Der Bundesrat hat anlässlich seiner Sitzung vom 9. Dezember den Bericht «Die Akzeptanz von Bargeld in der Schweiz» verabschiedet, der in Erfüllung des Postulates 18.4399 von Nationalrätin Prisca Birrer-Heimo verfasst wurde. Bargeld erfüllt wichtige Funktionen für Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft. Der Bundesrat erachtet deshalb eine aufmerksame Beobachtung der Entwicklungen im Bargeldbereich als notwendig. Die im Postulat vorgeschlagene zwingende Bargeldannahmepflicht lehnt der Bundesrat aber ab. Diese wäre ein starker Eingriff in die Vertragsfreiheit und in das Grundrecht der Wirtschaftsfreiheit. Der Nationalrat hatte am 17. Dezember 2020 das Postulat Birrer-Heimo mit dem Titel «Die breite Akzeptanz von Bargeld auch in Zukunft sicherstellen» angenommen.…

On 9 December, the Federal Council elected Aude Pugin, CEO of APCO Technologies, and Sergio Ermotti, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Swiss Re Group, to the Board of Directors of Innosuisse. The new members will take up their duties on 1 January 2023. They will replace Nicola Thibaudeau and Thierry Calame, who will step down at the end of 2022. The Innosuisse Board of Directors welcomes Aude Pugin and Sergio Ermotti, both top names in the business world who can contribute their long-standing experience. As CEO of APCO Technologies, Aude Pugin brings in-depth personal experience in innovation in…

Mastercard and Vesta, an end-to-end fraud prevention platform for digital purchases, announced a new strategic partnership to provide a state-of-the-art fraud management platform for merchants across Latin America and the Caribbean. As the need and interest from consumers to shop online increases, merchants are challenged to verify identities and manage evolving fraud threats in real time. Through this partnership, the organizations join forces to not only meet merchants’ security needs, but also address a broader effort to enhance the consumer ‘s digital experience and strengthen their trust in ecommerce. The fraud management solutions resulting from this collaboration will unite resources…

grape, the neoinsurer for employee insurances, has raised CHF 1.7 million in a pre-seed funding round to expand its digital insurance product and grow the team. The round is led by Swiss venture capital firm Wingman Ventures, with participation from the FinTech funds Tomahawk.VC and DD Venture Capital. The Insurtech startup grape provides their own digital employee insurances to enterprise customers. Their insurances are bundled with a B2B SaaS product that saves the insured companies time managing their coverages and claims. Moreover, grape is the first insurer to directly reinvest into prevention services supporting the health of their customer’s employees…

IDnow, a leading identity proofing and digital identity provider based in Munich, has successfully arranged a new debt facility from funds and accounts managed by BlackRock that provides up to €60 million in financing. The debt facility will enable IDnow to leverage its existing market-leading identity platform. The company intends to use the capital to scale investments across a range of strategic initiatives including the introduction of new identity proofing solutions, continued geographic expansion, and potential acquisitions. IDnow was founded in 2014 in Germany and offers a comprehensive suite of identity proofing solutions addressing a wide range of mission-critical use…

Nexi announced yesterday a strategic collaboration with Microsoft aimed at innovating digital payments solutions and helping digitalization of SMEs, Corporates, Public Administrations and Financial Institutions across multiple European markets through vertical value-added solutions to respond to specific needs as easy to adopt one-stop-to-digital packages for small businesses, secure scalable payment cloud-based infrastructures for public entities to serve citizens, for corporates to optimize payment and cash operations and for financial companies to leverage new digital native scenarios for their customers. As a result of the agreement, Nexi has been selected as one of the main payment providers for e-commerce acceptance in…

Denmark based Ageras Group announced that it has acquired Kontist, a Berlin-based neo-bank focused on the complex accounting and banking needs of Germany’s growing populations of microbusinesses and self-employed workers. “This acquisition is a critical step in Ageras’ growth,” said Ageras Co-founder and CEO Rico Andersen. “Kontist has created the best product in Europe’s largest market. It’s a one-stop financial shop for approximately 50,000 German small business owners today, and it’s perfectly positioned to become the go-to financial platform for future generations of small business owners in need of modern banking and accounting tools.” Founded in 2016 by fintech veteran…

