Paying with Digital Money

Everyone knows that you can use coins and notes to pay for things. Did you know that you can use digital money, too?

  • hotspot Paying with a Maestro Card
    Paying with a Maestro Card
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    You can use your Maestro card to pay for things in shops. When you pay, money is transferred from your account into the shop's account. When you pay with your card, you have to enter your PIN, your PIN number, for security. The PIN is a secret code that only the owner of the Maestro card knows. This helps to keep your card safe so that nobody else can use it. If you have a Maestro card, you can also pay for things that cost CHF 40 or less without entering your PIN. This can be really handy if you're in a rush. In cases like this, you don't have to insert your card into the reader. Instead, you simply hold it over the top. That's why this process is also called "contactless payment". All bank cards that have this function will have a special symbol somewhere that looks a bit like a WiFi symbol.

  • hotspot Payment by Bank Transfer
    Payment by Bank Transfer
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    Young people and adults can check their bank accounts online using a process known as online banking. They can use this program to do things like transfer money. This means that money is sent from your account into an account belonging to someone else – like when you have to pay someone, for instance.

    Because bank transfers are designed to be extra safe, a security check is carried out every time. Sometimes you get sent a secret code to your phone, which you then have to enter into the computer. Other times you might have to take a photo of a pattern known as a QR code on your computer screen.

    Why not ask your parents if they can show you how bank transfers work?

  • hotspot Payments with a Smartphone
    Payments with a Smartphone
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    Have you ever been in a shop and seen someone using their smartphone to pay? This option has only been around for a little while. Instead of inserting your Maestro card into the reader, you use your smartphone to take a photo of something known as a QR code. In Switzerland an app called "TWINT" is used for this process. To make sure smartphone payments are as secure as possible, you have to enter a secret code or use your fingerprint to unlock the app before paying. Why not ask your parents if they have ever used TWINT?

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