By Rene Philippe Raymond Dubout · · Updated Dear reader,
Every month I get the same call. A founder in Bangkok, Hong Kong or Singapore has a crypto or payments business that works, and no jurisdiction that banks and serious investors take seriously. He asks whether he can simply open a Swiss company and join an SRO.
The short answer is yes. The long answer took me a book. I assumed someone had already written it, looked properly, and found nobody had. So this week is about the Swiss SRO: what it lets you do, what it costs, where the bank says no, what the annual audit checks, and what the coming FINMA licences will leave to it. Then a second block on foundations, Swiss and Liechtenstein, for those who asked after the “Swiss trust” piece.
The Swiss SRO, from first call to annual audit
New this week, then everything we have published on the SRO, in the order the questions arrive.
Setting Up a Swiss Crypto Company from Asia in 2026: SRO Today, FINMA Licence Tomorrow
Buy or build, the Swiss director, the bank, the cost, the tax trap, and the licence that is coming. Written for the founder who calls from Asia. New.
Swiss Trust: The Swiss Trust Company That Does Not Exist
Swiss law has no trust. What clients searching for one actually need: an SRO company, a FINMA licence, or a foundation. New.
SRO or Licence: Which Do You Need?
An SRO membership and a FINMA licence are not the same thing. What each one covers, and the mistake many founders make.
Swiss SRO Licence 2026: Requirements, Cost, Timeline. Apply or Buy?
Who needs one, what it costs, how long it takes, and whether to apply from scratch or buy a ready-made SRO company.
Why Clients Underestimate the Swiss SRO Application
It is no longer a simple filing. Why applications have become complex, and why ready-made SRO companies are worth more.
No Swiss Bank Will Open Your SRO Company an Account? There Is Now an Alternative
The SRO admits you; the bank decides whether you can operate. FinTech-licensed providers now fill the gap, with one trap to avoid.
The Swiss SRO Annual Audit: What the AML Auditor Checks, and How to Pass It
Joining is the start, not the end. The findings we see most often, and how to avoid them.
The reform now under discussion, and what a crypto business running on an SRO today should plan for.
Companies already admitted to an SRO, with clean audits and, in some cases, working bank relationships. Names and prices on request.
The book: What Nobody Tells You About the Swiss SRO in 2026
Who Needs One, How to Get It, and What You Can Actually Do with It
Book 6 of the What Nobody Tells You series. Sixteen chapters on the SRO itself, then a fifth part on the business models that actually run on it: crypto and digital assets, gold, art and tokenisation, payments, lending and crowdfunding. Written for founders and investors, not for lawyers.
Ebook USD 38.88 (Amazon, Apple Books, Google Play) · Paperback USD 77.77 (Amazon)
Amazon · All formats and all our books: fintechlex.com/books
Stay up to date: get our free app. All our analysis and the regulated companies we have for sale, in one place on your phone. No account, no download: open fintechlex.com/app and add it to your home screen.
Foundations: Switzerland or Liechtenstein
Switzerland or Liechtenstein? Comparing Family, Private and Charitable Foundations in 2026
Two neighbours, two very different foundation laws. Which one fits a family, which one fits a charity, and what each costs to run.
Establishing a Foundation in Switzerland in 2026: Private, Family and Charitable Foundations
Why Switzerland has no true family foundation, what it has instead, and how a charitable foundation is set up and supervised.
How to Establish a Foundation in Liechtenstein in 2026
Family wealth, charitable purposes, registration and taxation: the Liechtenstein foundation from first draft to first filing.
On the market: Rare Opportunity, a Swiss Foundation Available for Takeover
An existing Swiss foundation, registered and supervised, available to a new founder. Details under NDA.
Next Tuesday
Stablecoins. Switzerland is about to give them their own licence, and if you hold a FinTech licence, or want to buy one, that changes what it is worth.
Write to us
Planning an SRO company, stuck with a bank, preparing for the audit, or weighing a foundation? Write to insight@fintechlex.com. WhatsApp: +41 787 983 770.
Rene-Philippe
FintechLex SA · Geneva | Hong Kong | London · fintechlex.com
This newsletter is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice or an offer to sell any shares or securities. The payment instrument institution and crypto institution licences are at the consultation-draft stage; the position described is that of October 2026.
