The Switzerland Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) issued regulations on 3 December for their new ‘Swiss FinTech License’ as per their press release. FINMA has disclosed that any license applicant, be it a blockchain or crypto firm, can request a state authorised Fintech license from 2019.
The license will have relaxed prerequisites in accordance with Switzerland’s banking ordinance, enabling Fin-Tech firms to accept public funding of up to 100 million USD (100 million Swiss Francs). The companies cannot invest this money, but nor do they need to pay interest on them.
To obtain the license, the applicant should submit the necessary information about their Fintech company – business goal, financial plan, assets allocation strategy, risk management and anti-money laundering policies among others.
The terms and conditions of the license document, titled ‘Guidelines for FinTech License applications pursuant to Article 1b of the Banking Act’ have been under progress since February 2018. It will be implemented on 1 January 2019.
FINMA released Switzerland’s first crypto license last month, targeting crypto-asset investment funds. The license facilitates crypto-associated companies to officially offer investment services designed to protect investors’ interest. They have earlier laid down rules to regulate Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), to empower blockchain technology.
