I would like to give you a brief review of the 4th Fintech Roundtable hosted by the Federal Finance Department on October 23, 2019, which I had the pleasure of attending:
Promptly at 5:15 PM, Federal President Ueli Maurer invited the participants consisting of authorities, parliamentarians, associations, universities, banks and 6 fintech companies from the areas of banking, payment, investments, blockchain and lending to the round table.
After brief updates from Mark Branson (FINMA) and Daniela Stoffel (EFD/SIF) as well as an overview of the development of the fintech sector, the discussion on the impact of previous regulatory measures and how framework conditions can be further improved was opened.
Cashare as Fintech Pioneer
We were very happy to take this opportunity. With Cashare as Switzerland's fintech pioneer since 2008, I was able to provide comprehensive feedback on developments in the fintech sector.
Our Key Concerns
The most important points and concerns raised by us included:
- Electronic Identity: Importance of electronic identity verification and signature for digital development in Switzerland. Online identification should be recognized as equivalent to video identification.
- Higher Loan Volumes: Raising maximum loan volumes from today's CHF 1 million without the 20-rule to e.g. CHF 5 million, to give even more SMEs access to the attractive financing alternative with crowdlending.
- Guarantee Cooperatives: Permission for guarantee cooperatives to work with fintech companies in addition to banks and provide guarantees.
- Deposit Protection: Deposit protection for investors also on a settlement account of fintech companies for more security and investor protection.
- Open Banking: Government support for standards and implementation of API / Open Banking (similar to PSD2 in the EU) to not lose ground.
- Clear Definitions: Clear definitions and determinations of responsibilities of the respective licenses by FINMA to prevent duplication, such as double KYC from fintech and account-holding banks.
- BVV2 Investment Guidelines: Adjustment of BVV2 investment guidelines for pension funds to mitigate effects of negative interest rates and enable investments in loans.
Outlook
Many other good points were raised by other meeting participants and we are very excited about further developments in the Swiss financial center. But the opportunity alone to provide direct feedback at the highest level and have it received makes us very confident.
As Federal President Ueli Maurer says: Switzerland is not the fastest country in implementing new laws, but when industries and authorities can speak directly and uncomplicated with each other, this time loss can be made up. The first two fintech regulations were already a good step into the future in this regard.
We hope that authorities and the fintech industry continue to work together courageously, but also that banks do not engage in harmful protectionism of the status quo and proactively contribute to shaping the future without blinders. Then Switzerland will certainly be able to hold its own as a fintech hub and attractive financial center.
Your CEO Michael Borter!
