Online subscriptions and digital payments: How to keep your costs under control

Contents:

• Online subscriptions and digital payments: Where do the costs arise?

• Spotting trial subscriptions and automatic renewals

• Paying for digital services securely

• How to keep track of your digital spending

• Managing or cancelling online subscriptions and digital purchases

• Spotted an unknown debit? Here’s how to respond correctly

• Conclusion: Keeping your digital spending under control

Online subscriptions and digital payments: where do the costs come from?

A new smartphone game, a music subscription or extra features for an app – digital services come in many forms. But whilst some purchases are a one-off expense, others result in regular debits.

You should distinguish between these types of costs:

• One-off digital purchases: You usually only pay once for apps, e-books or additional game content.
• Recurring subscriptions: Music streaming, online newspapers or software are often billed monthly or annually until you cancel the subscription.
• In-app purchases: Additional features or content within an app may be a one-off charge or linked to a subscription.
• Free trial offers: Once the trial period ends, a paid subscription may start automatically.

Good to know: The name of the service you’ve purchased does not always appear on your card statement. For payments made via Apple or Google Play, the respective platform may be listed instead.

Spotting trial subscriptions and automatic renewals

Signing up for a free trial subscription is quick and easy: simply register, enter your payment details and you’re ready to go. The surprise sometimes doesn’t come until weeks later, when the standard price is suddenly debited.

So take a closer look before signing up: how long does the trial period last, how much does the subscription cost afterwards, and by when do you need to cancel? Also check whether the service is billed monthly or for a whole year in one go.

The easiest way is to note the end of the trial period in your calendar straight away – with a reminder set a few days beforehand. That way, you can decide in good time whether you want to continue using the service.

Paying for digital services securely

A digital purchase can be completed in just a few clicks. This makes it all the more important to check, before authorising the payment, who the payment is going to and what amount is actually due.

Follow these tips to make your payments more secure:

• Use official platforms: Where possible, download apps from the Apple App Store or Google Play. For direct purchases, use the provider’s official website rather than links from unknown messages.
• Secure your purchases: Enable confirmation via Face ID, fingerprint or password for app purchases, provided your device supports this.
• Check payment details: Verify the amount and the provider. Do not confirm any payment request that you have not initiated yourself.
• Be mindful when saving card details: Only store your payment information with services where it is genuinely necessary.

In the Swiss Bankers app, you can disable online payments if required and re-enable them later. Please note, however, that this may also result in payments for ongoing online subscriptions being declined.

How to keep track of your digital spending

CHF 12.90 for music streaming and CHF 2.90 for extra storage space – that’s CHF 15.80 a month or just under CHF 190 a year. On top of that, you might have an app you hardly ever use. What seems like a small amount individually can really add up over the months.

So make sure you regularly check your active subscriptions and card transactions. You’ll find the subscriptions you’ve taken out via these platforms in your Apple or Google account. Don’t forget about services you’ve signed up for directly with the provider either.

With push notifications from the Swiss Bankers app, you can spot card transactions as they happen. Also, keep an eye out for notifications about price increases.

A quick subscription check every few months is often enough to spot unused services and unnecessary expenditure.

Manage or cancel online subscriptions and digital purchases

Where you cancel a subscription depends on where you took it out. Depending on the provider, you can do this directly in the app, via Apple or Google Play, or on the service’s website.

Here’s how to find and cancel your subscriptions:

• On Apple: Open ‘Settings’ on your iPhone, tap your name and select ‘Subscriptions’. Here you can manage your subscriptions billed through Apple. For more information, see Apple’s guide.
• On Google Play: Open the Play Store, go to ‘Payments & Subscriptions’ via your profile, then to ‘Subscriptions’. Select the subscription you wish to cancel. The individual steps are explained in the Google Play guide.
• Directly with the provider: If you subscribed to a service via its website, you’ll usually need to cancel it there too.

Menu labels may vary slightly depending on your device and software version.

In the event of an accidental one-off purchase, such as an app or in-app content, you may, under certain conditions, request a refund from Apple or Google Play. Whether this is granted depends on the specific purchase and the applicable terms and conditions.

Please note: Deleting an app or blocking your payment card does not cancel an active subscription. Cancel your subscription directly with the relevant provider and keep the confirmation.

Spotted an unknown debit? Here’s how to respond

Your card statement shows a charge of CHF 14.90 that you cannot identify. This could be due to a forgotten subscription, an automatic renewal or an unauthorised payment. Not every unknown charge is necessarily fraud. Nevertheless, you should look into it.

Here’s how to find out where the payment came from:

• Check the charge: Compare the amount and date with your subscriptions, bills and order confirmations. Sometimes a name other than that of the actual service appears on your statement.
• Contact the provider: In the case of a forgotten subscription or an unexpected renewal, you can ask for the reason for the charge and clarify whether a refund is possible. Keep a record of the correspondence.
• Report unauthorised payments: If you did not authorise the payment or if charges continued to be taken despite a valid cancellation, you can dispute the charge with your card provider. Swiss Bankers provides a dispute form for this purpose.

Important: If you suspect that your card details have been stolen, you should act immediately. Use the ‘Replace card’ function in the Swiss Bankers app under ‘Card settings & PIN’. This will block the affected card and initiate the replacement process. If this is not possible, contact Swiss Bankers customer service immediately.

Conclusion: Keeping digital spending under control

Whether it’s an app purchase, a trial subscription or a monthly streaming service: if you check your digital payments regularly, you’ll usually spot unnecessary costs quickly. It doesn’t take much time or involve complicated budget planning.

Take ten minutes today: open your subscription overview on Apple or Google, check any subscriptions you’ve taken out directly, and cancel anything you no longer need.