If you take money for your activity, you cannot use the personal TWINT app; you need business TWINT. It is not about limits or convenience: TWINT’s terms of use explicitly ban the personal app for commercial purposes, including receiving payments from sales or services.
This applies to the shop, the self-employed, the market stall and also the association collecting membership fees. There is no turnover threshold below which it is tolerated: the distinction is between private and commercial payments, not between small and large.
Let’s clear up a common misunderstanding: there is no CHF 4’000 monthly threshold above which you must move to a business account. The obligation starts with the first commercial transaction. The monthly threshold is simply a limit on private payments: once it is reached, you can no longer receive payments for the rest of the month.
Why TWINT is no longer a detail
In 2025 TWINT passed 6 million users and 901 million transactions, up 16.5% on the previous year. For anyone selling, another figure matters more: 77% of those transactions are commercial payments, and TWINT is accepted by 81% of physical shops and 86% of online shops in Switzerland.
In other words, if you do not accept TWINT, you are among the 19% of shops that do not, and customers notice at the till. On our platform TWINT is by far the most used method, ahead of cards.
What actually changes between the two accounts
The personal app is for sending a few francs to a friend, splitting the pizza bill and paying for parking. Your bank sets the transfer limits, in the region of a few thousand francs a month. It issues no receipts, produces no usable reports for accounting and has no tool for managing a refund.
Commercial TWINT works differently: it runs through a contract with TWINT or a payment provider, has a fee per transaction and, in return, gives you what you need to work. A receipt for the customer, a tracked transaction with its reference, an export for your accountant, refunds from your account and no monthly limit stopping you mid-month.
The real risks of misuse
They are not theoretical. The possible consequences, in rising order of seriousness:
- The account being blocked, without warning and often at the worst moment.
- The accounting problem: takings mixed into the private account of the owner or treasurer are hard to reconstruct and awkward to justify in a VAT audit or, for an association, to the auditors.
- The image problem: customers who have to send money to the owner’s private mobile number can tell the business is not properly set up.
What moving to business TWINT really costs
The honest answer: it depends on the amounts you take, and the difference between the options is smaller than people fear.
On our platform the average transaction is CHF 84.60. For a transaction of that size, the cost with 1pay.ch ranges from CHF 1.81 on the Large plan to CHF 2.75 on the Starter plan, which is free with no monthly fee. If you take few payments a year, Starter is almost always the right choice: no fixed costs, you pay only when you get paid.
The comparison is not with the free personal app, which is simply not a valid option. It is with a traditional bank terminal, where the transaction cost comes on top of a monthly fee, device rental and often a monthly minimum.
How to activate business TWINT without the hassle
If you only need TWINT, you can go directly to TWINT. If you also need cards, Apple Pay, invoices or payment links, a separate contract for each means more paperwork, fees and reports. That is why 1pay.ch exists: one contract with 20+ payment methods, and you activate only what you need.
You register with an e-mail and the name of your activity, then complete verification, usually confirmed within one working day. You can do this even without a company in the commercial register: private individuals and associations are welcome.
When 1pay.ch is not the right choice: if you take only TWINT and already have a direct relationship that works, there is no reason to change. You can also use 1pay.ch alongside it.
To see what it would cost in your case, use the fee calculator. Or contact us and we will do the sums together.
Frequently asked questions
Does an association collecting membership fees need a business account?
Yes. A membership fee is income from an organised activity, not a transfer between individuals, so it counts as the commercial use banned on the personal app. Recognised non-profit organisations have dedicated conditions.
Can I have a payment terminal without a registered company?
Yes. 1pay.ch terminals and payment features are also available to private individuals, for example for occasional sales or markets.
What happens to money already taken on the personal app?
It stays yours. The problem is not ownership but traceability and the risk of the account being blocked. It is best to record those takings in your accounts and move to a commercial channel before volumes grow.
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