Das Österreichische Fintech-Unternehmen Coinpanion hat sich zur Abwicklung seiner Paymentprozesse für die Zusammenarbeit mit dem internationalen Zahlungsdienstleister Checkout.com entschieden. Durch die Zusammenarbeit mit Checkout.com kann der Kryptobroker seinen Anleger:innen nun zahlreiche Optionen für Ein- und Auszahlungen anbieten, von Kartenzahlungen über Google und Apple Pay bis hin zu Wallet-Transaktionen. Das seit 2020 im österreichischen Markt erfolgreiche Fintech-Startup konnte im Herbst letzten Jahres weitere hochkarätige Investor:innen für seine Geschäftsidee gewinnen. Coinpanion ist als europäisches Unternehmen registriert und unterliegt allen dort geltenden Vorschriften. Vor der Zusammenarbeit mit Checkout.com war Coinpanion Gründer und CEO Alexander Valtingojer bereits länger auf der Suche nach einem geeigneten…

As part of its future-orientated approach, Netcetera announced the switch to a cloud platform using leading hosting service providers. The first step of going cloud is the finalized migration of its 3DS services to a new cloud hosting environment. This switch promises to deliver modernized infrastructure that more easily meets rapidly changing customer behavior and expectations, and drives business growth. The change is part of the payment player’s dedication to achieving sustainability and responsibility towards society through ongoing efforts to improve its core industry. “High-quality and high-availability solutions are an important part of our success, as are the long-term relationships…

SumUp has raised a €590 million funding round that gives the company an enterprise value of €8 billion following a decade of rapid growth and global expansion. The round was led by Bain Capital Tech Opportunities, with participation from funds managed by BlackRock, btov Partners, Centerbridge, Crestline, Fin Capital, and Sentinel Dome Partners, among others. This latest round is a combination of debt and equity and brings SumUp’s total capital raised to €1.5 billion. SumUp was founded in 2012 to help small merchants start, run and grow their business through a fair, easy, and reliable payment solution. Today, its financial…

Der Bundesrat will den Standort Schweiz für Startups weiter stärken. Er hat am 22. Juni 2022 einen Richtungsentscheid zugunsten eines branchenneutralen Schweizer Innovationsfonds getroffen. Dieser soll die Finanzierung von Start-ups insbesondere während der Wachstumsphase und namentlich in den Bereichen Dekarbonisierung und Digitalisierung verbessern. Bis anfangs 2023 sollen die konkreten Eckwerte erarbeitet werden. Die Schweiz soll auch mittel- und langfristig zu den produktivsten, wettbewerbsfähigsten und innovativsten Standorten der Welt gehören und langfristig Arbeitsplätze, Wertschöpfung und Steuersubstrat sichern können. Im Ausgang aus der Covid-19-Krise prüfte der Bundesrat neue Ansätze zur Erreichung dieser Ziele. Im August 2021 hatte der Bundesrat deshalb das WBF…

Citi announced yesterday that it has selected Switzerland-based METACO to develop and pilot digital asset custody capabilities. This collaboration brings together METACO’s technology and digital solutions with Citi’s expansive custody network to develop a platform to enable clients to store and settle digital assets seamlessly and securely. Citi intends to fully integrate METACO’s bank-grade digital asset custody and orchestration platform, Harmonize, into its existing infrastructure, to develop and pilot digital asset custody capabilities. “We are witnessing the increasing digitization of traditional investment assets along with new native digital assets. We are innovating and developing new capabilities to support digital asset…

The core-to-digital solution suite provider, New Access SA, is very proud to announce the signing of a new license agreement with Swiss Private Bank BERGOS AG. Bergos is an independent Swiss Private Bank specialized in wealth management, offering investment solutions in all liquid and non-liquid asset classes. The bank focuses on asset management and advisory, offering services beyond money such as Art Consult and Multi Family Office Services. Active in the Swiss financial center for more than 30 years, it operates internationally with more than 100 professionals dedicated to the company’s success. Bergos AG has been recently awarded with the…

AMNIS Treasury Services,  a Zurich-based fintech founded in 2014 with the goal of reshaping international banking for SMEs, announced the closing of a Series-A investment round of CHF 8.6 million. The funding round, led by Lansdowne Partners, will enable further market expansion and product development. Amnis provides SMEs with an international banking solution to transfer money abroad, exchange currencies and collect payments on a single cost-effective platform. Committed to transparency and efficiency, the platform focuses on the needs of SMEs, giving them the opportunity to enter the global economy with a competitive edge. During the last 12 months, the company…

