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How frequently are consumers using Twint?

An average of twice a month, but its rising. In Scandinavia, mobile payment apps average between five and nine transactions per client per month. The Nordics have a headstart of about three years on Switzerland. 

That's where Twint wants to end up?

Our goal is to be relevant for our clients daily. From when they wake up in the morning to when they go to bed, we want to be the payment app they choose for anything they need to pay for, whether it's person-to-person, point of sale, or e-commerce transactions. 

How are you encouraging people to sign up?

We're a very young firm, so people aren't yet so aware of us. To automatically reach for your phone when you shop requires a certain change of behavior. But we do sense that clients are beginning to adapt.

«Switzerland realized that we haven't done anything wrong»

There's also a network effect. Twint is growing exponentially thanks to 1.2 million current users. The fact that Twint will be accepted as a payment by SBB, either at the ticket machines or in the railway app, is also a huge success for us.

Has the hullaballoo about Apple Pay helped?

Yes, of course the attention directed at Twint helped. Swiss consumers realized that we haven't done anything wrong. 

What challenges await you with the growth?

Of course we tried everything to facilitate a favorable experience in the Christmas shopping season. We broke all transaction records on Black Friday. We were the second-largest payment method at one vendor, after Mastercard. In December, that volume was already «business as usual», and that's already a confirmation for us. There had been criticism in the past about our stability and speed.

What are your growth targets for 2019?

We're currently acquiring approximately 15,000 new clients every week. I won't disclose a target for 2019, but if we continue to win new clients at this pace, we're at 600,000 to 700,000 new users this year. But the business model in this form is only one and a half years old, so I'm cautious with forecasts.

When is the market saturated? How many people need Twint before it's no longer possible for you to grow?

When every person in Switzerland with a smartphone who needs to pay something is a client. With very few exceptions.

What about targets in terms of user frequency?

I'm not under the illusion that we'll be able to get clients to use Twint five times a month this or next year. But our goal is certainly to get clients moving in that direction. 

How do you reprogram people to not reach for their wallet?

By showing them that they can pay for virtually everything with Twint. Also with use cases which speak to clients in a very specific way. For example, I have to park my car every day and can avoid a parking fine by paying with Twint if I don't have change with me. It's about making Twint less exotic than it is now.

How far is Twint from break-even?

Our income from share of revenue and from license fees to use the app still isn't large enough to cover the cost of running Twint. We have to develop additional «use cases». We're discussing this with a series of themes where we've identified gaps, like in e-commerce. We frequently discuss this with our owners in terms of where we see what potential.

Markus Kilb began as CEO of Swiss mobile payments provider Twint in November 2018. The German banker was previously head of Unicredit's Family Financing Bank in Munich. Twint belongs to stock exchange operator Six, Postfinance, French payments firm Worldline, and several Swiss banks.