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14 November 2026 is approaching. If your business issues QR-bills, uses saved beneficiaries or pays suppliers and employees through bank payment files, check the addresses you use now. Old details can remain hidden in a template even when recent invoices look correct.
The key point: Switzerland is keeping its timetable. According to SIX, Swift and the European body responsible for SEPA suspended their November deadline during summer 2026. Switzerland is continuing its migration. An international postponement therefore does not mean your Swiss bank has postponed its requirements.
Who needs to check what?
- You invoice customers: check your business and customer addresses in QR-bills, including old invoice templates still in use.
- You pay through e-banking: review saved beneficiaries and standing orders, particularly those created from older QR-bills.
- You submit payment files: ask your bank and software provider to confirm the format and address compatibility, including for salary payments.
A readable address is only part of the check
A structured address stores information in separate fields: street, building number, postcode, town and country. For example, “Rue des Alpes 12, 1700 Fribourg” becomes street “Rue des Alpes”, number “12”, postcode “1700”, town “Fribourg” and country “CH”. Correct text on the PDF alone does not establish that the QR code contains the right data.
Keep the two rules separate: QR-bills require a structured type S address; payment orders under the Swiss Payment Standards may use structured or hybrid addresses, depending on the bank’s support. PostFinance says it does not support hybrid addresses. Completing separate address fields is therefore the simplest way to prepare your records.
Keep these dates separate
- 22 November 2025: QR guidelines version 2.3 took effect; only structured addresses are permitted in QR-bills.
- 14 November 2026: Switzerland keeps its timetable for addresses in payment orders; QR guidelines version 2.4 becomes valid.
- Until November 2027: QR version 2.3 remains valid in parallel. This coexistence does not bring back the old combined type K addresses.
Your checklist before 14 November
If an older QR code is rejected
A failed scan does not cancel the debt. Geneva’s tax administration gives a concrete example: certain tax QR-bills issued before 12 March 2026 need an updated QR code or manual entry. Its instructions concern those tax bills; for a supplier invoice, request current details and instructions from the issuer.
Before trying again, check the status of the original payment to avoid paying twice. Keep the invoice and bank messages so you can investigate the rejection with your usual contact.
CHF and EUR invoices: a useful distinction
According to SIX guidelines 2.4, page 5, this version adds no technical changes for CHF invoicing. For EUR invoices under this version, the permitted combinations are IBAN with a SCOR reference, or IBAN with an unstructured message. Version 2.3 remains valid in parallel until November 2027: this does not mean every existing EUR QR-bill becomes unusable on 14 November.
Prepare your invoices with Bill Alps
Bill Alps uses separate address fields to prepare your QR-bill data. Start by reviewing your business and customer details, then check a generated invoice. For saved bank templates, standing orders and file exchanges, complete the checks with your bank too: creating an invoice does not update details already stored in e-banking.
For more on the address format inside the QR code, see our guide to structured addresses in QR-bills. Information checked on 1 November 2026.