Swiss QR-bill: structured addresses are mandatory – the October and November 2026 deadlines

The QR-bill has been in use since June 2020 and replaced the orange and red payment slips on 1 October 2022. Since then the rules for addresses have tightened, and the last grace periods end this autumn.

What changed

Inside the QR code, each address is stored in one of two formats:

Type S (structured): street, house number, postcode and town in separate fields.
Type K (combined): two free-text lines, e.g. "Rue du Lac 1268" and "2501 Biel".

Since 21 November 2025 (QR-bill guidelines 2.3), new QR-bills may only contain structured addresses (type S), for both the biller's and the payer's address. The "hybrid" format exists for bank payment files, not for the QR code.

Why? Structured addresses let banks identify the parties to a payment unambiguously, as required by international anti-money-laundering rules. Swift and the EPC postponed their own November 2026 deadline in summer 2026, but Switzerland is keeping its date.

End of September 2026: bank deadlines

Several banks only guarantee that QR-bills with the old combined address are processed until the end of September 2026; after that, payments can be refused. This date comes from the banks, not from SIX: PostFinance, for example, guarantees processing until 13 November 2026. The payer can still type a refused bill in manually, which invites queries and delays. What happens in practice, and which bank promises what: Swiss QR-bill rejected by the bank.

14 November 2026: the date for everyone

From 14 November 2026 the Swiss Payment Standards no longer allow unstructured addresses in any payment order, not only QR-bills. Banks have to update standing orders and templates by 13 November 2026. If customers pay you by standing order, send them a new QR-bill with a structured address so they can update it.

The same day, version 2.4 of the QR-bill guidelines applies; nothing changes for bills in CHF, while EUR bills lose QR-IBAN and QR reference. Details: 14 Nov 2026: Swiss QR-bill 2.4 and end of unstructured addresses. All dates: Swiss QR-bill timeline 2020–2027.

Who is affected

Most maintained invoicing software has been updated; check your version. At risk are mainly Excel and Word templates with an old QR macro or add-in, outdated software versions, web-shop plugins and home-grown scripts that build the QR code themselves, and associations or landlords reusing a template set up years ago.

How to tell

By eye there is no difference. The address type ("S" or "K") only exists inside the QR code: on line 5 of the encoded text for your own address, and further down for the payer's. Check an invoice with our QR-bill checker; it runs in your browser and uploads nothing.

How to fix it

The error is inside the QR code, so a sticker or a manual correction is impossible: the invoice has to be regenerated.

Update your invoicing or accounting software.
Replace old Excel or Word macros with an up-to-date generator that asks for street, building number, postcode and town separately.
Enter addresses in separate fields, then check a test invoice again.

Invoices already paid are not affected. Regenerate open invoices in the old format and send them again.