Identification and signature with Bankident PostFinance

Our Bankident PostFinance service allows you to identify yourself quickly and reliably online. Where a signature is required, you can also sign a contract legally and electronically. To use the service, you need your e-finance access data. To approve the electronic signature, you need your PostFinance App login.

Here’s how identification works using Bankident PostFinance

  1. Start a sales process in a partner’s online shop or web portal.
  2. Select “Bankident PostFinance” at the identification stage.
  3. The partner’s website redirects you to the PostFinance login page.
  4. Log in to PostFinance by completing your login procedure.
  5. Allow PostFinance to transfer your identification information. Customer data is transferred in line with the provisions of the current Federal Act on Data Protection.
  6. If you are not automatically taken back to the partner site, return there yourself.

Here’s how a signature via Bankident PostFinance works

  1. Start a contract process at the partner web portal.
  2. Choose “Bankident PostFinance” as the registration method and register for the electronic signature with SwissSign or Swisscom Trust Services, depending on the signature provider.
  3. Log in to PostFinance by completing your PostFinance App login procedure.
  4. Allow PostFinance to transfer your identification information. Customer data is transferred in accordance with the specifications of the current Federal Act on Data Protection and the specifications of the Federal Act on Electronic Signatures (ESigA).
  5. The signature provider (SwissSign or Swisscom Trust Services) starts the Bankident PostFinance process. If the quality of the data stored with PostFinance fulfils the requirements criteria in accordance with the Federal Act on Electronic Signatures (ESigA), the data is passed from PostFinance to the relevant signature provider.
  6. When concluding a contract using an electronic signature, you accept the signature provider’s (SwissSign or Swisscom Trust Services) terms of use and approve the signature directly via the PostFinance App.
  7. Registration and/or the validity of your signature certificate is determined by the signature provider. When validity expires, you must reregister with the signature provider by accepting the terms of use.

Questions and answers

  • You can use Bankident PostFinance if you have a PostFinance login and the partner supports Bankident PostFinance.

  • Always ensure there’s a secure connection before logging in (https, lock icon, certificate owner) and that the domain name is correct.

  • The data required depends on the partner. You will be shown what data is required and asked to confirm it before each transfer of data. Under no circumstances will data relating to your account, transactions or creditworthiness be transferred.

  • The data will be stored for as long as is necessary for the fulfilment of the contract and for legal reasons. This is the responsibility of the partner.

  • The partner undertakes vis-à-vis PostFinance and you as the customer to use the data solely for the stated purpose (e. g. the conclusion of a contract). Use of the data for any other purpose is not permitted, would violate the principle of purpose of data protection law and may be punished accordingly.

  • Yes. Consent can be withdrawn by telephone or in your profile in e-finance or in the PostFinance App under “Data protection settings”.

  • An “electronic signature” is data that is attached to an electronic document to confirm the signature of the document.

  • A qualified signature is a form of certificate regulated by law that replaces signing by hand in legal communications, if this is allowed for in legal provisions or has been agreed between parties.

  • With the “Bankident PostFinance” solution, advanced and qualified electronic signatures can be created in accordance with the “Federal Act on Electronic Signatures” (ESigA). Creating a qualified electronic signature is only possible for customers who already have a PostFinance account.

    To create a qualified signature using “Bankident PostFinance”, several preconditions must be fulfilled. Customers must be identified at a Swiss Post branch or PostFinance branch with a passport or identity card that permits entry to Switzerland from an EU or EFTA country. The customer must also use e-finance and the PostFinance App, including the push notifications function. If the customer does not fulfil certain criteria, our signature providers who generate the electronic signature cannot issue a certificate, and the customer must use an alternative identification method. In these cases, a qualified electronic signature cannot be issued, and “Bankident PostFinance” does not work.

  • The signature providers SwissSign or Swisscom Trust Services are responsible for the activation of partners who offer Bankident PostFinance. For a detailed answer, please contact the relevant signature provider directly.