FINMA licence application

Checklist

• Hold the pre-filing meeting with FINMA's fintech desk and record what FINMA said about the classification of the business model.
• Decide the licence category and document the reasoning, including why lighter categories (SRO only, fintech licence, sandbox) do not fit.
• Obtain the FINMA ruling or assessment letter on token classification if the business depends on it.
• Prepare the corporate documents: articles, organisational regulations, commercial register extract, group structure chart with ownership percentages, and the list of qualified participants (10 per cent or more) with their declarations.
• Prepare the business plan with three-year financial projections, capital planning, stress scenarios and the assumptions behind client numbers.
• Evidence the minimum capital and own-funds requirement for the category and show the source of the capital.
• Prepare the organisational documentation: board composition with independence requirements where applicable, management, internal control system, risk management function, compliance function, internal audit (or outsourced equivalent), segregation of duties.
• Prepare the fit-and-proper documentation for every board member, executive and qualified participant: CV, criminal and debt register extracts, declarations, references, evidence of qualification.
• Prepare the IT and information security documentation: system architecture, wallet and key management, hot and cold storage policy, business continuity, incident response, outsourcing and cloud arrangements with FINMA Circular 2018/3 compliance mapping.
• Prepare the AML documentation as for SRO affiliation, aligned with AMLO-FINMA.
• Prepare the conduct documentation under FinSA where relevant: client segmentation, information and documentation duties, suitability and appropriateness, conflicts, ombudsman affiliation.
• Prepare the custody documentation: segregation under Art. 16 BankA or Art. 242a DEBA, client agreements, reconciliation procedures.
• Name the regulatory audit firm and obtain its acceptance and its preliminary review where FINMA requires one.
• For FinIA institutions, obtain the supervisory organisation's confirmation of affiliation.
• Submit through the FINMA platform and allocate a single point of contact for FINMA's questions.
• Budget for FINMA's fees and the audit firm's fees over the application period.