Gerhard Häring and Helmut Bahamon are still standing on the shores of Lake Thun, where Payrexx has been based for exactly ten years. However, they will be active in Liechtenstein in the future and will lead the new Payrexx Europe AG from Vaduz. In July, the first wholly-owned subsidiary of Payrexx AG was officially founded.

"With Payrexx Europe AG, we aim to specifically penetrate the European market, particularly the neighboring regions such as Germany and Austria," explains Ivan Schmid, CEO of Payrexx AG. "The goal is to establish our innovative all-in-one payment solution throughout the European Economic Area (EEA)."

There is still a lot to do until then. "We are currently deep in the paperwork," says Gerhard Häring, CEO of the new company. Although Thun and Liechtenstein are culturally almost identical - both surrounded by mountains, both crowned by a castle, both with a similar number of inhabitants - the devil is in the details. "In particular, regarding the legal subtleties, we have to look closely."

This becomes noticeable, for example, when acquiring the necessary license to operate a payment institution. Obtaining this so-called Payment Institution (PI) license is very demanding, explains Helmut Bahamon, Senior Compliance Officer of Payrexx Europe AG: "But we are on the right track!" After half a year of work, a preliminary application was submitted to the Financial Market Authority in June. A more thorough review and the final revision are still pending, but if everything goes well, Payrexx Europe AG could be celebrating its definitive licensing this year.

«Mit der Payrexx Europe AG wollen wir den europäischen Markt gezielt erschliessen, insbesondere die angrenzenden Regionen wie Deutschland und Österreich.»

Ivan Schmid

Liechtenstein as the perfect starting point

In the past ten years, Payrexx has established itself particularly among Swiss SMEs as a payment provider. The solution is designed to provide merchants with everything they need to get started online with their business. Those who already have an online shop can easily connect Payrexx with it and offer their customers all popular payment methods for payments - whether TWINT, Mastercard, Visa, PostFinance Pay, Apple Pay, or Google Pay. And those who do not yet have an online shop can use Payrexx's sales tools directly to create simple donation forms, sales pages, or payment links. Additionally, Payrexx is currently also expanding in the POS area, for instance with the new payment app Tap to Pay and the upcoming Kartenlesegeräte.

"The product is mature," summarizes Helmut Bahamon, "now we just need to present it to the European Economic Area." Liechtenstein is the perfect starting point: Not only is the principality geographically located between Switzerland and Austria, but also linguistically and legislatively. Moreover, with a license in Liechtenstein, thanks to service and establishment freedom, it is possible to operate throughout the EEA. Therefore, the state is an attractive location for payment service providers or e-money institutions to operate across Europe. "With Liechtenstein, we get the best of both worlds," adds Gerhard Häring, "so to speak, the chocolate stick and the bun."

«Mit Liechtenstein bekommen wir das Beste von beiden Welten – sozusagen das Schoggistängeli und das Weggli.»

Gerhard Häring

Swiss quality and global knowledge

With their many years of experience in the financial market, the two prove to be ideal personalities to take this step together with Payrexx AG. The 62-year-old Gerhard Häring brings with him experience both in the IT field and in banking. In his previous roles for various international banks and consulting mandates, the native of Basel was active in many corners of the world. The 35-year-old Helmut Bahamon, on the other hand, was born in Moscow, grew up in Spain, and lived in Munich for a long time. Before Payrexx, he worked in both the automotive industry and banking sector. The duo is therefore not only professionally skilled but also globally oriented.

"We are very pleased to have Gerhard and Helmut, a capable, innovative, and forward-looking duo, at the helm of Payrexx Europe AG. Together, they will help shape the future of Payrexx and optimally represent our vision," also expresses Ivan Schmid, CEO and founder of Payrexx. He will also serve on the board of directors of Payrexx Europe AG in the future, alongside Michael Müller and Thomas Feldkircher.

Their involvement ensures that the precious knowledge of the payment industry, which has been gathered in Thun over the past years, is transferred to Liechtenstein and all neighboring regions in the best possible way. Ultimately, Vaduz will also primarily focus on the sales and marketing of the product: Once the PI license is obtained, additional sales employees will be hired, and the neighboring market actively approached. However, the software itself will continue to be developed and optimized in Switzerland. Or, as the Liechtenstein duo puts it: "From Thun to the world!"