SWITZERLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Lukas Morscher and Lukas Staub, Lenz & Staehelin
Lenz & Staehelin Brandschenkestrasse 24 CH-8027 Zurich Switzerland
Tel: +41 58 450 80 00 Fax: +41 58 450 80 01 Email: zurich@lenzstaehelin.com Web: www.lenzstaehelin.com
1. Fintech Market 1.1 Evolution of the Fintech Market Market conditions for fintech offerings in Swit - zerland are generally considered favourable. This is due to: • broad access to credit and venture capital; • an educated workforce (a high number of graduates in science and technology); and • widespread access to and use of information and communication technology. Switzerland’s fintech market has experienced significant growth and expansion, with both the value chain and the product and service range seeing acceleration from an already high level. According to the Swiss Venture Capital Report 2024, total investment in the fintech industry decreased substantially to CHF424 million, in essence a reduction by half, which is also a sharper decline than in the overall market. While the investment decline is significant, it has to be considered that investments in the fintech sec - tor in the ten years prior grew rapidly, and cur - rent numbers are still way above pre-pandemic numbers. Of note is that the number of funding rounds increased to 60, a new all-time high.
Swiss legislation has recently focused on adapt - ing the legal and regulatory framework to the needs of the fintech sector (see 2.4 Variations Between the Regulation of Fintech and Legacy Players ), contributing to a more dynamic Swiss fintech sector. For example, specific legislation in the area of blockchain came into force in the course of 2021, which ensures that Switzerland remains an attractive place for fintech startups (see 10.2 Local Regulators’ Approach to Block- chain ). 2. Fintech Business Models and Regulation in General 2.1 Predominant Business Models The Swiss fintech landscape has evolved signifi - cantly in recent years, and Switzerland remains an attractive location for financial sector innova - tors. There are currently over 500 active players in Switzerland’s fintech ecosystem, including both emerging and established companies. The total number of fintech-related businesses is much higher. These companies primarily focus on the financial market sector, notably: • payment services; • investment management;
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