Fintech Rules Eased

On July 5 2017, the Swiss Federal Council (Bundesrat) amended the Swiss Federal Banking Ordinance to ease the Swiss regulatory framework for providers of innovative financial technologies (fintech).

Specifically, the following elements of the new fintech regulation will enter into force on August 1 2017: (i) a longer maximum holding period of third party monies in settlement accounts without qualifying as client deposits: 60 days instead of seven; and, (ii) the creation of a regulatory sandbox by allowing, subject to certain safeguards, the acceptance of client deposits in an amount of up to CHF1 million (approximately $1.046 million) without triggering a banking licence requirement. The third element of the new fintech regulation is a new licence type for fintech innovators allowing the acceptance of client deposits in an amount of up to CHF100 million. This will require an amendment to the Swiss Federal Banking Act (Fintech Bill), which will have to be passed by