Start here01
FINMA authorisation
Your single FINMA licence project, run in one place: choosing the right licence, building the application, and carrying the supervisory dialogue through to approval.
Explore FINMA authorisationFinancial regulation &
licensing in Switzerland
Most financial businesses need permission from the regulator before they can trade in Switzerland. We work out which permission you need (a FINMA licence, SRO membership, or sometimes none) and carry the file through to approval, then run the compliance function afterwards.
What we do
One team for every Swiss financial permission, from the first regulatory assessment to ongoing supervision.
Six service areas, one file owner. Start with the one closest to your business.
Services in detail
Twelve regulatory services, across the FINMA and SRO lifecycle.
The core licences any Swiss financial business may need, plus the digital-asset work that is growing fastest: crypto and DLT authorisation, stablecoin and token rulings, and the new FINMA categories arriving in 2027.
Portfolio managers02
Asset manager licence
Authorisation for managers of individual client portfolios, supervised through a Supervisory Organisation. The most common Swiss financial licence since the FinIA transition closed.
Explore this serviceTrustees03
Trustee licence
Authorisation for professional trustees who set up or administer trusts in or from Switzerland, the same FinIA route as asset managers, with trust-specific requirements.
Explore this serviceFund managers04
Fund & collective investment licence
Fund-management and manager-of-collective-assets authorisation under the Collective Investment Schemes Act, plus the distribution and representative arrangements that go with it.
Explore this serviceSecurities firms05
Securities firm licence
Securities-firm authorisation for dealing, market-making and client execution, including trading-venue questions under the Financial Market Infrastructure Act.
Explore this serviceDeposit-takers06
Banking & FinTech licence
Full banking authorisation, and the lighter FinTech deposit licence for businesses that hold up to CHF 100 million of public funds without lending them out.
Explore this servicePayments07
Payment & e-money licence
Authorisation for payment, e-money and money-transmitting businesses today, and a path to the dedicated Payment Instrument Institution licence arriving in 2027.
Explore this serviceDigital assets · growth08
Crypto & DLT authorisation
Custody, trading and staking under the incoming Crypto-Institution regime, and DLT trading-facility licences under the DLT Act. Switzerland licensed its first DLT venue in 2025.
See our crypto deskToken issuers · growth09
Stablecoin & token rulings
FINMA token classification and stablecoin rulings, plus readiness for the OECD Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) that Switzerland is adopting from 2026.
Explore this serviceAML affiliation10
SRO membership
Membership of a Self-Regulatory Organisation (VQF, ARIF or SO-FIT) for financial intermediaries with anti-money-laundering duties under AMLA, often the fastest route to market.
Explore this serviceAdvisers11
FinSA client adviser registration
Registration of client advisers in the FinSA adviser register, with the conduct, suitability and documentation rules that come with advising Swiss clients.
Explore this serviceRun it for me12
External AML & ongoing compliance
A retained compliance function and external AML officer: policies, transaction monitoring, KYC, and preparation for the annual SRO and FINMA audit, handled month to month.
Explore this service
The decision
FINMA licence, SRO membership, or neither?
The first question is always the same: do you need a licence at all, and if so, which one? Swiss regulation has two separate gates, and they are easy to confuse. A FINMA licence is permission to run a regulated activity: managing client money, operating a fund, taking deposits. SRO membership is something different: an anti-money-laundering registration for firms that handle other people’s funds as a business, granted by a private body that FINMA itself supervises. Some businesses need a FINMA licence, some need only SRO membership, some need both, and, more often than founders expect, some need neither. Getting it wrong is costly either way: an unnecessary licence burns months and capital, while operating without a required one is a criminal offence.
| Your activity | Regime | Supervisor | Typical timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Managing third-party portfolios | FinIA authorisation | FINMA, via a Supervisory Organisation | 4–8 months |
| Acting as a professional trustee | FinIA authorisation | FINMA, via a Supervisory Organisation | 4–8 months |
| Fund management / collective assets | CISA licence | FINMA | 6–12 months |
| Crypto, payment or money transmitting | SRO membership | An SRO under AMLA | 2–4 months |
| Taking deposits from the public | Banking or FinTech licence | FINMA | 6–18 months |
| Trading only your own funds | No licence | — | n/a |
The table is a starting point, not an opinion. The boundaries turn on detail: whether assets are pooled, whether you have discretion, how clients are solicited, where the activity is directed. We resolve those edges in a written regulatory assessment before any application is filed, so you commit budget against a confirmed route rather than a guess.
