Goods delivered, invoice overdue, the customer in Switzerland silent. This page explains how a B2B claim is collected in Switzerland, how long it takes, and which interest and costs can be charged to the debtor. Switzerland is not an EU member and its enforcement system works differently from the rest of Europe. Incasso Mentor sets up and runs this process on your behalf: we choose the right route, bring in the local specialist, follow every step and report to you in Turkish. You only take the decisions. Information as at September 2026.
The four figures that matter most to a Turkish exporter. The currency is the Swiss franc (CHF); in the enforcement request the claim is stated in CHF. Fees and court charges vary by canton; before any legal step we confirm the current figures with our partner.
Demand in German, French or Italian, depending on the debtor's canton; without a fixed due date, default starts with the demand (OR Art. 102). 5% interest and costs are claimed; the EU's €40 flat fee does not exist in Switzerland.
Enforcement request (Betreibungsbegehren) at the Betreibungsamt of the debtor's seat; claim in CHF, no lawyer, no judgment. Office fee CHF 90 for CHF 10,000–100,000 and CHF 190 up to CHF 1 million (GebV SchKG Art. 16). Payment order: 20 days to pay, 10 days to object.
With a signed acknowledgment of debt (contract, order confirmation) the fast written procedure of provisional Rechtsöffnung; court fee at most CHF 500 up to CHF 100,000. Without such a document, ordinary action: conciliation first, simplified procedure up to CHF 30,000, ordinary procedure above; commercial court in Zurich, Bern, St Gallen and Aargau. Court fees are cantonal; in Zurich about CHF 5,550 for a CHF 50,000 claim.
Continuation request (Fortsetzungsbegehren) from 20 days after service, at the latest within 1 year. For a debtor entered in the commercial register the route is bankruptcy enforcement (SchKG Art. 39): bankruptcy warning, 20 days, then petition to the bankruptcy court. Other debtors: seizure (Pfändung). For the uncovered balance a certificate of shortfall (Verlustschein), valid 20 years.
Collecting a debt in a foreign country on your own is exhausting: language, law, finding the right firm, negotiating fees, not missing deadlines. In Switzerland, add four official languages and 26 cantons with their own court fee scales. This is exactly where Incasso Mentor comes in. We review your file, obtain an independent credit report on the debtor and determine the most suitable route for Switzerland.
Then we set up the process: we select the collection agency or lawyer in Switzerland, hand over a complete and well-prepared file, fix the fee on your behalf in advance and follow every step. You work with one contact, in your own language. Every decision is yours; no step is taken without your approval.
You: send us the invoice, contract and delivery documents.
We: assess the file, obtain the credit report and report the route and cost to you in writing.
We: select and brief the local specialist in Switzerland, fix the fee and watch the deadlines.
We: report every development in Turkish and answer your questions.
You: take the decision at every stage. Legal steps only with your approval.
In Switzerland no judgment is needed to start enforcement; the Betreibungsamt serves a payment order on the strength of the invoice. If the debtor objects within 10 days, without reasons, the route runs through the court. A contract or order confirmation signed by the debtor opens the way to provisional Rechtsöffnung within weeks; that is why we look for these documents in the file from day one.
An enforcement request filed with the Betreibungsamt interrupts the limitation period and the 10 years start again (OR Art. 135). A demand alone does not. For older claims this low-cost step is what keeps the file alive.
As Switzerland is not an EU member, Brussels I-bis and the European order for payment do not apply; judgments are recognised with EU and EFTA countries under the Lugano Convention (2007). A Turkish claimant does not have to lodge security for costs: Switzerland and Turkey are both parties to the 1954 Hague Convention on Civil Procedure, and summary proceedings such as Rechtsöffnung require no security anyway (ZPO Art. 99).
Unopposed enforcement: about 3–6 months including service, the 20-day payment period, the continuation request and the bankruptcy warning (20 days). If objected, Rechtsöffnung adds a few weeks to a few months; an ordinary action can exceed a year depending on the canton.
No. There is no mandatory legal representation before Swiss courts; the enforcement and continuation requests go directly to the Betreibungsamt. The Rechtsöffnung procedure is strictly formal; for files of €20,000 and more we run this step through the lawyer or collection agency in Switzerland.
A Swiss judgment is recognised in the EU and EFTA countries under the Lugano Convention; in Turkey recognition (tenfiz) is needed, rarely relevant since the debtor's assets are usually in Switzerland.
Share your invoice and the basic documents. We review the file and report the route in Switzerland and the expected cost to you in writing, in Turkish; the rest we plan together. B2B, from €20,000 per debtor.
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