TWINT on your hotel site: why it changes your direct reservations in Switzerland

TWINT has become the dominant mobile payment method in Switzerland. According to the platform's figures, more than 4 million active users in Switzerland use the application regularly. In the online hotel industry, many independent establishments have still not integrated it.

It is an error whose cost is measurable.

What happens when your payment method is not suitable

A Swiss traveler arrives on your site. He finds a room that suits him for his dates. It arrives at the payment stage. He sees Visa or Mastercard credit card. He doesn't have his card on hand. He closes the tab and books on Booking.com.

This is not a hypothetical situation. This is what happens every week in hotels whose booking engine does not offer TWINT. And since the reservation ends on Booking, you never know you've lost it.

The number to remember

Market data in Switzerland shows that hotels that integrate TWINT see an increase in direct bookings of 15 to 20% from domestic customers.

For a hotel with 150 direct reservations per year at an average value of 200 CHF, an increase of 15% represents 23 additional reservations, or approximately 4,500 CHF in additional turnover. Integrating TWINT into an existing site generally costs between 200 and 800 CHF.

How TWINT fits in technically

TWINT offers several APIs and integration solutions. For an independent hotel, the most accessible options are through payment intermediaries like Datatrans, Payrexx or Stripe. These platforms manage the technical connection with TWINT and provide a widget that your developer can integrate into your booking engine.

PostFinance Card: the other Swiss specificity not to be ignored

TWINT is not the only Swiss-specific payment method. PostFinance is used by a significant proportion of the Swiss population, particularly in older generations and in less urbanized regions.

If your customer base is mainly Swiss and local, checking that PostFinance Card is accepted on your site is as relevant as TWINT integration.

In what order to prioritize

If you can only integrate one local payment method now, start with TWINT. It is the most used, the most growing, and the one that payment platforms have best integrated.

If you have the opportunity to integrate both at the same time, do it. The marginal cost of adding PostFinance when you already integrate TWINT is low, and the two together cover the vast majority of Swiss customers.