Electronic billing has increased steadily in Switzerland, but the lions’ share of all bills is still being printed on paper. SIX and Avaloq are teaming up to give the electronic billing system a major boost.
At present, each year some 32 million bills are being issued as e-bills in Switzerland. Avaloq Outline, a unit of the banking software firm, and SIX Banking Services aim to increase the volume of electronic bills to more than 90 million within three years.
The two companies have signed a network agreement, according to a statement released on Tuesday. Under the terms of the agreement, SIX, which also operates the Swiss stock exchange, will develop a so-called ecosystem for digital billing and payments called «eBill».
New Data Hub
E-bills are no longer sent via mail, but loaded up into the client’s online banking. The electronic system makes billing cheaper, more efficient and easy to handle, SIX said.
Avaloq in turn will attach its data hub via the open interface provided by SIX and thus give direct access to the entire Swiss e-banking network.
A Win-Win Situation
The cooperation will result in easier and cost-effective billing procedures, said Jean-Daniel Andrey, head of customer engagement solutions at Avaloq Outline. SIX and Avaloq are pushing ahead with the digitization and automation of banking in Switzerland, he added.
