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Create a QR-bill with PostFinance, UBS and Raiffeisen - how it works (and the simpler alternative)

Most Swiss banks let you create a QR-bill inside e-banking - but it is clunky and different at every bank. Here is how it works at PostFinance, UBS and Raiffeisen, and why a bank-agnostic generator is often faster.

June 18, 20267 min readLumaBill Team

You want to create a QR-bill and wonder whether you can do it directly at your bank? Short answer: yes, PostFinance, UBS and Raiffeisen all let you generate a QR-bill inside e-banking. Longer answer: it works, but it is clunky, different at every bank and tied to your account there.

The fastest, bank-agnostic way is to use your own generator - for example the free QR-bill generator from LumaBill. It works with any Swiss IBAN, with no login, and without locking you into one specific bank.

First, the key fact: The classic payment slip no longer exists. Since 30 September 2022 Swiss banks no longer process the orange (ESR) and red payment slips. "Create a payment slip" today simply means: create a QR-bill.

Create a QR-bill with PostFinance

PostFinance offers an area inside e-finance where you can generate a QR-bill. The exact menu names change over time, so here are the general steps that hold regardless of the current layout:

  1. Log into e-finance. You need a PostFinance account.
  2. Open the payment / QR-bill area. PostFinance keeps the QR-bill creation in the payments section.
  3. Enter recipient details: your IBAN or QR-IBAN plus your name and address - exactly as your bank knows them.
  4. Enter the amount and currency (CHF or EUR) and optionally pick a reference.
  5. Generate and download the PDF.

That is enough for a single invoice. The limit: the function is tied to your PostFinance account, and you only get the finished PDF - no invoice management, no sequential numbering, no payment matching. For the next client you start over.

Create a QR-bill with UBS

UBS also lets you create a QR-bill inside e-banking. The flow is very similar:

  1. Log into UBS e-banking (a UBS account is required).
  2. Open the area for QR-bills or payments.
  3. Enter the recipient IBAN or QR-IBAN, name and address.
  4. Enter the amount, currency and optionally the reference.
  5. Generate the QR-bill as a PDF.

Same story here: handy for one-offs, but without templates, without recurring invoices and without automatic matching of incoming payments. And only for UBS customers.

Create a QR-bill with Raiffeisen

At Raiffeisen it follows the same pattern via e-banking:

  1. Log into Raiffeisen e-banking.
  2. Open the QR-bill or payment function.
  3. Enter your bank details (IBAN or QR-IBAN) and address.
  4. Set the amount, currency and reference.
  5. Download the PDF.

Note: Bank interfaces change. The exact menu items at your bank may be named differently from the description here. The logic is always the same: log in, open the payments area, enter recipient and amount, download the QR-bill as a PDF.

The limits of the bank generators

The built-in bank function is convenient when you need a QR-bill exactly once. For anyone who invoices regularly, the bank generators quickly hit their limits:

  • Only for your own bank's customers. The PostFinance tool is for PostFinance customers, the UBS tool for UBS customers, the Raiffeisen tool for Raiffeisen customers. With accounts at several banks, you juggle several interfaces.
  • No numbering. A sequential, gap-free invoice number - important for Swiss bookkeeping - is something you have to track yourself.
  • No templates. Logo, payment terms, standard texts: all from scratch every time.
  • No recurring invoices. Monthly subscriptions or retainers cannot be automated.
  • No payment matching. The bank does not automatically tell you which invoice was paid. You reconcile by hand.
  • You redo everything each time. The same recipient data, the same address, the same texts - on every single invoice.

For two or three invoices a year, that is bearable. Bill more than that and it costs you real time.

The bank-agnostic alternative

This is where your own generator shines. The free QR-bill generator from LumaBill works with any Swiss IBAN or QR-IBAN, no matter which bank holds your account - and with no login. You enter recipient, amount and reference, the Swiss QR Code is calculated including the check digit and the Swiss cross, and you download the finished QR-bill as a PDF. Done.

Once you bill regularly, it is worth moving to LumaBill from CHF 9/month. Then you get:

  • Sequential numbering - gap-free and ready for bookkeeping.
  • Templates and saved client data - no re-typing.
  • Sending by email straight from the software.
  • Recurring invoices for subscriptions and retainers.
  • Automatic payment matching via CAMT - you import the bank file and LumaBill matches payments to invoices.

That frees you from any single bank's interface and saves you the same repetitive steps on every invoice. You can try LumaBill free for 14 days.

How to decide

  • One single invoice, fast? The free generator is enough - or your bank's tool if you are logged in there anyway.
  • Several invoices, several clients, payment matching? Then LumaBill pays off, because you get numbering, templates, sending and matching in one place.

For more background on the QR-bill, see the Swiss QR-bill guide. And if you are specifically looking for the successor to the payment slip: Create a payment slip explains step by step how to generate a QR-bill today.

Frequently asked questions

Can I create a QR-bill with PostFinance, UBS or Raiffeisen?

Yes. PostFinance, UBS and Raiffeisen each offer a function inside e-banking to generate a QR-bill. You enter the recipient IBAN, amount and optionally a reference, then download the PDF. It is handy for one-offs, but tied to your account at that bank and without any invoice management. If you bill regularly, a bank-agnostic generator is usually the better choice.

Does it work without an account at that bank?

Not with the bank generators - you have to log into that bank's e-banking, so you need an account there. The free QR-bill generator from LumaBill, by contrast, works with any Swiss IBAN or QR-IBAN, no matter which bank, and with no login at all.

What about the old payment slip?

The orange (ESR) and red payment slips no longer exist. Swiss banks stopped processing them on 30 September 2022. So if you want to create a payment slip today, you are creating a QR-bill with the Swiss QR Code.

Do I need a QR-IBAN?

Not necessarily. A QR-bill also works with your normal IBAN - then with no reference or a Creditor Reference (SCOR). You only need a QR-IBAN if you want to use the 27-digit QR Reference (QRR), the successor to the old ESR reference. Your bank issues your QR-IBAN.

What is faster: the bank generator or your own generator?

For a single invoice, both are fine. But as soon as you bill more than once, work with several clients or want to match payments, a bank-agnostic tool is clearly faster: no re-entering the same data, sequential numbering, templates and automatic payment matching.

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