Thanks to instant payments, money can be transferred from one Swiss bank account to another in less than ten seconds. Regardless of when the payment order is entered – evenings, weekends, and holidays included – it will be executed immediately, with the payer’s account debited and the beneficiary’s account credited nearly simultaneously.
Bank transfers in less than ten seconds
Any day, any time, year-round – no exceptions
As of 20 August 2024, Switzerland’s largest banks are now equipped to handle instant payments between their customers and customers of other participating banks. This service will expand to include all Swiss banks in two years – that means all account-to-account payments in Switzerland will take place in just a few seconds.
Under current rules, the maximum payment amount is CHF 20,000. The payer’s bank may impose additional amount limits.
Instant payment can be made at any time of the day or night, any day of the week.
You simply need an account with a participating bank. Beyond that, your bank may apply certain conditions, such as requiring access to its web-based or mobile banking services.
For now, you can only receive instant payments. We will provide you with information on making instant payments from your BCV account at a later date.
Yes, instant payments can be credited to your savings account.
No, only the payer will be notified.
Get in touch with the payer and ask them to contact their bank.
Instant payments can’t be cancelled. To recover the funds, the payer must submit a request to their bank.
Instant payments can be made to a foreign-currency account if certain conditions are met.
The payment will be debited in Swiss francs and credited in the currency of the beneficiary’s account. The beneficiary may be charged a fee for the currency conversion.
Instant payments can only be made between participating banks that use the Swiss Interbank Clearing (SIC) system – which is to say, banks in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
No, instant payments must be debited in Swiss francs.
No, instant payments can only be made between participating banks that use the Swiss Interbank Clearing (SIC) system – which is to say, participating banks in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
An instant payment should be executed within 10 seconds but may take up to 25 seconds in exceptional cases.
Your account balance will be updated on BCV-net and BCV Mobile, and the payment advice can be consulted immediately – any day, any time, year-round.
As for instant QR-IBAN payments, a provisional credit will be posted on BCV-net and BCV Mobile until the amount has been credited to your account.
The funds will be available as soon as the payment is made – any day, any time, including weekends and public holidays.
Yes, instant payments also work with QR bills.
Swiss bank payment |
Payment via TWINT |
Foreign bank payment |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Instant payment |
Standard payment |
To individuals |
To stores |
Standard payment |
|
Processing time |
Less than 10 seconds – any day, any time, year-round |
From a few minutes to a few business days |
A few seconds – any day, any time, year-round |
From a few minutes to a few business days |
From a few minutes to a few business days |
Maximum amount |
CHF 20,000 |
No limit |
CHF 4,000 |
CHF 10,000 |
No limit |
Payment currency |
CHF |
CHF and EURO |
CHF |
CHF |
All currencies |
Salary payments |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
Yes |
