Online shop in Ticino: WooCommerce, TWINT and shipping in Switzerland and to Italy

An online shop in Ticino needs four things: a shop system (for many SMEs, WooCommerce on WordPress), a payment service provider offering TWINT, PostFinance and cards, a clear shipping process for Switzerland and, if you want to sell across the border, a solution for customs and Italian VAT. This guide takes you through the decisions in that order, with practical examples for retailers in Lugano, Bellinzona, Locarno or Mendrisio.

WooCommerce, Shopify or something else: which shop system?

The choice depends mainly on who will run the shop and how independent you want to stay from a single platform.

For many shops in Ticino, WooCommerce is a good middle ground: the software is free, plugins from Swiss payment providers already exist, the website belongs to you and you can change hosting provider at any time. In return, you or your agency take care of updates, backups and plugin checks. Shopify takes this work off your hands, but you pay a subscription and, depending on the payment provider, extra fees; current prices are on the Shopify website.

Payments: TWINT, PostFinance and cards

Customers in Switzerland mainly expect TWINT and credit and debit cards. You do not connect these payment methods one by one: you sign a contract with a payment service provider (PSP), which bundles several methods in one plugin and pays out the amounts collected.

• TWINT: activated through a PSP. TWINT only works in Swiss francs; customers paying in euros need another method.
• PostFinance: PostFinance Checkout, PostFinance’s payment service, offers a WooCommerce plugin with the PostFinance payment methods, TWINT and cards.
• Cards (Visa, Mastercard, often American Express) and wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay: offered by almost all PSPs.
• PSPs with WooCommerce plugins common in Switzerland: for example Payrexx, Datatrans, Worldline Saferpay, PostFinance Checkout and Stripe, which supports TWINT for payments in CHF.
• Invoice with QR code: suits regular customers and businesses, but you carry the risk of non-payment.

Compare the fees per transaction, any monthly fees, payout times and whether the PSP accepts your line of business. For customers in Italy, cards and PayPal matter most; TWINT is designed for the Swiss market.

Tip: Launch with two or three payment methods (TWINT, cards and one for Italy) rather than ten. Every extra method has to be tested with each plugin update and makes refunds more complicated.

Shipping within Switzerland

For Switzerland the process is simple: parcels with Swiss Post or a courier, labels created directly from the shop via a plugin or import file, and a tracking number sent to the customer automatically. Before launch, clarify these points:

• shipping costs: flat rate, by weight or free above a minimum order value;
• realistic delivery times, shown on the product page or in the cart;
• in-store pickup, for example in Lugano or Bellinzona, as a free option for local customers;
• returns: who pays for return shipping and within how many days you accept a return.

Switzerland has no general right of withdrawal for online purchases. If you offer one voluntarily, describe the conditions clearly in your terms and conditions.

Selling to Italy: customs, Italian VAT and returns

Chiasso and Como are only a few kilometres apart, but the parcel crosses a customs border: Switzerland is not part of the EU customs union. From a Swiss point of view, every shipment to Italy is an export, and for Italy it is an import.

• Documents: every shipment needs a customs declaration with a description of the goods, their value and origin. Swiss Post and couriers create it together with the label.
• Italian VAT: Italian VAT is charged on import (standard rate 22 %). Without a specific arrangement, the customer pays it on delivery, often with a carrier fee: a frequent reason for refused parcels.
• IOSS: for consignments up to 150 euros, the seller can collect Italian VAT at checkout and declare it through the Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS). Businesses established outside the EU, including Swiss companies, generally have to appoint an intermediary established in the EU.
• Customs duty: since 1 July 2026 the EU has charged a flat duty of 3 euros per tariff line on the invoice for small consignments up to 150 euros (source: Switzerland Global Enterprise). Factor it into your prices or shipping costs.
• Returns from Italy: returns also go through customs. Set up a procedure and explain to customers how to send goods back.
• Consumer rights: if you actively target customers in Italy, European and Italian consumer protection rules generally apply, for example the 14-day right of withdrawal.

Many shops in Ticino therefore start with Switzerland and add Italy only once they have clarified these points with their carrier or a fiduciary. An alternative is a warehouse or logistics partner in the EU, but this only pays off at higher volumes.

Swiss VAT: what applies to an online shop

The following notes are general information and do not replace tax advice. For your specific case, contact a fiduciary or the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (FTA).

• VAT registration is generally mandatory from an annual turnover of CHF 100'000. Below that threshold you can register voluntarily.
• Rates since 1 January 2024: 8.1 % standard, 2.6 % reduced (for example food and books), 3.8 % for accommodation.
• Exports are generally exempt from Swiss VAT if the export is documented, for example with the export customs declaration.
• For consumers in Switzerland, prices must be shown in Swiss francs including VAT, as required by the Price Disclosure Ordinance.

What the shop must provide legally and technically

Since 2012 the Federal Act against Unfair Competition (UCA) has required online shops to provide some minimum information. Data protection and technical security come on top.

1. Identity and full address of the business, with a contact email address (legal notice).
2. Clear information on the individual technical steps leading to the contract, with the option to correct input errors before submitting the order.
3. Immediate electronic confirmation of the order.
4. Terms and conditions covering payment, delivery, warranty and returns.
5. Privacy policy under the Swiss FADP and, if you sell to Italy, also under the GDPR.
6. SSL certificate on the whole website: without HTTPS, payment providers will not activate the service and browsers warn visitors.

Hosting for WooCommerce: what to look for

A WooCommerce shop needs more resources than a simple company website: cart, checkout and customer account are personalised pages that cannot be served from the cache. That is why sufficient resources (RAM and CPU), a current PHP version, daily backups you can restore yourself and a staging environment for testing updates before they reach the live shop all matter.

For a small shop with a few hundred products, a mid-range WordPress hosting plan is usually enough. With many orders or a large catalogue, more RAM and an object cache such as Redis are worth it.

Example: first-year costs for a small shop

At HostOn you install WordPress in a few clicks and add WooCommerce as a plugin; for shops with many orders there is WordPress Matterhorn at CHF 24.90 per month, with Redis. If your shop is already running with another provider, we migrate it free of charge. All prices include VAT.

Tip: Before launch, place a test order with every payment method and run through a complete return, including to an address in Italy if you plan to sell there.