Payment Service Provider (PSP).

Without a PSP, anyone wanting to accept money online would have to sign contracts with every payment network individually and meet strict security standards for card data (PCI DSS) themselves. A PSP bundles all of this: the shop connects to an interface, the customer chooses a payment method, the PSP checks and authorises the payment, and the money is paid out to the business account minus fees. Card data never touches the shop's server.

Well-known providers in Switzerland include Datatrans, Payrexx, Wallee, Saferpay (Worldline) and Stripe; many shop systems also come with their own payment solutions. They differ in the payment methods they support, in fee models (fixed monthly fee, percentage per transaction, fixed amount per payment), in payout frequency and in extra functions such as subscriptions, purchase on invoice, instalments or payment links.

For Swiss customers, TWINT is a central payment method, especially on smartphones. Alongside it come credit and debit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay, as well as purchase on invoice, which is often expected in B2B. Which payment methods a shop should offer depends on the audience; too many options confuse, whereas a missing preferred option costs sales.

When choosing, fees are not the only thing that counts. Also important are the integration with the shop system or your own software, stability in the checkout, how understandable the statements are for accounting, the handling of refunds and chargebacks, and data protection and server location. Anyone offering subscriptions or recurring payments also needs clean management of customer accounts and payment methods.