Anyone who acts as a payment intermediary between buyers and sellers on a Swiss marketplace may fall under the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA). The decisive factor is whether you provide 'payment services' within the meaning of Art. 2 para. 3 lit. b AMLA – and whether this activity exceeds the commercial thresholds of the AMLO. If both apply, you either need to join a Self-Regulatory Organisation (SRO) or obtain a direct FINMA licence.

This guide explains the relevant legal bases, shows when a marketplace is considered a financial intermediary and when it is not, and describes the concrete obligations in the event of subordination – including the option to outsource these obligations to a regulated Payment Service Provider (PSP).

1. What does 'financial intermediary' mean in Swiss law?

In Swiss law, a financial intermediary is defined as a person who, on a professional basis, accepts, keeps on deposit, or helps to invest or transfer third-party assets. The Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) distinguishes between two categories: financial intermediaries supervised under special legislation pursuant to Art. 2 para. 2 AMLA (banks, insurance companies, securities firms) are directly supervised by FINMA. The other financial intermediaries pursuant to Art. 2 para. 3 AMLA – the so-called parabanking sector – can choose whether to submit directly to the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) or to join an SRO recognised by FINMA.

For marketplace operators, Art. 2 para. 3 lit. b AMLA is particularly relevant. This category covers persons who 'provide payment services, in particular by introducing electronic transfer services on behalf of third parties or by issuing or managing means of payment such as credit cards and traveller's cheques'. In practical terms: if your marketplace accepts customer funds and forwards them to sellers, you potentially meet this definition.

Whether you are actually subject to supervision as a financial intermediary depends, however, on a second criterion: commerciality.

2. Commerciality criteria according to the AMLO

The Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance (AMLO) defines in Art. 7 when a financial intermediary activity is deemed to be professional. An obligation to join an SRO or obtain a licence only arises once at least one of the following criteria is met:

For marketplaces with regular payment traffic, the gross revenue and transaction volume criteria are particularly relevant. A marketplace that processes EUR 200’000 in payments monthly will exceed the EUR 2 million transaction volume threshold within just ten months. Important: Money and value transfer businesses are, in principle, always deemed to be professional under Art. 9 AMLO – unless they are operated for closely associated persons with gross revenue of no more than EUR 50’000 per calendar year.

Activities for closely associated persons (e.g. spouses, registered partners) are only taken into account if the gross revenue exceeds EUR 50’000 per calendar year (Art. 7 para. 4 AMLO). In practice, this exemption rarely applies to marketplace models.

3. SRO affiliation vs. direct FINMA subordination

If the commerciality is established, you have two options as a financial intermediary in the parabanking sector:

Option A: Affiliation to an SRO

A Self-Regulatory Organisation (SRO) is an industry association recognised by FINMA that supervises its members and monitors compliance with AMLA obligations. In Switzerland, there are several SROs, including the Association for Quality Assurance of Financial Services (VQF), PolyReg, and industry-specific SROs. Joining an SRO is the more practical solution for most marketplaces, as the effort involved is significantly lower compared to a FINMA licence.

Costs: The admission fee for an SRO like PolyReg is approx. EUR 1’600. The annual membership fees vary depending on the size of the company and start at around EUR 1’500 to EUR 5’000 for smaller financial intermediaries. In addition, there are audit costs, which can range from EUR 3’000 to EUR 15’000 per year depending on complexity.

Option B: Direct FINMA licence

Direct subordination to FINMA is an alternative that, in practice, is particularly worthwhile for larger or high-risk business models. The licensing process is more elaborate, and FINMA levies fees for the assessment and ongoing supervision. For most SME marketplaces, this option is disproportionate.

Important: Under Art. 11 para. 1 AMLO, you must submit an affiliation or licence application within two months of switching to commerciality. Until the procedure is concluded, you may only perform actions that are strictly necessary to preserve the assets.

4. When a marketplace is not deemed a financial intermediary

Not every marketplace where payments flow is automatically subject to the AMLA. There are clear scenarios in which no financial intermediation takes place:

Accessory secondary service

If payment processing is merely a subordinate secondary service to your main activity, the so-called accessory exemption may apply. FINMA Circular 2011/1 mentions as an indicator that the gross revenue from the payment service must not exceed 10% of the total corporate gross revenue. Furthermore, the funds used for payment processing must originate from the general funds of the primary provider.

