Concardis supplies payment solution for the new destination Zermatt app

• The app is a digital travel guide, with various booking and payment options
• Seamless integration of all payment methods thanks to in-app payment library from Concardis
• Connections planned for all local retailers and service providers

Zermatt, the popular holiday resort in the Swiss Alps, counts on Concardis Payment Group: the payment service provider from Eschborn ensures smooth payment processes in the recently developed Matterhorn App, which is part of Zermatt’s digitalisation strategy. The app gives users maps of ski runs, restaurant tips and weather forecasts and lets them buy ski passes for the mountain railways in Zermatt or tickets for Swiss public transport. All this enables the app to act as a digital marketplace. Users pay for all the services centrally via the app, and Concardis allocates the sales revenues to the individual retailers and service providers in the background. Concardis Payment Group works closely with Bonfire AG, which designed the app.

“With the Matterhorn App we offer guests and visitors to the region up-to-date, all-round services for planning their holiday. Straightforward payment processes are a vital part of that. So it was important for us to have a payment services provider at our side with the necessary know-how for mobile applications, which can manage the entire payment process via its own platforms. We are delighted that in Concardis we have found a partner that gives us optimal support and with whom we can also extend the app”, says Stefan Lindner, CEO of Bonfire AG.

“The Matterhorn App is very much in tune with the times: users get an individual travel guide with real added value – and service providers, retailers, hoteliers and restaurateurs profit from the virtual footfall on the platform. We think this kind of marketplace solution has real potential that other holiday regions can also put to their advantage”, says Marianne Bregenzer, country manager for Switzerland at the Concardis Payment Group since December 2018.

Retailers and service providers who want to feature in the app and be able to accept payments only need a contract to use the multichannel platform Payengine and an acceptance contract with Concardis. In technical terms, the payment processes run via the in-app payment library, which is part of the Concardis Payengine. By combining the payment solution with the Matterhorn App all standard payment methods are fully and seamlessly integrated. That means users experience a smooth payment process, with no visible difference between the app and the payment page.

The app was launched in November 2018 and now has more than 30,000 active users. So Bonfire AG is planning to add extra services to the app, such as restaurant bookings and push messages for the latest events. Zermatt’s marketplace solution is the state of the art and can be a model for other destinations in Switzerland and abroad.

About Zermatt Tourism

Zermatt Tourism is the official marketing and information organisation for the destination Zermatt – Matterhorn. The destination comprises the municipalities of Zermatt, Täsch and Randa and is surrounded by 38 peaks of more than 4000 metres, including the Matterhorn – the most photographed mountain in the world. The tourist resort is noted for its natural beauty, hospitality and high-end cuisine, with 242 points in Gault-Millau and 5 Michelin stars. Guests can enjoy 400km of hiking paths in summer and 360km of ski runs in winter.