Switzerland currently counts over 200 fintech startups, many of which are unsurprisingly tackling investing and asset management (+50), crowdfunding (+45), and insurance (+25), according to Swisscom’s latest Swiss Fintech Startup Map.
The Swiss region of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Western Switzerland, hosts a few dozens of these, according to a startup map by the Swiss Finance + Technology Association.
These fintech startups are mainly located in, or around, the cities of Geneva and Lausanne. We’ve listed for some of the most notable ones covering varied areas including crowdfunding, investing, digital currency and blockchain technology.
CashSentinel
Founded in 2012, CashSentinel is a fintech startup with offices in Lausanne Switzerland and Paris, France. CashSentinel has developed an innovative payment solution, which is at the crossroads of escrow agents and mobile wallets that facilitates vehicle transactions.
Partnerships with leading vehicle-listing platforms AutoScout24, Reezocar, L’Argus, and 01Flat, bring the safety of CashSentinel’s service to most of the market in Switzerland and France.
B-Sharpe
Incorporated in 2006 and based in Geneva, B-Sharpe is a fintech startup providing currency exchange services at a lower cost – an average saving of 70% compared with traditional exchange services providers. The solution is targeted at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), expats, migrant workers and frontier workers in Switzerland seeking to exchange currencies at a better rate.
B-Sharpe is financial intermediary auto-regulated under the supervision of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).
NetGuardians
NetGuardians is a fintech company that provides fraud and risk assurance solutions. Its software leverages Big Data to correlate and analyze behaviors across a bank’s entire system, enabling them to target specific anti-fraud or regulatory requirements. A controls update service ensures financial institutions benefit from ongoing protection in the face of the continually evolving risk challenges of a border-free world.
Headquartered in Switzerland, NetGuardians has offices in Kenya, Singapore, and Poland.
InvestGlass
Founded in 2014, InvestGlass provides a white-labeled, client and prospect management platform for bankers, wealth managers and advisors.
The platform is designed to facilitate more efficient prospecting and onboarding of new clients, as well as the management relationships with existing clients. Components include a content management system, CRM, and client portal.
Be-Cash
Be-Cash, which aims to revolutionize the distribution of cash and payment terminals, sells payment terminals from CHF 129, providing instant credit to merchants.
These payment terminals are 100% and autonomous, and integrate various types of connection including Bluetooth, Wifi and SIM Card. The terminals support numerous payment cards such as Visa, Mastercard, V-Pay, JCB, and UnionPay, as well as Apple Pay and Android Pay. Companies get a prepaid Mastercard, and there is no monthly fee and no subscription.
Be-Cash charges a transaction fee that varies depending on the sales: debit cards 1.5% (min 25cts Maestro & 60cts V-Pay) and credit cards 2.5%.
Grydl Analytics
Grydl Analytics is a startup based in Geneva that specializes in blockchain, Big Data and artificial intelligence technologies.
The company provides cryptocurrency investors with an online platform that allows them to find investment opportunities by evaluating different strategies.
Grydl Analytics allows users to create investment strategies and validate them, quickly evaluate the expected return of a strategy over a given period of time, and receive custom investment recommendations.
SmartLink
SmartLink is a mobile wallet services provider, offering white-label mobile transaction platform solutions, contactless transaction capabilities, know-your-customer solutions, and prepaid program management.
SmartLink’s user-friendly platform allows for secure transactions in physical, virtual and proximity environments. It supports mobile banking, money transfer and allows for bill payments, mobile recharge, peer-to-peer transactions, proximity transactions (NFC, QR/Bar Code), and more.
KeeSystem
KeeSystem designs and deploys KeeSense, a complete tool for independent asset managers, family offices and private banks. The solution enhances asset managers’ performances allowing them to match their clients requirements while drastically reducing all constraints linked to compliance.
KeeSystem aims at providing financial services companies with the essential tools they need for their daily activity.
WeCan.Fund
WeCan.Fund offers a white-label crowdfunding platform software for donations, rewards, loans and equity.
The solution allows clients to easily create a crowdfunding platform and benefit from integrated KYC, an electronic escrow account, automated cash flow management, specific contracts management (commissions, bond, mortgage, etc.) as well as blockchain features.
EZYcount
EZYcount, a trademark of SuperVX, is a web-based accounting system for self-employed and small Swiss companies.
EZYcount focuses on offering a simple solution that requires no installation and which can be accessed anytime, anywhere, with any electronic device.
Plans start at CHF 15.5 per month for a one-year subscription.
Bity
Bity is a Swiss digital currency company that provides users with solutions to buy and sell bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies with CHF and EUR.
Alongside its web platform, the company also has several Bity Kiosks, or Bitcoin ATMs, located across Switzerland in cities such as Geneva, Lausanne, Montreux, and Zurich, that allows users to easily buy and sell bitcoins with cash.
Metaco
Metaco is a software provider specializing in distributed ledgers. The company serves financial institutions, enabling them to exploit blockchain technology.
Metaco offers an ecosystem of products for issuing, transferring and trading securities on the blockchain. The company’s products are open, secure, and trusted by thousands of companies and developers.
Crowd Trading
Founded in 2014 by Swiss engineers, Crowd Trading provides financial services in the social trading industry. Its platform lets users share their trade ideas, connect with other traders, as well as make “Collective Decisions” by asking the crowd to vote on proposals.
Crowd Trading’s objective is to revolutionize the industry by offering a social trading platform to collectively manage portfolios of financial assets through a decision-making system for public groups of investors, as well as an automated trades replication within the crowd.
Hiboutik
Hiboutik is web-based point of sale software, inventory management, customer loyalty and retail reporting platform that’s accessible through any online device.
Hiboutik aims to provide retail software that is affordable and easy to use. The solution is free but can be upgraded with premium features.
Featured picture via pixabay
