QR ordering in Austria and Switzerland: what differs
Technically, QR ordering works in Austria and Switzerland exactly as it does in Germany — guests scan and order in the browser, with no app. Legally, the GDPR applies directly in Austria; Switzerland has had its own closely related framework since 2023 in the revised Federal Act on Data Protection (revFADP). The practical differences lie in the details: currency display, price marking and allergen labelling under the respective national law.
What is the same everywhere
- The technology: QR code at the table, menu in the browser, ordering with no app and no guest account — phones and browsers know no borders.
- Data minimisation: the order contents and the table number are no data protection problem in any of the three countries, as long as no guest account is required.
- The rollout: maintain the menu, put up the QR codes, brief the team — the procedure does not differ.
Austria
As an EU member state, Austria is directly subject to the GDPR — data processing agreement, privacy notice and data subject rights work as they do in Germany. Allergen labelling follows the same EU regulation (the Food Information Regulation), traditionally using the Austrian letter coding (A for gluten, G for milk and so on), which a digital menu maps without difficulty. Prices are in euros.
Switzerland
- Data protection: the revised Federal Act on Data Protection (revFADP) applies. It was deliberately aligned with the GDPR — whoever works in a GDPR-compliant way meets most of its requirements along the way; differences exist in matters such as reporting duties and sanctions.
- Data transfers: from the Swiss point of view the EU counts as offering an adequate level of data protection — an ordering system hosted in the EU is therefore regularly permissible; naming it in your own privacy notice is part of that.
- Currency: menus for Swiss businesses are denominated in francs. What matters is that the ordering system handles the currency display cleanly — worth a look before signing a contract.
- Labelling: the EU Food Information Regulation does not apply directly, but Swiss food law requires comparable declarations, in particular for allergens on request.
Does QR ordering work in Austria and Switzerland just as it does in Germany?
Technically yes — scan, menu in the browser, ordering with no app. The differences are legal: as an EU country Austria follows the GDPR and the Food Information Regulation; Switzerland has related but independent rules in the revFADP and its own food law.
May Swiss businesses use an ordering system hosted in the EU?
Regularly yes: from the Swiss point of view the EU counts as offering an adequate level of data protection, so disclosing data there is permissible without additional safeguards. The service provider belongs in your own privacy notice; for the details, expert advice is recommended.
What about the Austrian allergen coding (A, B, C and so on)?
The letter codes are established practice in Austria on the basis of the EU-wide Food Information Regulation. On a digital menu they can be kept on the dish like any other allergen entry — with the advantage that a recipe change triggers no reprint.