Switzerland

Swiss National Bank Trials CBDC in Transactions With Five Banks

14/01/2022 by Idelto Editor

The Swiss National Bank has successfully employed a wholesale CBDC to settle transactions with five commercial banks, the monetary authority announced. The tests are part of an experiment carried out together with the Bank for International Settlements and Switzerland’s financial services provider SIX.

Swiss Central Bank Tests Integration of Wholesale CBDC Settlement With Private Banks

A wide-range of transactions involving a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) have been processed during the second phase of Project Helvetia, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) revealed in a press release issued on Thursday.

The trials are conducted as part of a joint initiative between the SNB, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), and SIX, the main provider of financial infrastructure services in Switzerland. Five commercial banks also participated – Citi, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Hypothekarbank Lenzburg, and UBS.

The experiment, which took place in the last quarter of 2021, explored the settlement of interbank, monetary policy, and cross-border transactions on the test systems of SIX Digital Exchange (SDX), the Swiss real-time gross settlement system SIX Interbank Clearing (SIC), and core banking systems, SNB detailed.

The Swiss central bank and the other banks integrated a wholesale CBDC in their existing back-office systems and processes. SNB notes that in the future, a growing number of financial assets will be tokenized while financial infrastructures will run on distributed ledger technology (DLT). Regulators may need to cover tokenized asset markets in their monetary policies, the authority said and elaborated:

International regulatory standards suggest that operators of systemically important infrastructures should settle obligations in central bank money whenever practical and available. While none of the existing DLT-based platforms are systemic yet, they may become so in the future.

“To continue fulfilling their mandates of ensuring monetary and financial stability, central banks need to stay on top of technological change. Project Helvetia… allowed the SNB to deepen its understanding of how the safety of central bank money could be extended to tokenized asset markets,” added Andréa M. Maechler, member of the bank’s governing board.

The Swiss National Bank remarks that Helvetia is only an exploratory project, suggesting it should not be viewed as plan to issue a wholesale CBDC. In December, the SNB, along with the Bank of France and BIS, carried out another experiment, testing the application of wholesale CBDC in cross-border payments. Project Jura employed DLT and was also realized with the support of private sector companies.

Do you expect the Swiss National Bank to eventually issue a wholesale CBDC? Let us know in the comments section below.

Crypto Stamp Crashes Swiss Post’s Online Store With Launch Day Demand

28/11/2021 by Idelto Editor

Unexpectedly high demand for Switzerland’s first crypto stamp has created headaches for the national postal service. Swiss Post announced it had to deal with technical issues when numerous orders hit its online shop all at once on the day the innovative offering was made available.

Demand for First Crypto Stamp Overwhelms Swiss Post’s Online Store

Swiss Post announced the “crypto stamp” initiative in September when it was presented as an attempt to “bridge the gap between the physical and digital worlds in philately.” The state-owned company joined forces with blockchain services provider Inacta to produce the stamp, a first of a kind for the Alpine nation.

When the crypto stamp was launched on Thursday morning, Nov. 25, demand was so high that it “temporarily led to technical problems on postshop.ch,” the Swiss Post told the AWP news agency. That’s after the postal service had been contacted by many interested in acquiring the stamp in recent weeks, according to a spokesperson quoted by Swissinfo.

The publication details that the crypto stamp consists of two parts – a physical one, which can be bought for 8.90 Swiss francs ($9.50), and a corresponding digital image depicting one of 13 designs. Every physical stamp provides access to the digital representation stored on a blockchain which can be collected and traded.

“At first glance, the Swiss Crypto Stamp looks like any ordinary stamp. It is self-adhesive, shows the Matterhorn and the moon on a blue background, and has a face value of 8.90 francs. Owners can use it to frank postal items just like any other stamp,” Swiss Post explained in a statement released on Sept. 30 while also noting: “But the actual crypto stamp is digital and it is a digital collector’s item.”

