Switzerland is the country of payment slips, but their days are numbered – QR-bill and eBill are the successors. The way in which invoices are issued is also changing dramatically. The new SIX white paper on the “Future of Billing” provides guidance on this issue.
The payment slip (ESR) was introduced in 1909, and even now 65% of the Swiss attribute a higher importance to invoices than to other daily payments according to a survey (Intrum, 2019a).
But billing practice is changing dramatically. Information is therefore urgently needed, particularly in response to questions like: What approaches will shape paying in the future? To what extent are digital solutions accepted, and what are the factors driving their success? How much does each type of billing cost? How reliable is it and how user-friendly?
The SIX white paper “Future of Billing” gives answers to these and other questions. The study provides guidelines and food for thought for companies that issue and receive invoices as well as for billing service providers, banks, fintechs and other payments enthusiasts.
“Future of Billing” is divided into two parts: the first of which examines the current billing practice and illustrates the high relevance of billing for the population and the economy. Four business-to-consumer (B2C) payment methods (direct debit, eBill, QR-bill and e-mail invoice) are analyzed in detail and assessed. The assessment shows that eBill offers the greatest benefits overall and many advantages both for invoice issuers and recipients.
The second part of the white paper offers an overview of future trends and developments and uses specific examples to show how we will issue and pay invoices in the future.
“Future of Billing” emerged from a joint project conducted by SIX and Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU). An executive summary, more information and the complete study can be found at six-group.com/future-billing.