Swiss QR-bill: structured addresses in your business software

What has changed

Since 22 November 2025 the QR code on the bill has accepted only structured addresses (type S), for both the issuer and the person paying. Street, number, postcode, town and country sit in separate fields, and postcode, town and country must always be there. The combined address (type K) kept everything on two lines, and many programs wrote it that way: "Via Nassa 12" and "6900 Lugano".

PostFinance still accepts combined addresses until 13 November 2026. After that date, it says, some institutions may reject the bills. UBS already stopped payment at the counter on 30 September 2026. Standing orders and e-banking templates also have to be fixed by 13 November.

Version 2.4 of the rules applies from 14 November 2026. Nothing technical changes for Swiss francs; euros have the limits listed in the FAQ below.

Where it usually gets stuck

The trouble is in the data more than in the QR code. If your software has one "address" field, someone has to split thousands of rows, and the odd ones are the hardest: "c/o", PO boxes, numbers like "12a", town names with apostrophes, Italian customers with their own postcodes.

An up-to-date standard package solves nearly all of this. That leaves custom business software, spreadsheets with macros, scripts that generate PDFs and online shops with an extension nobody has updated.

What I do

1. I look at one of your QR-bills and at the part of the program that creates it.
2. I split customer addresses into separate fields and give you a list of the rows to check by hand.
3. I fix the QR code generation and the data entry form, so new records start out right.
4. I check test bills on the SIX validation portal.
5. I list the invoices already sent that need redoing.

If the program is old and nobody has the source code, I'll tell you straight away whether to patch it or rebuild it.

Payment files too

If your program creates pain.001 files or reads camt statements, something changes there as well in November 2026. Swiss rules ask for structured or hybrid addresses, with town and country always filled in, and the period when banks and vendors had to accept the 2009 formats ends. Swift and the European EPC scheme suspended their address deadline; Switzerland kept its own.

PostFinance doesn't strictly reject files with old addresses yet, but it doesn't guarantee the payment will arrive. For camt statements in the new format (V2019) you have to switch on the change in e-finance, and with the old format data can be cut off. Every bank has its own timing, so ask yours.

What I don't do

I don't keep your accounts, and I don't change standard packages: that update is the vendor's job. This page summarises SIX rules and guidance from PostFinance and UBS as read on 31 October 2026. The SIX rules are the reference.

Frequently asked questions

I use Bexio, Abacus or another standard package. Do I need to do anything?

The vendor's update is usually enough, and SIX has told vendors about the change. Do check that street, number, postcode and town sit in separate fields in your customer records. Custom work comes in when the program was written by someone who no longer looks after it.

I've already sent invoices that last for months, like rents and leasing.

SIX asks you to convert them in good time and, if needed, send customers new QR-bills. It helps to list those with a combined address and redo them all in one go.

Does this apply to euro invoices too?

Yes, with one extra rule. From version 2.4 the QR-IBAN and QR reference are for Swiss francs only. In euros you can use an IBAN with an SCOR reference, or an IBAN with a free-text message.

What happens if I change nothing?

There's no fine, because this is a SIX standard. The risk is an invoice your customer can't pay or a bank rejects, followed by a reminder sent by mistake and accounts to fix by hand.

If you are in Ticino or elsewhere in Switzerland

I work from Rovellasca, near Como, between Milan and the Swiss border, and part-time at a communication agency in Switzerland. For a Swiss company I built the AREAVISION website, business app and mobile app.

Read more

• The service: Integrations and automation
• More pages like this: Rules to comply with in Switzerland