TWINT is everyday life in Switzerland — including for associations. This guide covers how to use TWINT for membership fees and events, what fees to expect, and how Membear with zahls.ch lets you send invoices without Excel chaos before the AGM.
Personal TWINT QR codes for friends do not solve association work: you need payments linked to memberships, open vs paid dues at a glance, and a flow treasurers and the secretariat can share. TWINT for associations means payments in the context of membership fees, annual invoices and events — not a QR code without member management.
The main case is annual dues: you send invoices, members pay via TWINT in the member portal or payment link — and status updates without line-by-line bank matching. The second case is events: club festival, workshop, camp or tournament fees. Instead of cash and paper slips, you collect digitally — ideal when registration and payment belong together. On-site donations or stall sales can use specialised TWINT tools; for the dues run, what matters is the link to member and invoice.
TWINT is convenient for members — never fully free for the association. Specialised TWINT offers for associations (often via partners such as RaiseNow) typically publish about 1.3% to 2.5% per transaction, depending on product and whether personal data is included. In Membear, online payments (TWINT and cards) run through zahls.ch: their current transaction prices apply — starter plans often around 2.9% plus CHF 0.30 per payment, while Membear’s core version stays free of a software subscription. Prices can change; check zahls.ch’s current list. In practice, for high annual fees, combine with Swiss QR bills and bank transfer so members without the TWINT app can still pay correctly.
Many boards think either-or. Better: both. TWINT for members who want to pay online immediately — and QR bills for postal delivery, members without email, or anyone who prefers bank transfer. That cuts follow-ups to the treasurer and stays Swiss-compliant. In Membear, the QR bill is part of invoicing; online payment complements it rather than always replacing it.
In short: set up zahls.ch once, then send invoices. In association settings you connect zahls.ch (credentials and webhook), then create annual or individual invoices and send them by email — or as PDF with a QR bill. Members pay with TWINT or card; you see paid dues without chasing. The core software stays free; payment fees apply per transaction with the payment provider. Preparing the next fee run? Start free, connect zahls.ch, and test with a few invoices before the big batch.
Short, honest answers for treasurers and the board.
Start free, connect zahls.ch and prepare the next fee run without Excel chaos.