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ARTICLE · 28 OCTOBER 2025

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FinIA Reform: New Licences For Payment And Crypto-institutions

Loyens & Loeff
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On 22 October 2025, the Swiss Federal Council opened a consultation on a proposed amendment to the Financial Institutions Act (the FinIA).

SwitzerlandTechnology
Judith Raijmakers
Judith Raijmakers
Florian Willi
Florian Willi
Lena Schenker
Lena Schenker

On 22 October 2025, the Swiss Federal Council opened a consultation on a proposed amendment to the Financial Institutions Act (the FinIA). The draft legislation aims to abolish the fintech licence introduced in 2018 under the Swiss Banking Act (the BA), and replaces it with two new categories of licences: one for payment instrument institutions (Zahlungsmittelinstitute) and another for crypto-institutions (Krypto-Institute).

Switzerland reviews fintech framework

Switzerland has assumed a pioneering role in the development and implementation of a legal and regulatory framework governing fintech and blockchain technologies. In an evaluation report published in December 2022, the Swiss Federal Council concluded that certain adjustments are necessary to further enhance the attractiveness of Switzerland's regulatory framework. Particularly, the fintech licence has achieved only limited success. FINMA has recently revoked the authorisation of a fintech-licensed firm,

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