The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) issued guidelines for the blockchain companies to follow if they want to get the license called FinTech, which allows them to manage large amounts on behalf of their customers and investors.
The change has been made possible after a recent amendment to the Banking Act and its purpose is to promote innovation and modern technologies in the financial sector. Furthermore, the Swiss authorities recently headlined the news by becoming the first to approve the trade of Traded Fund – a BTC-based exchange.
Starting from January 1st 2019, the FinTech certificate will be available to firms other than banks, which previously were the only organizations which could handle such large amounts of money for customers and investors.
In order to obtain the certificate, businesses must follow the strict new regulations which dictate how the money is handled. The certificate will aid startups significantly, especially the ones operating outside of Switzerland’s Crypto Valley, which up to now has acted as a tax haven. The approved companies are not allowed to re-invest any of their clients’/investors’ money, nor paying interest on any received asset, at any time.
Alongside their candidacies, the firms must provide a list of their business partners, description of business activities, geographical scope, target audiences, full information about board members (including CVs, addresses, related criminal records, educational records.)
All relevant data for foreign nationals from their home country must also be presented. FINMA requires full accountability and only businesses with impeccable presentations would be considered for the license.