Auxiliary person of a regulated PSP

Art. 2 para. 2 lit. a no. 2 AMLO exempts auxiliary persons of financial intermediaries licensed or affiliated in Switzerland from the obligation to be subordinated – under clear conditions: the auxiliary person must not act independently, must be integrated into the financial intermediary's organisational measures to combat money laundering, and must be trained accordingly. In practice, this means: if you as a marketplace operator use a regulated PSP like Payrexx and fully outsource the payment processing to them, you potentially act as an auxiliary person and are not subject to subordination yourself.

No cash flow through the marketplace

If your marketplace functions merely as a matching platform and buyers pay the Comerciante directly (e.g. via their own payment page), there is no financial intermediation. You neither accept third-party assets nor help to transfer them.

Below the commerciality threshold

Even if a financial intermediary activity within the meaning of Art. 2 para. 3 AMLA is present, there is no obligation to join an SRO as long as none of the commerciality criteria under Art. 7 AMLO are met. However, this exemption is only temporary – as soon as a threshold is exceeded, the two-month deadline applies.

5. Obligations in case of AMLA subordination: What lies ahead

If your marketplace is considered a financial intermediary and commerciality is met, you must fulfil the following due diligence obligations:

Identification of the contracting party (KYC)

Under Art. 3 AMLA, you must verify the identity of your contracting partners using reliable documents when establishing a business relationship. For legal entities, this additionally includes verifying the powers of representation and the identity of the person acting on their behalf.

Establishing the identity of the beneficial owner

Art. 4 AMLO requires you to identify the beneficial owner behind a business relationship – that is, the natural person to whom the assets ultimately belong or who effectively controls the business relationship.

Duty to document

All transactions and clarifications must be documented under Art. 7 AMLA in such a way that expert third parties can form a reliable opinion. The documents must be kept in Switzerland for at least ten years.

Duty to report in case of suspicion (MROS)

Art. 9 AMLA establishes a duty to report when there is reasonable suspicion of money laundering or terrorist financing. The report is submitted to the Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland (MROS) at the Federal Office of Police. The duty to report must be fulfilled immediately – delay or omission can lead to criminal consequences (Art. 37 AMLA). In parallel with the report, an asset freeze must be implemented: the assets involved in the report must not be moved until the MROS responds or a statutory period expires.

Internal organisation

As a financial intermediary subject to the AMLA, you must have an internal control system (Art. 8 AMLA). This includes clear responsibilities, a designated reporting officer, staff training, and transaction monitoring capable of detecting unusual patterns.

6. Checklist: What to check before starting

Before launching your marketplace with a payment function, you should systematically clarify the following points:

• Analyse payment flow: Does money flow through an own account or is it split directly by the PSP?

• Check financial intermediation: Do you meet the definition of Art. 2 para. 3 lit. b AMLA (payment services)?

• Check commerciality criteria: Do you exceed any of the thresholds according to Art. 7 AMLO (EUR 50’000 gross revenue, 20+ business relationships, EUR 2 million transaction volume)?

• Check accessory exemption: Does the payment service account for less than 10% of your corporate revenue?

• Check auxiliary model: Are you contractually and organisationally integrated as an auxiliary person of a regulated PSP?

• Plan SRO affiliation: Obtain quotes from VQF, PolyReg, or an industry-specific SRO and plan the lead time (typically 2–4 months).

• Define KYC processes: How do you identify Comerciante on your marketplace? Manually, via video-ident, or through your PSP?

• Establish MROS reporting process: Define internally who triggers the report to MROS in case of suspicion and how the asset freeze is operatively implemented.

• Ensure documentation: Set up a system for the ten-year retention of records.

• Obtain a legal assessment: Have your concrete payment flow reviewed by a law firm specialising in financial market law – the boundaries can be complex in individual cases.

7. How Payrexx supports you with AMLA compliance

Payrexx is a Swiss Payment Service Provider (PSP) with a marketplace payment solution specifically designed for platform operators. Thanks to the split payment model, the buyer's payment flows directly via Payrexx:

The platform's commission goes to the marketplace, and the remaining amount to the Comerciante – without the marketplace itself touching customer funds. Payrexx takes care of the KYC and onboarding of the sub-Comerciante, the due diligence obligations under the AMLA, as well as payouts to the Comerciante.

All common Swiss payment methods are supported – from TWINT and PostFinance to credit cards and QR bills. Integration is done via a documented API that can be embedded into existing platforms.