Switzerland Prepares Offline Card Payments for Essential Goods

In Switzerland, a new industry-wide solution will enable offline card payments for essential goods in case of internet connectivity issues. The National Economic Supply Agency and the Swiss National Bank led the effort to introduce this emergency system, which is expected to be widely available by the end of 2027.

A majority of market participants have expressed support for the introduction of offline payments, which will apply only to suppliers of essential goods such as food, medicine, and fuel. The solution was developed by the Swiss Federal Institute of Business Administration, financial institutions acting as card issuers, payment infrastructure providers, and the retail sector.

Offline payments are an emergency system designed to enable people to purchase essential goods in the event of data or network connection failures. To minimize risk, there are set limits on the number of payments and amounts involved, intended to ensure that basic needs can be met for about a week.