SWITZERLAND Trends and Developments Contributed by: Kilian Schärli, Reto Luthiger, Andrea Trost and Diana Lafita, MLL Legal
agement and a trading app that simplifies invest - ment in digital currencies. Leonteq provides tai - lored investment and trading solutions for both institutions and private investors, specialising in structured products. The so-called smartphone banks, or neobanks, are digital-only banks that operate primarily through mobile apps and websites without phys - ical locations. Amongst such players, Radicant, Yapeal, Alpian, Yuh, Fiat24, Neon and Zak lead the market in Switzerland. From a regulatory per - spective, digital-only banks operate in the same way as traditional banks and hence require a banking licence based on the technology neu - trality of financial market regulations. However, they must adapt their risk management to the relevant business model, implementing ade - quate business continuity and cyber-risk poli - cies to guarantee access to, and the servicing of, clients’ assets and data. For instance, Neon works with Hypothekarbank Lenzburg (HBL) as a banking partner, and Yapeal and Fiat24 operate under the so-called fintech licence, which offers a simplified regulatory regime and is mainly available for companies accepting public depos - its of up to CHF100 million in fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies in an unlimited amount, subject to certain exceptions. Online payment systems Digital payment solutions and mobile banking are steadily expanding in Switzerland. Contact - less payments, mobile wallets, and peer-to- peer payment apps have become increasingly popular among retail and businesses. Both established banks and fintech start-ups pro - vide mobile banking apps with features such as instant payments, money transfers, and account management.
The Swiss Interbank Clearing (SIC) payment system, powered by SIX Interbank Clearing AG and the Swiss National Bank (SNB), launched instant payments in November 2023. Larger banks have been required to accept incoming instant payments since August 2024, and other banks are required to follow suit by the end of 2026. TWINT, the leading Swiss mobile payment system, enables seamless in-store and online (P2M) and person-to-person (P2P) transactions via mobile phones, removing the need for cash or physical bank cards. Whilst accepting deposits from the public usu - ally requires a banking or fintech licence, the provision of payment services is usually only subject to anti-money laundering (AML) require - ments. Where the payment service or system includes the acceptance of deposits from the public, the need for a banking licence can be avoided by applying the 60-day settlement exception, by only allowing a credit balance of CHF3,000 per customer or by working with a bank default guarantee, each of which is sub - ject to certain requirements. Service providers and state agencies such as the cantonal tax administration of Zug and the administration of the canton of Tessing increasingly accept pay - ments with Bitcoin. Open banking Open banking in Switzerland is gradually evolv - ing, with several companies leveraging the technology to enhance the accessibility and integration of financial services. In Switzerland, open banking is usually based on a standard - ised exchange of data amongst service provid - ers, ensuring data confidentiality and leaving the decision to share personal data with the customer. In 2023, the Swiss Bankers Associa - tion established an open banking framework in a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to
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