When you do not need a licence
Several common structures sit outside Swiss licensing entirely: single-family offices that trade only the family's own capital, pure holding and IP-owning companies, and advisers who never receive or hold client money. We have closed engagements by establishing that a client's planned activity needed no licence, saving the regulatory cost rather than manufacturing it. If that is your situation, we will tell you in the first call.
The cost of getting it wrong
Carrying on a regulated activity without the required authorisation is not a paperwork lapse. Under the Financial Market Supervisory Act it is a criminal offence; FINMA can open enforcement proceedings, order the disgorgement of profits, appoint an investigating agent at your expense, and bar the responsible individuals from the industry. Swiss banks will also decline or close accounts once an unlicensed regulated activity surfaces in onboarding. The practical lesson is to confirm the regime before you launch, not after a counterparty or a bank raises it.
Authoritative sources: the regulator publishes its authorisation guidance at finma.ch, and the consolidated federal statutes (FINMASA, FinIA, AMLA, CISA) are at fedlex.admin.ch.
Recognitions
Ranked by leading international ratings for Banking & Finance, Tax and Corporate work across multiple consecutive editions.
Explore About Us
Track record
SRO and FINMA engagements since 2014
Non-confidential mandates from more than a decade of Swiss financial-regulation work, dating back to 2014: SRO affiliations, FINMA and FinIA licensing, and regulatory enquiries across crypto, payments, asset management and token projects.
SRO authorisation · FINMA non-subordination ruling
FinIA licence
SRO authorisation · FINMA non-subordination ruling
SRO authorisation · FINMA non-subordination ruling
SRO authorisation · FINMA non-subordination ruling
SRO affiliation
SRO affiliation
SRO affiliation
SRO affiliation
SRO affiliation
- OTN Blockchain StiftungSwiss foundation · federal authorisation
Listed with each client’s agreement (non-NDA). Engagement details are kept general; specifics are covered by professional confidentiality.
From the knowledge base
All insights
Financial regulation insights.
FINMA explained: what the Swiss financial regulator does, and does not, do.
The Swiss banking system in 2026: who runs it and how deposits are protected.
Swiss bank secrecy in 2026: what AEOI ended and what still holds.
Escrow in Switzerland: who can hold the funds and how release works.
Experience
Representative regulatory matters.
Recent licensing and financial-regulation engagements. Anonymised. Names are used only with written client consent.
Swiss market entry for a foreign asset manager — FINMA licensing
A client running asset-management companies in the UAE and the Cayman Islands was referred to us by an international firm, intending to replicate his services in Switzerland.
OutcomeThe company was registered and the regulatory documentation submitted; a locally appointed managing director now oversees the ongoing licensing process.
Crypto financial-services company — SRO licensing and ongoing AML compliance
An early-stage crypto investor approached us to establish a regulated financial-services company in Canton Zug for crypto-related activities.
OutcomeThe company obtained SRO membership and authorisation to operate. We continue as its external AML Officer and support its ongoing regulatory audits.
From investment firm to family office — regulatory analysis and setup
A foreign client came to us planning to establish an investment company in Switzerland.
OutcomeThe client launched a fully operational family office with no unnecessary licensing, with brokerage and banking in place from day one.
Shareholder mediation, recapitalisation and regulatory compliance
A company with several equal shareholders hit a classic conflict over uneven workload and contribution.
OutcomeThe shareholders reached a new agreement, the company was recapitalised, and it obtained SRO authorisation, resolving the internal conflict and the regulatory gap in one engagement.
Precious-metals trading — regulatory assessment and corporate structuring
A client came to us to obtain a licence for trading non-ferrous and precious metals (gold, silver, platinum) and related investment activity.
OutcomeThe client avoided unnecessary licensing cost and launched with a properly structured vehicle.
SECO authorisation for a foreign employment agency — cantonal and federal licensing
A major international employment agency wanted to open a Swiss office, an activity needing two-tier authorisation: cantonal first, then federal (SECO).
OutcomeThe company obtained both cantonal and federal authorisation. The later director change was approved without disruption.
Representative matters, anonymised. Specifics are illustrative and outcomes depend on the facts of each case. Client names are used only with written consent.
FAQ
Financial regulation, answered.
01Do I need a FINMA licence or an SRO membership?
