European Payment Cards Yearbook

Switzerland - Summary

Market Overview

  
Payment Organizations SIX, Viseca/Aduno
   
Market Structure

Card issuing and acquiring have been liberalized in recent years. Debit card use remains high, though activity in the credit card market is increasing.

SIX Multipay is the largest acquirer, acquiring Visa, MasterCard and Maestro. Aduno SA took over the acquiring business of Cornr Banca in 2005 and also now acquires Visa, MasterCard and Maestro. Swisscard acquires American Express.
   
Major Issuers Banks mainly issue Maestro debit cards; PostFinance, the banking arm of Swiss Post, issues Card Direct debit cards. UBS, Crdit Suisse (through Swisscard AECS, the joint venture with American Express), Viseca (a consortium of smaller banks), Cornr Banca and GE/Migros are the main credit card issuers.
   
Consumer Finance Consumer credit in Switzerland is tightly-regulated. A revised Consumer Credit Act came into force in January 2003. Consumer loans are subject to a maximum interest rate of 15%.
   

Key Statistics 2008

  
Population 7.6 million

 

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Purchase Profile

 

 

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