The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma) has awarded the independent Zurich start-up Yapeal the first FinTech license in Switzerland, according to a press release from last Friday. The financial services provider will therefore be able to offer its own accounts. Moreover, all customers will receive a personalized Swiss IBAN for Yapeal. No involvement of a third-party bank is therefore necessary.
The license comes with terms and conditions. FinTech permits from Finma allow a maximum of 100 million Swiss francs in public deposits. These are neither permitted to be invested nor are they subject to interest. Hans Kuhn, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, commented in an interview with finews.ch that although the license is limited, the company can work well with it during the initial phase. Yapeal had announced last year that it would apply for a full banking license in 2020.
Market entry had previously been announced for last September. By all accounts, Finma still had questions it needed to resolve, according to finews.ch, which would help to explain the delay.
Head of Marketing Andy Waar was quoted in an article on startupticker.ch, stating that Yapeal was delighted to have achieved this milestone of fundamental importance to the company and is now working to intensively prepare for market entry. He then commented that even in this respect Yapeal is seeking to break new ground: the company is planning to enthrall people with the first VISA debit card for end customers in Switzerland.
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