The online real estate investment platform Foxstone has completed a CHF 10 million Series A financing round, the company’s largest to date. The participation of almost all the existing shareholders is to be noted, as well as the arrival of new entrants in the capital, including Rosablanche Ventures, the family investment vehicle of Thierry Baudon, who founded Mid Europa Partners, one of the largest private equity funds in Central and Eastern Europe. Foxstone is a real estate crowdfunding platform, which gathers investors and allows them to acquire investment properties together. The company also issues participatory loans to finance real estate…

Comparis, der Online-Vergleichsdienst mit einem der grössten Marktplätze für Immobilien in der Schweiz, hat eine Kooperation mit Valuu unterzeichnet. Valuu ist die unabhängige Hypotheken-Vermittlungsplattform von PostFinance. Immobiliensuchende finden auf dem Immobilienmarktplatz von comparis.ch per sofort neben dem entsprechenden Kaufobjekt auch Informationen zur möglichen Finanzierung. So werden potenzielle Käuferinnen und Käufer vom ersten Klick bis zum Abschluss ihrer Hypothek über einen einzigen Verkaufskanal begleitet. Die Kooperation ist vorerst auf ein Jahr beschränkt. «Ermächtigen Immobilienkäufer bei ihrer Entscheidungsfindung» «Wir freuen uns sehr über diese Kooperation», sagt Comparis-CEO Steven Neubauer. «Mit der direkten Integration des Services von Valuu in unser Immobilienangebot schaffen wir…

Following its successful product launch in September 2021, Swiss fintech startup Numarics has successfully closed a CHF 2.1 million pre-seed financing round led by Wingman Ventures. Numarics combines artificial intelligence with expert knowledge from the fields of fiduciary services, audit and digitalization which gives SMEs access to state-of-the-art finance management. The success of Numarics’ mobile-first strategy was recently impressively confirmed: its app was awarded the GOLD award at the annual Best of Swiss App Awards. Now, two renowned venture capital funds have stepped in to finance the expansion of the team, product and sales efforts. Wingman Ventures and co-investor SeedX…

Worldline, a global leader in payment services is one of the first payments companies to enter the Metaverse with the launch of a dedicated virtual showroom. The company aims to bridge the gap between the network of virtual worlds and the real world for e-Commerce enterprises and provide its merchants with the opportunities needed to benefit fully from the incredible potential the Metaverse has to offer. The Worldline Metaverse showroom, which went live in March 2022, is a key component in Worldline’s strategy to build its presence in the Metaverse, which is seen as the next innovative social and commerce…

New Access SA has been recognized among the 100 tech companies transforming the global investment and banking industries in the fourth annual 2022 WealthTech100 list. Launched by specialist research firm FinTech Global, the WealthTech100 is an annual list of 100 of the world’s most innovative WealthTech companies selected by a panel of industry experts and analysts from over more than 1’200 businesses. The prestigious ranking recognizes the world’s most innovative technology solution providers that address the digital transformation challenges and opportunities faced by investment firms, private banks and financial advisors. For this 2022 edition, the finalists were recognized for their…

Worldline kooperiert ab sofort mit dem Französischen Fintech-Unternehmen Algoan, einem führenden Anbieter von Kreditwürdigkeitsprüfungen. Ziel ist es, gemeinsam eine innovative Lösung zur Bonitätsprüfung zu entwickeln, die Kreditgebern und Dienstleistern hilft, schnelle und gleichzeitig sichere Kreditentscheidungen zu treffen. Der Dienst wird APIs und Machine Learning nutzen und sich auf Transaktionsdaten aus dem Open Banking stützen. Kreditinstitute, Kreditnehmer und Händler haben durch die Zahlungsdienstrichtlinie PSD2 den sicheren und nutzergesteuerten Rahmen, um die Möglichkeiten für einen schnelleren, gerechteren und datengesteuerten Ansatz zur Kreditwürdigkeitsprüfung zu nutzen. Langfristig sollen im Sinne des sogenannten Open Banking diese klaren Vorteile für alle Parteien nutzbar gemacht werden. Der…