Swiss license advantage 1: strict supervision, cast credibility

As a global financial benchmark, Switzerland has won international trust with its transparent and stable regulatory system. For virtual asset service providers (VASPs), holding a Swiss license not only quickly establishes an industry image, but also lays a solid foundation for their global business expansion.

At the heart of this advantage is a comprehensive and multi-layered regulatory system built on the pillars of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) and the Federal Act on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (AMLA). This high threshold gives Swiss licenses a high degree of credibility and becomes a "golden seal of trust" in the financial sector ".

Regulatory Core: AMLA and FINMA

AMLA is the cornerstone of Switzerland's Anti-Money Laundering (AML), which mandates all financial intermediaries to carry out strict Customer Due Diligence (Know Your Customer) and Suspicious Transaction Reporting (Suspicious Activity Reports).

As the executive core, FINMA is responsible for overseeing banks, asset managers and other financial institutions to ensure that they meet the world's top AML standards. FINMA has a variety of enforcement powers, for illegal units, can impose fines, order rectification, prohibit transactions, revoke licenses, strong enforcement to ensure impeccable compliance.

Strict regulations: AMLA refinement regulations

The rigour of AMLA is further reinforced by the following regulations:

Regulation of the Federal Council on Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Ordinance of the Federal Council on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, AMLO)

《FINMA 反洗钱条例》（Ordinance of FINMA on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing，简称 AMLO-FINMA）

AMLO provides common rules for all financial intermediaries, while AMLO-FINMA refines requirements for institutions directly regulated by FINMA, such as real-time monitoring of high-risk transactions. This progressive design of regulations ensures that there are no dead ends in regulation.

New rule synergy: FinSA and FinIA

Moreover, after the financial crisis, Switzerland unified its regulatory requirements and implemented the golden rule of "same business, same risk and same rules" for all financial market participants to ensure the coexistence of fairness and rigor. The Financial Services Act (Financial Services Act, FinSA) and the Financial Institutions Act (Financial Institutions Act, FinIA), which entered into force in January 2020, form a core part of Switzerland's modern financial market architecture.

FinSA regulates service practices, such as requiring financial service providers to strictly verify their identities when establishing customer relationships, echoing AMLA's KYC requirements, while FinIA provides for the licensing and supervision of financial institutions and directly requires regulated institutions to establish internal compliance systems that comply with AMLA. This two-pronged structure ensures that regulation covers every corner.

Tripartite supervision: FINMA, SO, financial institutions

After the implementation of FinIA, a unique mechanism was also derived from the Swiss financial regulatory framework-the tripartite supervisory model (Tripartite Supervision), which consists of a division of labor between FINMA, the supervisory organization (Supervisory Organisations, or SO) and the regulated body. FINMA is responsible for licensing and final enforcement, SO performs day-to-day supervision, and the regulatory body fulfills its compliance obligations. The overall supervision system is both efficient and tight.

Two-track system: FINMA SRO

For small institutions not directly regulated by FINMA, Switzerland achieves full coverage through Self-Regulatory Organisations (SRO). The SRO is authorized and supervised by FINMA, checks member compliance against AMLA and AMLO, and notifies FINMA to take action when violations are discovered. FinIA further clarifies the SRO's role in portfolio management, and its members are subject to FinSA's code of conduct. This "FINMA SRO" dual-track system ensures that every link is closely monitored.

Overall, the credibility of the Swiss licence stems from the comprehensive legal framework led by AMLA and FINMA. From the refinement of AMLA to the strict regulations of AMLO and AMLO-FINMA, to the reinforcement of the new regulations of FinSA and FinIA, to the seamless connection between the tripartite model and SRO, Switzerland has built a multi-level and loophole-free regulatory network. For VASPs, this not only means a high standard of compliance, but also a trust label that stands out in the global market.

Swiss license plate advantage 2: get rid of MiCA shackles, low-cost start

Switzerland offers VASPs a significant entry advantage over Europe. Switzerland has relaxed capital requirements. Small institutions only need to meet the minimum capital threshold of 100,000 Swiss francs and only need to pay 50,000 Swiss francs in advance to start, which is far lower than the high standard of hundreds of thousands of euros in the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA). What's more, as a non-EU country, Switzerland is not strictly bound by MiCA, avoiding cumbersome compliance burdens and bringing VASPs greater operational flexibility and cost advantages.

In addition, Switzerland allows financial intermediaries to trade for their own and client accounts at the same time, a permission that requires capital support of up to 750,000 Swiss francs in the EU. The combination of low threshold and policy freedom not only accelerates the market layout, but also makes Switzerland an ideal choice for VASPs to travel light.

Swiss license advantage 3: flexible SRO, accelerated landing

Among the various Swiss licenses, SRO membership is particularly preferred by VASPs for its convenience, as it has advantages over FINMA licenses or the EU MiCA framework:

Speed compliance: In the case of VQF(Financial Services Standards Association), SRO is authorized by FINMA and takes only 4 - 5 months to apply for approval, much faster than FINMA's nearly 1 year or MiCA 6 - 12 month cycle, helping VASPs to take the lead.

Low-cost admission: The initial cost is only a few thousand Swiss francs. For example, the VQF entry fee is about 5,000 Swiss francs. The annual fee is flexibly adjusted, which is far below the FINMA 100,000 Swiss francs or MiCA hundreds of thousands of euros threshold. It is easy to start without pressure.

Convenience and credibility: Despite its reputation for convenience, SRO membership does not sacrifice credibility. Overseen by FINMA and compliant with AMLA standards, its compliance is globally recognized for speed and quality.

Smooth upgrade: SRO's compliance foundation is solid, and as the business grows, it can be seamlessly upgraded to FINMA direct supervision, avoiding the tedious start-up and the preparation process of the EU MiCA.

The low cost and high efficiency of SRO greatly reduce the barriers to entry and provide a worry-free compliance solution for VASPs, which is the best choice for small and medium-sized enterprises to land quickly.

Contact us today to get a Swiss SRO membership!

Swiss licences lay the cornerstone of credibility with strict regulation, unleash development potential with low thresholds and policy freedom, and accelerate compliance with SRO convenience, making them the best springboard for VASPs to seize the global encryption market. Want to know more about Swiss SRO membership? Contact now