Swiss Post and Inacta plan to issue some 175,000 crypto stamps with 65,000 copies of the most common digital design and only 50 of the rarest. Three-quarters of the limited editions have been purchased in the first three hours of the launch day.

In the past few years, Switzerland has established itself as a major crypto-friendly destination in the heart of Europe. Hundreds of companies from the blockchain industry are headquartered or represented in the Swiss crypto valley based in the Canton of Zug. Even state-run enterprises have been seeking involvement in the crypto space.

In 2018, Swiss Post announced a collaboration with the telecom provider Swisscom on a blockchain infrastructure project aimed at meeting the security requirements of banks. Earlier this year, the banking subsidiary of the postal service, Postfinance, launched a mobile app providing clients with access to over a dozen cryptocurrencies.

Do you think Swiss Post will come up with more crypto projects in the future? Tell us in the comments section below.

BBVA Switzerland Launches ‘New Gen’ Digital Account With Integrated Crypto Wallet

04/09/2021 by Idelto Editor

Clients of BBVA Switzerland will be able to buy, store, and trade crypto assets with a digital account that comes with a cryptocurrency wallet. The new banking product will be available across the European Union as well as in a number of markets in South America.

BBVA Switzerland Account Facilitates Cryptocurrency Investments

The Swiss subsidiary of Spain’s banking giant Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) has announced the launch of a “100% digital investment account.” With the offering, the bank is trying to meet the needs of a new type of tech-savvy clients who want to invest “in more innovative, sustainable sectors and even in crypto-assets.”

The ‘New Gen’ account, BBVA Switzerland explained, offers access to a catalog of companies and funds. They are organized into 11 themes including climate change, and by disruptive technologies like robotics, 3D printing, and autonomous vehicles. “The catalog also seeks to emulate the portfolios of major investors such as Cathie Wood or Warren Buffet,” the bank noted, adding:

The client can invest in traditional assets such as shares or investment funds, and also has a ‘wallet’ for cryptocurrencies.

A European customer who would like to take advantage of the digital investment account must be a resident of an EU member state. The product is also offered in Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Peru, and Chile among other countries. Javier Rubio, Director of Client Solutions at BBVA Switzerland stated:

With New Gen we want to reach a new type of investor, attracted by new sectors that have great potential to transform the future.

Rubio emphasized the new account boasts a wide range of investment ideas allowing every client to put their money into what is of interest to them. He insisted the offering does away with obstacles and barriers while providing “one of the most competitive rates in Swiss banking” along with BBVA’s guarantee and security.

To start trading, a client has to first register via a dedicated form and then make a video identification call. BBVA Switzerland claims the whole verification procedure takes less than 15 minutes. The minimum deposit requirement to open an account is $10,000 or an equivalent amount in either euros or Swiss francs.

BBVA Switzerland, which specializes in private banking, stressed that the New Gen account provides access to a full range of online banking services and IBAN numbers in dollars, euros, or Swiss francs. The crypto wallet is fully integrated with the bank’s mobile app which allows users to track their bitcoin holdings and other assets.

The array of crypto-related offerings by Swiss banks has been constantly expanding. In May of this year, the state-owned Postfinance bank launched an investment and payments app supporting 13 cryptocurrencies in cooperation with online trading platform Swissquote. In February, 177-year-old Swiss bank Bordier offered its clients exposure to bitcoin and crypto trading services through a partnership with Sygnum, one of Switzerland’s licensed crypto banks.

Do you expect more financial institutions in other countries to follow the example set by Swiss banks? Tell us in the comments section below.

Worldline, Bitcoin Suisse Partner To Enable Merchants To Accept Bitcoin In Switzerland

19/08/2021 by Idelto Editor

The payment services giant joined a major bitcoin solutions provider to increase BTC usage in Switzerland as a medium of exchange.

