How SPAR Switzerland has turned crypto payments into the new standard.

16 September 2025

SPAR Switzerland now offers its customers the option of paying with crypto wallets at the cash register. Find out how it works – and how Matchbox ensures that it doesn’t result in extra accounting work.

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The starting point: a desire to facilitate crypto payments at the POS

In 2024, Swiss retailer SPAR Handels AG, decided it also wanted to offer its customers the option of paying with cryptocurrencies at the POS, alongside the usual payment methods.

«I’m convinced that cryptocurrencies are going to become much more significant as a payment method in retail over the next few years – also because they make retailers less dependent on the major acquirers», says André Scherrer, Managing Director SPAR Switzerland, explaining the reasons for his initiative at SPAR.

The background: Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum are not just transparent, decentralised and safe. They also offer a real alternative to classic payment networks. Why is this a real game changer in the payment world? Because with crypto payments, there are no classic intermediaries earning money – which noticeably reduces transaction costs for retailers. These currently only account for a fraction of the transaction fees that are otherwise incurred with PSPs.

The question remains: how can we make the payment process at the POS and the payment processing so simple that it can be applied in everyday life?

The challenge: Simple flows at all levels

To facilitate integration of the crypto wallets as a new payment method at the POS, SPAR Switzerland has been working with crypto payment specialist DFX.

Both companies had a clear goal in mind in launching crypto payment at the POS: reliable infrastructure that works really easily both at the cash register and in Accounting and above all without manual interventions.

«Our goal was a set-up that’s so simple, everyone can operate it intuitively. That goes for the payment process at the cash register just as much as processing the crypto payments in the back office», says Cyril Thommen, CEO of DFX, summarising the expectations.

DFX was responsible for the payment process at the POS: scanning a QR code at the cash register should be enough to facilitate a transaction with over 30 different crypto wallets. «For customers, payment is just as intuitive as TWINT or Apple Pay», adds André Scherrer. «That’s important, so payments with crypto truly become suitable for daily life».

To make the system for processing crypto payments in the back office as easy and efficient as possible as well, SPAR and DFX tasked the Matchbox team from treibauf to come up with a solution for automated reconciliation and posting of the crypto payments.

Solutions: Simple payment + simple posting

DFX established a payment process that is simple and intuitive in equal measure: after the QR code is scanned with a mobile and then approved, the respective payment amount is transferred from the user’s crypto wallet to DFX. DFX in turns pays the corresponding amount in fiat currency directly to SPAR.

Matchbox comes into play from this point for processing the payment: as SPAR was already using Matchbox, the main task was to integrate crypto payments as a new payment method within Matchbox: the software reconciles the crypto payment data from the POS with the transaction list from DFX, even processing the 0.20 % (!) transaction fee from DFX – and posts it exactly as SPAR needs internally.

«With Matchbox, a case like this is actually easier than you’d think: it’s more or less comparable to the work needed to integrate a new credit card as a payment method», explains Matchbox project manager Ronnie Rupff of the work involved in integrating the cryptocurrencies in the reconciliation and payment analytics software.

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The result: Stable structures for a true success story

«Thanks to Matchbox, integrating the crypto payments in Accounting was extremely straightforward. Once initially set up, reconciliation and posting now run largely automatically. Our Accounting department is also very happy with the integration of the new payment method», says André Scherrer with a smile, explaining the added value of processing crypto payments automatically.

Since the pilot project rolled out in Zug, we’ve already posted over 300 crypto transactions – and counting! Customers can now pay with their crypto wallet at over 100 branches across Switzerland – and are choosing this option more and more often. The goal is to roll out the option of crypto payments to all SPAR branches in Switzerland.

«We’re already thinking about how to incentivise customers to pay by crypto. I think it could then very quickly become a lot more», suggests André Scherrer.

SPAR franchisees also profit: they get standardised evaluations and don’t have to develop their own posting logic for the new payment method “DFX/Crypto”. There is also growing international interest in the new option: SPAR is already talking to other countries that are planning similar solutions.

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«With Matchbox, integrating the crypto payments in Accounting was extremely straightforward. Once initially set up, reconciliation and posting now run largely automatically.»

André Scherrer
Managing Director SPAR Switzerland

Why treibauf is the perfect partner for payment innovations

«As the company behind Pepper, treibauf already has a great reputation in the industry. But with Matchbox, the company also offers an equally powerful and flexible solution for reconciliation tasks. That’s why treibauf was the first choice for us when it came to choosing a partner for crypto payment processing in the back office!», explains the CEO of DFX, Cyril Thommen.

«The integration process was then exactly as professional and straightforward as we had hoped. The collaboration was just very pleasant, and the Matchbox team always responded quickly and flexibly to all our accounting requirements. Working with true professionals was simply fun», adds SPAR Managing Director, André Scherrer.

«SPAR Handels AG»
SPAR Switzerland (SPAR Handels AG) is one of Switzerland’s leading retail chains, based in Gossau SG. The company operates over 360 locations (Spar grocery stores, Spar Express, Eurospar, TopCC) and supplies both end customers and retailers with food and household goods.

Nicolas Schwotzer

Nicolas is the Chief Product Owner, a member of the treibauf Executive Board and founded our company more than 25 years ago. Thanks to this wealth of experience, he is one of the most important experts in reconciliation software and POS integration.

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