Opening a fintech in Switzerland: what to know

Switzerland is one of the most attractive financial centres for fintech: solid infrastructure, a mature ecosystem, and a regulatory framework that over the years has adapted to innovation. But “fintech” is not a legal category: it is a label that gathers very different models, each with its own regulatory profile. The right question is not “how do I open a fintech”, but “what exactly does my fintech do and which regulatory perimeter does it touch”. Here is what to know before you start.

It is not the technology that sets the rules

The guiding principle of Swiss supervision is technological neutrality: the rules apply to the activity, not to the tool with which you carry it out. Whether you operate via app, blockchain or counter, what counts is the economic substance of what you do — do you take deposits? provide payment services? manage assets? intermediate assets on behalf of others? The classification of the activity comes before everything else.

The possible regulatory levels

Depending on the model, a fintech may sit at very different levels:

• No authorisation: software development, technology services, consulting, structuring. These remain subject to the general rules but do not require a licence.
• Anti-money laundering coverage (AMLA): if you carry out financial intermediation (payments, exchange, custody for third parties in certain conditions), the obligation kicks in to affiliate with a self-regulatory organisation (SRO) or to be placed under an entity that is already subject to it.
• FINMA authorisation: genuinely regulated activities require an authorisation with requirements on capital, organisation and the guarantee of proper business conduct.

The same project may have a free part and a regulated part: distinguishing them precisely is the first job to do.

The fintech licence and the sandbox

Switzerland has introduced instruments designed precisely for innovation:

• The fintech licence (authorisation under art. 1b of the Banking Act) allows you to accept deposits from the public up to CHF 100 million, provided they are neither invested nor remunerated. It is a lighter regime than the banking one, designed for models that collect funds without carrying out genuine banking activity.
• The sandbox allows you to accept deposits from the public up to CHF 1 million without authorisation, within precise conditions and with the duty to inform clients. Useful for testing a model before scaling.

They are powerful instruments, but with clear boundaries: exceeding the thresholds or changing the nature of the activity makes the exemption fall away. They must be used knowing exactly where they end.

The corporate structure

The typical form for a fintech that wants to grow and raise capital is the AG: minimum capital CHF 100,000 (of which at least 50,000 paid in), shareholders not entered in the register, a structure suited to investors and financing rounds. For regulated activities, the minimum capital and organisational requirements set by the supervisor are often well above the AG’s legal minimum: the structure must be sized on the regulatory perimeter, not on the formal minimum.

Adequate governance, control functions, risk management and persons meeting the required fit-and-proper standards are also needed.

Anti-money laundering is no detail

Almost every fintech that touches money flows meets the AMLA: client identification, clarification of the beneficial owner, transaction monitoring, reporting obligations. Setting up the anti-money laundering safeguards from the product design stage — not downstream — is what distinguishes a clean launch from one that stalls at the first check or the first request from a banking partner.

The costliest mistake: starting without mapping

The most common failure is neither technological nor commercial: it is regulatory. Starting without having mapped the activity leads to two opposite outcomes, both costly — operating without a required authorisation (with an obligation to cease the activity and personal liability) or launching pointless procedures, burning months and capital. The correct sequence is always: define the activity, identify the level, build the structure accordingly.

How SIH ONE approaches the topic

SIH ONE deals with structuring and consulting: mapping the model, identifying the authorisation perimeter, designing the corporate and governance structure, setting up the anti-money laundering safeguards. Where the activity requires a FINMA authorisation or an SRO affiliation, the regulated activities go through authorised partners. The goal is for you to know, before you start, which level you are in and what it involves.

This content is informative and does not constitute legal or regulatory advice. The framework evolves: every model must be checked in the specific case.

Are you building a fintech and want to understand the perimeter before launching? Let’s talk about it: we map your activity and identify the correct structure, with the right partners where authorisation is needed.