SWITZERLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Lukas Morscher and Lukas Staub, Lenz & Staehelin
ity of lenders to sell down the facilities to more than a specified number of non-bank lenders.
tion against money laundering under criminal law still applies. Institutions offering cross-border payments in or from Switzerland would of course have to be fully compliant with AMLA, including on KYC. FinSA applies to financial services, defined as certain services in relation to financial instruments and not including typical payment services. 6. Marketplaces, Exchanges and Trading Platforms 6.1 Permissible Trading Platforms Marketplaces and trading platforms are regulated by the FMIA. Under the FMIA, organised trading facili - ties for the multilateral trading of securities and oth - er financial instruments require authorisation from FINMA. Trading facilities can seek authorisation as either a stock exchange or a multilateral trading facil - ity. Furthermore, authorised banks, marketplaces (ie, stock exchanges or multilateral trading facilities) and securities firms may also operate an organised trading facility without additional authorisation. The FMIA also regulates payment systems. However, they do not need authorisation from FINMA, unless the payment system’s authorisation is essential for the financial market’s proper functioning or the protection of its participants. Currently, there is no authorised payment system in Switzerland. The Federal Council has recently proposed draft legislation that would clar - ify and potentially slightly expand the scope, but such legislation will enter into force in 2028 at the earliest. Regarding the trading of digital assets, the DLT/block - chain legislation introduced, in 2021, the so-called DLT trading facility as an additional licence (see 10.2 Local Regulators’ Approach to Blockchain ). The main differences from the current regulation are that the new DLT trading facility licence allows individuals to participate in such a trading facility without an inter - mediary, and settlement and trading services are to be provided by a single entity. FINMA authorised the first DLT trading facility, BX Digital, on 18 March 2025.
5. Payment Processors 5.1 Payment Processors’ Use of Payment Rails The payment market in Switzerland has undergone significant changes in recent years. Since the intro - duction of the first mobile payment app, the Swiss market has experienced a surge of new entrants, lead - ing to a rapid consolidation process. There are many electronic payment systems that rely, at least partially, on classic credit or debit card payment schemes; they use technology to facilitate payments at the point of sale in the context of e-commerce or, in some cases, between individuals (P2P). A recent study found that, in 2024, for the first time, mobile payment became the most used form of payment in Switzerland. Also, the Swiss Interbank Clearing system in 2024 introduced instant payments for the first time for around 60 par - ticipating institutions, covering approximately 95% of the Swiss retail payment market. Besides credit and debit card-based payments, some payment apps can be linked to traditional bank accounts with partnering banks. The user experience is similar, but the payment is executed as a bank transfer – ie, the payer authorises the payment ser - vice provider to deduct the relevant amount from their bank account and to transfer it to the recipient’s bank account (often routed via a bank account of the pay - ment service provider, subject to a fee). These systems are often operated or sponsored by banks and may therefore be subject to fewer regulatory constraints. 5.2 Regulation of Cross-Border Payments and Remittances The Swiss AML regime (see 2.2 Regulatory Regime and 2.14 Impact of AML and Sanctions Rules ) only covers financial intermediaries that have a physi - cal presence in Switzerland and generally does not extend to foreign institutions active on a cross-border basis. For example, foreign payment service providers operating exclusively through electronic channels or the internet are usually not subject to AMLA. However, regardless of AMLA’s application, the general prohibi -
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