Swiss transfer and direct-debit transactions of banks and PostFinance are being fully harmonized. This means that, in the future, payment transactions will be processed on the basis of ISO 20022 and largely aligned with European standards. The harmonisation affects all central areas and procedures of payment transactions, such as credit transfers, direct debits, notifications and reporting, as well as payment slips. The latter are converted into QR invoices with a payment component.

HR is also affected by these changes. The harmonization concerns the field of transfers for salary payments. Specifically, this means that the payment format has to be converted to the new standard. If your financial department is using the same SAP system and has already switched, the settings for salary payments need to be added. Otherwise, working with SAP Basis Administration, it has to be ensured that the latest SAP support packages are imported before the settings can be made. In any case, you will have to clarify with your bank bank or with your financial department from when the new data formats (XML) can be processed. Depending on the financial institution, only one format can be processed per account.

The transitional periods for the DTA format are as follows:

PostFinance  31.12.2017

Banks            30.06.2018

Nach diesen Fristen können Überweisungen nur noch im neuen XML-Format erfolgen.

After these deadlines, transfers will only be done in the new XML format.

The definition of a launch date for implementation with your payroll consultant is advisable. The new format is tested by generating a payment files and sending a test upload to your bank. After successful testing, there is a transition to the productive system and the new data format will be available for the next salary run.

Do you need help or want us to accompany you through the process? Jolanda Hess will be happy to help your questions.

Here you can also find further information as well as a short and clear explanatory film.