FINMA Regulation: Do you need a license for your Swiss marketplace?

If you manage customer funds on your Swiss marketplace, conflicts with FINMA can quickly arise. Find out here how to cleverly outsource this regulatory risk through the right setup.

Building your own online marketplace is exciting – until you stumble over the FINMA regulations, the Anti-Money Laundering Act (GwG) or the Banking Act (BankG) for the first time. For many founders and platform operators in Switzerland, the legal side of payment processing is a major pain point.

The central question is: If a buyer pays on your marketplace and you forward the money to the corresponding Sub-Comerciante, do you need your own authorisation from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), or do you have to join a self-regulatory organisation (SRO)?

Here you will find out what Swiss financial market regulation means for you and how to cleverly navigate this legal minefield.

If you route users’ money through your own accounts, you very quickly find yourself on thin legal ice. With the right technical setup, however, you can avoid this problem.

Why are Swiss authorities interested in marketplaces?

Swiss laws for protecting the financial market are strict. As soon as your marketplace receives funds from buyers, holds them in an own account in between, and pays these out (minus your commission) to the sellers on your platform, you enter a regulatory grey area.

Depending on your exact business model and contractual structure, you can quickly be considered a financial intermediary within the meaning of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, or even fulfil the offence of commercial acceptance of public deposits under the Banking Act. Anyone who manages or transfers third-party funds is strictly regulated in order to prevent money laundering and fraud.

The risk of your own pooled account

Many startups start with the simple idea: "Customers pay into our company account, and we transfer their share to the merchants at the end of the month." Exactly this approach (the operation of pooled accounts for third parties) immediately causes legal problems in Switzerland without the corresponding licences or strictly regulated exemption clauses. FINMA has no sense of humour when it comes to unauthorised activity, and the penalties can be severe.

Your two options as a marketplace operator

If you move funds back and forth between two parties on a Swiss platform, you are faced with a strategic decision:

You become a regulated financial intermediary

You go through the complex process of joining an SRO or, in extreme cases, applying for FINMA authorization. This means high legal advisory costs, strict reporting obligations, setting up your own compliance function, and an enormous ongoing administrative burden. For most platforms, this is not economically viable.

You use an integrated marketplace payment solution

You technically outsource the entire payment flow so that you no longer act as a financial intermediary. Legally, your marketplace never comes into direct contact with customers’ money, because the payment flows are handled in the background by licensed partners.

How Payrexx solves the compliance problem for you

This is exactly where Payrexx's marketplace solution comes in. We provide you with a setup that relieves you massively and helps you avoid conflicts with the strict Swiss financial market regulations.

This is how it works in practice:

Direct routing (Split Payments): When a customer pays on your marketplace, the money does not go into a large pool in your company account. The transaction is split in the background. Your agreed commission goes to you, the remainder goes directly to the respective merchant.
Automatic KYC (Know Your Customer): Checking the identity of merchants is a legal obligation to prevent money laundering. Payrexx takes over the identification and onboarding process for all your Sub-Comerciante in Switzerland.
Focus on technology, not on fiduciary services: As the complex payment flows are structured through Payrexx and our regulated acquiring partners, you are out of the firing line. You only provide the platform, without having to appear yourself as a bank or payment service provider.

Conclusion: Focus on core business instead of bureaucracy

Regulatory hurdles must not be a blocker for your marketplace growth in Switzerland. Trying to manage the payment flows yourself and navigate through legal grey areas is extremely risky and ties up valuable resources.

With a solution like Payrexx Marketplaces, you cleverly outsource the complexity of split payments and merchant onboarding. This allows you to focus on what really matters: the scaling of your Swiss platform and the satisfaction of your users.

Note:

This article does not constitute binding legal advice. We always recommend that marketplace operators in Switzerland have their specific business model, especially with regard to questions of applicability under the AMLA and the Banking Act, additionally reviewed by a specialized Swiss lawyer.