Swiss retailers are taking action against what they view as excessive fees charged by Twint. The Swiss Retail Federation announced on Monday that it has lodged a formal complaint with the Competition Commission (ComCo).

The accusation against the payment app is that Twint is abusing its market power by imposing excessively high fees. The ComCo is being asked to assess whether the fees comply with competition law.

According to the statement, Swiss retailers are dependent on Twint because there is no viable alternative. In 2024, the service’s more than five million users completed over 773 million transactions—an increase of more than 30 percent compared to the previous year. «Retailers can no longer avoid this payment channel – customers expect it,» the association states.

Higher Than Credit Card Fees

The merchant fees have become an unacceptable burden. «The fees Twint is charging in 2025 are often equal to or even higher than those for credit card payments. However, since most Twint customers use a bank account rather than a credit card as their payment method, Twint's fees should be aligned with the much lower rates of debit card transactions,» the argument continues.

According to the complaint, Twint is violating Swiss antitrust law in two ways: first, by abusing its relatively dominant market position, and second, through unlawful collusion with acquiring partners as well as between Twint’s shareholder banks.

Market-Conform Conditions Demanded

The aim is to have the unjustifiably high merchant fees reduced to market-conform levels by ComCo. «This is a crucial piece in the puzzle for achieving fairer competition in the payments sector – to the benefit of businesses and consumers,» says the federation’s director, Dagmar Jenni.

The Swiss Retail Federation represents the Swiss retail sector, excluding major distributors. According to the statement, the federation includes around 1'900 retail companies operating across 6'800 locations in Switzerland.