It depends on the activity. Managing third-party assets, acting as a professional trustee, running a fund or taking public deposits requires direct FINMA authorisation. Acting as a financial intermediary on a professional basis, for example a crypto exchange, payment or money-transmitting business, generally requires membership of a Self-Regulatory Organisation (SRO) under the Anti-Money Laundering Act. Trading only your own funds usually requires neither. We confirm the regime in a written regulatory assessment before any application is filed.
02How long does FINMA authorisation take?
For an asset-manager or trustee licence under the Financial Institutions Act, four to eight months is typical once the file is complete, because the application runs through a Supervisory Organisation before FINMA. Fund and banking licences take longer: six to eighteen months. SRO membership is faster, usually two to four months. The timeline depends far more on the quality of the application than on the regulator, which is why we build the full file before submission.
03Can I manage client money in Switzerland without a licence?
No. Since the transitional period under the Financial Institutions Act ended, every manager of third-party individual portfolios requires authorisation and prudential supervision. Operating a regulated activity without the required licence is a criminal offence under the Financial Market Supervisory Act and exposes the principals to FINMA enforcement, disgorgement of profits and a ban. Trading exclusively your own capital (a single-family office, for instance) is the main case that falls outside licensing.
04What is the difference between FINMA and an SRO?
FINMA is the federal regulator that grants and supervises licences. A Self-Regulatory Organisation is a private body, itself overseen by FINMA, that admits and audits financial intermediaries for anti-money-laundering purposes under the Anti-Money Laundering Act. A FINMA licence is a prudential authorisation to carry on a regulated financial activity; SRO membership is an AML affiliation. Some businesses need one, some the other, and a few need both.
05What is changing for crypto and payment firms in 2027?
Following a federal consultation that closed in February 2026, the current FinTech licence is being replaced by two dedicated FINMA categories: a Payment Instrument Institution licence for stablecoin issuers and payment services, and a Crypto-Institution licence for custody, trading and staking. Entry into force is expected in 2027 with a one-year transition. Firms applying now should structure for the incoming regime rather than the old one, and existing licence-holders will need a migration plan. We scope both the current route and the 2027 destination in the same assessment.
06Do I have to register as a client adviser under FinSA?
Often, yes. Advisers of financial-services firms that are not prudentially supervised by FINMA generally must enter the FinSA client-adviser register before they advise Swiss clients, and meet the conduct, suitability, training and documentation duties that come with it. Supervised institutions and their advisers are usually exempt from the register but still owe the FinSA conduct rules. We confirm whether registration applies and handle the filing as part of setting the firm up.
07What does a FINMA licence or SRO membership cost?
Budget depends on the route. SRO membership for a crypto or payment business typically runs to CHF 50,000–150,000 in first-year costs once company set-up, SRO admission, the AML framework, audit and advisory are counted. A FINMA asset-manager or trustee licence is higher; banking, fund and FinTech licences higher still, because they carry minimum-capital requirements: CHF 300,000 for the FinTech licence, far more for a bank. We give a fixed budget against a confirmed route before any work begins, so the number is not a surprise.
08Do I need a Swiss company to apply?
In almost all cases, yes. FINMA authorisation and SRO membership attach to a Swiss legal entity with a real presence here: an office, qualified people and, for most licences, at least one resident director. We incorporate the company, arrange the substance and open banking as part of the same project, so the licence application rests on a properly constituted Swiss entity rather than a shell.
09What is a Supervisory Organisation, and why does my file go through one?
Since the Financial Institutions Act, asset managers and trustees are not supervised by FINMA directly day to day. They are licensed by FINMA but audited and ongoing-supervised by a Supervisory Organisation (SO), a FINMA-authorised body such as AOOS or FINcontrol. Your licence application is reviewed by the SO before it reaches FINMA, and the SO conducts your periodic audits afterwards. We manage the relationship with the SO from application through to each audit cycle.
10Which FINMA licences and SRO routes do you handle?
Across the practice we cover the full range: SRO membership for financial intermediaries under anti-money-laundering rules, and FINMA authorisation for portfolio managers and trustees under the Financial Institutions Act, managers of collective assets and fund management companies under the Collective Investment Schemes Act, and securities firms, together with the crypto and payment categories arriving in 2027. Each has its own page with the capital, supervisor and timeline. We confirm which one your activity needs before any application begins.
Not sure which permission you need?
Send us a two-line description of the activity. A partner responds with the likely regime (FINMA, SRO or neither) before you commit to anything.