/ISR bank) and the red payment slip with message field (IS) with the payment part of the QR-bill. After a parallel operation phase, which shall be kept as brief as possible, the currently used orange and red payment slips will no longer be processed.

Yes, for the payment part of the QR-bill the "Swiss Implementation Guidelines QR-bill" must be adhered to while doing so.

Perforation of the payment part is not required, but it is recommended.

The specifications were relaxed in comparison with the current payment slips. The "Swiss Implementation Guidelines QR-bill" are to be adhered to in the process.

Swiss francs and euro can be used as currencies.
The currency code CHF or EUR must be printed on the payment part beneath the QR code and to the left of the amount field.

Permitted in the "reference number" field is the 27-digit QR reference number (formerly the ISR reference number) or the up to 25-digit alphanumeric Creditor Reference according to the ISO 11649 standard. 

The "payment purpose" and "message" field headings currently used on the payment slips are being replaced by the "additional information" field in the QR code, which comprises up to 140 characters. The information used there must be printed on the payment part of the QR code in type. 

No. Advertising is neither permitted on the payment part nor on the reverse side.

The financial center provides the following aids for this purpose:

• A simple browser-based solution for generating the payment part with a Swiss QR Code for individuals and companies that do not have a software solution (shortly before the introduction of the QR-bill). The payment part may be printed either in A6 format or in A4 format (the payment part then at the bottom right), when based on a complete QR-bill
• Tool for calculating the IBANs is available at iban.ch
• Platform for the Swiss QR Code validation

• Migration of all the financial institution's payment traffic applications and their customers to the new ISO 20022 message standard according to the Swiss Recommendations
• Availability of suitable infrastructure for billers and payers, such as a printer and scanner that can print and read QR codes
• Provision of channels for payment traffic (e.g. e-banking and payments at post office counters) 

• As a component of the bill on paper
• As a paper enclosure to the bill
• As in integral component of an e-mail bill (PDF format)

• There is no obligation for the biller. The payment part with QR code will only be tested if the biller or the financial institution explicitly requests or requires this.
• An incorrectly printed QR code can cause processing problems. Such payment parts can be rejected.
• A Web solution for validation of the correct content of the Swiss QR Code will be made available. 

Yes, as is customary today with red and orange payment slips, in future, the payment part of the QR-bill can be enclosed with a payment instruction in paper form.

With the payment information contained in the QR code, payments can also be initiated in e- or m-banking, or alternative payment methods such as TWINT.

Yes, as is customary today with red and orange payment slips, in future, the payment part of the QR-bill can also be used for payments at post office counters.

The QR code contains all relevant information about the creditor and debtor, amount, currency, etc. A complete listing can be found in the "Swiss Implementation Guidelines QR-bill". 

No. As is the case today, it will be possible to enter payment instructions in e-banking and to submit bills at the post office counter or as payment instructions at the bank.

No. All payment traffic channels can continue to be used. On the payment part with QR code, all the information relevant for payment will also be printed so that it can be read with the naked eye; i.e. without technical aids. In this way, payments can continue to be entered manually without the need for additional infrastructure, such as in e-banking. The same information is also contained in the QR code. This enables payers to enter them automatically. In private households this will be primarily possible through the use of banking apps on smart phones. Some 78% of the Swiss population already own such an end device today. Payers with larger bill volumes will use a document reader or scanner that supports the QR code to enable this automation. 

Every ERP software publisher and each bank has its preferred programming language on their preferred operating system. The financial center has decided against a central library because there are enough established open source or licensed libraries for generating QR codes on the market.

This simple code example in Java 1.7, which was created using the widely-used ZXing open source library, shows how a Swiss QR Code can be generated.

To integrate the Swiss cross, you only need to overlay the QR code, centered, with the appropriate image – respecting the proper and length and width ratios.

This simple code example in Java 1.7 which was created using the widely used ZXing open source library, provides support for generating the Swiss QR Code.

The character series CR + LF was specified to be able to ensure the maximum size of the QR code – regardless of the hardware platform or code library used. The use of CR or LF alone, however, is also possible, since it thereby does not result in a exceeding the maximum size of the Swiss QR Code.

No. The separator may only be delivered at the end, not within a data element.

There are no binding specifications for the formatting in the "Information section". The rule that apply for the data structure of the QR code need not be considered here. Accordingly, due to restricted space on the payment part or in order to improve readability, it may be necessary to provide the printed text with additional line returns.

No. The information pertaining to the maximum character count always relates to the net data without element separators.

In the current procedure, identification for the ISR service takes place using the ISR participant number (ISR customer number for PostFinance). Identification by means of this participant number ensures, for example, that in e-banking a payer must also match the reference number when entering his payment. This leads to a higher level of automation at the creditor, because the received payment amount can be allocated to the corresponding open invoice by means of the reference number. Due to the anticipated regulatory requirements and the decision to exclusively use the IBAN format in Switzerland in the future, a successor structure to the ISR participant number had to be designed. After reviewing several options, it turned out that the high rate of automation can only be ensured using a special IBAN, the QR-IBAN.

Yes, the reference number (QR reference number or ISO Creditor Reference) will be transported end-to-end by the financial system. 

Yes. Please contact your software partner and your financial institution so that the issuing of QR-bills can be ensured.

Delivery of the data from a QR code can only take place completely with ISO 20022 messages. Therefore, with the introduction of the Swiss QR Code, the ISR credit records (type 3 or 4) will be replaced or converted to camt messages. Plans are underway to offer financial institutions solutions for the new formats by mid-2018.

The Federal Council has designated the following services in payment traffic as universal services (public service): paying in, paying out and credit transfers. Payments at the post office counter continue to be very popular and thus meet customer demand.

Yes. As is customary today with red and orange payment slips, in future, the payment part of the QR-bill can also be used for payments at post office counters.