European payments and transactional services provider Worldline has partnered with Bitcoin Suisse, a Swiss bitcoin services firm, to launch its new omnichannel payment solution. The new service, called WL Crypto Payments, will enable the more than 85,000 merchants in the Worldline network to accept BTC in their point-of-sale (POS) and e-commerce payment gateways. The integration of bitcoin payments into the platform is the latest development of a partnership that started in 2019.

“This is a historic milestone for crypto adoption in Switzerland and beyond,” said Dr. Arthur Vayloyan, Bitcoin Suisse CEO. “This step proves once again that Switzerland is a leader in collaborative innovation and a pioneer in the crypto and blockchain industry.

Bitcoin adoption and development in Switzerland has been increasing as companies choose to embrace the innovation. In June, banking giant BBVA launched bitcoin trading and custody services in the country. The launch integrated a bitcoin management system into the BBV Switzerland app. However, it was not clear whether users would be able to withdraw funds to wallets they controlled. In April, insurance firm AXA started offering a bitcoin-based payment option in the country to meet growing demand from its customers.

With WL Crypto Payments, Swiss merchants utilizing Worldline’s payment solutions can allow clients to purchase their products and services with bitcoin. Business owners can either install the dedicated mobile app named after the new offering or integrate Worldline’s plugin in their e-commerce store. Clients will be able to pay using the bitcoin wallet of their choice, and merchants will have the option to convert the payment to Swiss franc (CHF) automatically.

“The launch of cryptocurrencies acceptance at the POS in Switzerland is a great proof of our ambition,” Worldline Switzerland CEO Marc Schulep said. “Worldline wants to bring tangible value to merchants across the globe and to facilitate smooth and modern payments in all the markets we operate in. We’re happy to collaborate with Bitcoin Suisse on this forward-looking project.”

Switzerland’s Leonteq Offers Crypto Assets to Investors in Germany and Austria

12/08/2021 by Idelto Editor

Swiss fintech firm Leonteq has introduced its digital asset products in two neighboring jurisdictions, Germany and Austria. The company is launching its crypto offering with the help of a Frankfurt-based bank and in response to interest from institutional and private investors.

Leonteq Provides German and Austrian Investors With Exposure to Major Cryptocurrencies

Leonteq is presenting an extensive range of products to investors in Germany and Austria after a successful expansion in its home market, Switzerland. It offers exposure to a total of 18 crypto assets, including bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH), bitcoin cash (BCH), and litecoin (LTC), which can be traded in securitized format in the three countries, the fintech announced Thursday.

Tracker certificates on these crypto assets are now available for investors as listed products on Börse Frankfurt Zertifikate AG (Open Market), Leonteq detailed in a press release. The company also revealed it’s collaborating with ICF Bank AG, Frankfurt, a leading securities trading bank in Germany, for the structuring and distribution of structured products on crypto assets.

Sasch Rinno, a member of the bank’s Management Board, pointed out that Leonteq is an established issuer of structured certificates and crypto assets. “We are pleased to be working with them,” he stated and emphasized:

Through this cooperation with Leonteq, we are meeting the interest of both institutional investors as well as private investors in crypto assets.

Tino Wendisch, head of crypto offering at Leonteq, noted that the fintech firm is now covering around 76% of the total market capitalization of the emerging asset class in the German and Austrian markets. Björn Geidel, who heads sales in the two countries, added that Leonteq and ICF Bank have been working together for many years in the area of market making of structured products.

The Swiss fintech has been a pioneer in offering structured products on crypto assets. The company has been issuing tracker certificates and actively managed certificates on the leading cryptocurrencies in Switzerland since 2017. In the same year, Leonteq also offered its clients a short tracker certificate and in 2019, a reverse convertible on BTC.

ICF Bank provides institutional clients with professional services related to securities trading and capital markets. Its business is also focused on market making, execution sales, and sales trading for both domestic and international clients as well as the development and calculation of customized indices.

What do you think about Leonteq’s expansion in Germany and Austria? Let us know in the comments section below.