Consumer Access and Business Conduct Measures: the Swiss comparison

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Switzerland has no retail access regime for crypto assets. A Swiss exchange affiliated to an SRO may onboard retail customers, offer them margin lending subject to the Consumer Credit Act, pay referral bonuses and advertise on trams in Zürich. The limits come from the Financial Services Act (FinSA; FIDLEG) where the token is a financial instrument, from the Banking Act where customer assets are deposits and from the Unfair Competition Act for misleading advertising (see Part E, Chapters IV and X). The Swiss approach relies on classification and on the existing conduct rules for financial instruments. The Singapore approach imposes activity-specific protections on everyone who deals in DPTs, whatever the token's classification.

For a group that operates in both hubs the practical consequence is a split in product. The Swiss entity can carry the retail products that the Singapore entity cannot: margin trading, staking for retail, promotions and broad marketing. The Singapore entity concentrates on spot trading for retail customers who have passed the assessment, on institutional and accredited investor services and on custody. Groups that have tried to serve Singapore retail customers from the Swiss entity have discovered two things. The Singapore measures apply to the Singapore licensee's customers regardless of residence. A Swiss entity soliciting Singapore residents triggers the Payment Services Act perimeter and, since 30 June 2025, the FSMA considerations in Chapter V.

Cross-border perspective

You can design a two-hub product map in which each entity does what its regulator permits. The Swiss entity, affiliated to an SRO, serves European and Swiss retail customers with the full product set, including staking and margin. The Singapore entity, as a major payment institution, serves Asian institutional clients, accredited investors and a retail book limited to spot trading after the risk awareness assessment. Customer migration between the entities must follow residence and status. The group's marketing must be segmented so that no Singapore-directed campaign breaches PS-G02. The compliance cost of running two conduct regimes is real, but the alternative, a single global entity, no longer exists as a lawful option for a group with staff or customers in Singapore.

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of October 2026.

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Dr Alexander Ressos, TEP

Of Counsel, KGP Legal LLC

I am Of Counsel with KGP Legal LLC in Singapore, where I work with a global client base of successful entrepreneurs and their families, independent asset managers, commodity trading houses and other commercial clients. I am a German and Swiss attorney-at-law, also admitted as a solicitor in England & Wales and in Hong Kong. I divide my time between Zug in Switzerland, Singapore and Hong Kong. Since 2017 I have advised international clients on more than 700 crypto and digital asset projects. I also have extensive experience in cross-border litigation and arbitration in Singapore, Hong Kong and other markets in South-East Asia and Greater China.

I operate across the key financial centres in South-East Asia, the Middle East and Switzerland, with a particular focus on asset protection, international tax and estate planning, as well as trusts, company administration and other fiduciary services. My philosophy is to serve as a trusted advisor working closely with my clients and to help them achieve their commercial objectives.

All Singapore law advice is provided through KGP Legal LLC, an established and duly licensed firm of Singapore advocates and solicitors.

KGP Legal LLC is a medium-sized law firm in Singapore that is capable of providing the full range of legal services and corporate administration work. Please contact me if you need any further information.

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SingaporeIQ is edited by Dr Alexander Ressos, an international business lawyer with more than 15 years of local experience in Singapore as a permanent resident, a Singapore registered foreign lawyer and managing partner of a Singapore foreign law practice. In addition to significant experience in cross-border investments and transactions, UHNWI private client work and sanctions/export controls, Dr Ressos has extensive experience in cross-border business and in crypto and digital-asset projects in Singapore, drawn from more than 700 projects since 2017.

If you are planning a company incorporation, an investment, a holding structure or a market entry through Singapore, you can reach Dr Ressos directly at [email protected]. Singapore law advice is provided by KGP Legal LLC, a licensed firm of Singapore advocates and solicitors. Dr Ressos and his team facilitate the full range of Singapore legal, compliance and company administration services, including company incorporation, corporate transactions, commercial contracts, crypto and digital assets, financial regulatory work and dispute resolution, including litigation in the Singapore courts. For Hong Kong, our parallel site HongkongIQ.com offers the same practical guidance. For crypto and digital assets, dltreg.com covers legal, tax and fiduciary services. For legal, tax and fiduciary services in Switzerland, see helveticaregister.com.