Swiss Banks Embrace Digital Onboarding with Electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) Requirements
In recent years, Swiss financial institutions have been rapidly adopting electronic know your customer (eKYC) solutions to provide customers with a seamless, digital-first onboarding experience.
What is eKYC?
eKYC refers to the digitalization of the traditional know your customer (KYC) process, allowing financial professionals to identify and verify a customer’s identity entirely remotely and digitally. This process significantly reduces verification time from days to mere seconds, eliminating lengthy paperwork, queuing up at bank branches, and wasting time and effort in multiple follow-ups.
Benefits of eKYC
- Reduced verification time
- Improved customer experience
- Increased efficiency for financial institutions
- Compliance with regulatory requirements
According to a survey by Signicat, 72% of European retail banking customers want an all-digital onboarding system. Additionally, customers who onboard digitally are more likely to remain loyal and tend to apply for more products and services.
eKYC in Switzerland
In Switzerland, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has been allowing domestic financial institutions to use online identity verification since 2016. In January 2020, updated regulations took effect, including more stringent requirements. Banks such as Credit Suisse have been quick to adopt eKYC solutions, partnering with fintech providers like Appway to accelerate adoption.
Swiss eKYC Providers
- Appway: Offers an onboarding platform that allows financial institutions to onboard customers in just 15 minutes through intuitive and frictionless data collection, automated compliance checks, and seamless digital onboarding processes.
- KYC Spider: Provides an online solution called KYC Toolbox, which automates the KYC compliance process with a modular design and access to all necessary features for standard KYC processes.
- Procivis: Specializes in digital identity solutions and e-government applications, providing its smartphone-based digital identity platform, eID+, which enables individuals to access digital services.
- Specitec: Offers an eKYC solution that combines data from various sources, such as the Swiss population register, to verify identities quickly and accurately.
- id4: Provides a secure and compliant eKYC solution for financial institutions, allowing them to onboard customers digitally while ensuring regulatory compliance.
Conclusion
Swiss fintech companies are at the forefront of the eKYC revolution, providing innovative solutions that cater to the evolving demands of customers and regulatory requirements. As the financial industry continues to shift towards a more digital landscape, it’s clear that eKYC will play an increasingly important role in the onboarding process.