“Innovation in banking is incremental, not radical” 

Richard, we keep reading that Swiss banks are lagging behind with regard to the digital transformation. What is your view? 

This criticism isn’t entirely unjustified, but it’s missing the point. Many Swiss banks are investing strategically in their digital transformation, cooperating with fintechs and developing solutions of their own. The perceived lag compared with other financial centres is often the result of stricter regulation – on combating money laundering and on data protection, for instance. While this slows implementation down, it’s also a mark of quality. Other financial centres like Singapore and London are certainly somewhat more courageous in their investment in new technologies, but we in Switzerland tend to act with more caution and consideration and thus more sustainably.

What are our financial centre’s biggest strengths in terms of technological innovation?  

I think the biggest of all lies in Switzerland’s combination of technological excellence and international trust. If we add in digital solutions such as digital assets and currencies as well as data and AI-supported advisory and banking services while actively managing the risks involved, we can clearly stand out in a competitive global marketplace and preserve the system’s resilience.

Which specific digital innovations are you seeing among the banks?  

A large number of digital finance solutions that make our day-to-day lives easier have gradually established themselves in recent years: paying with TWINT, scanning invoices with a QR code or paying them directly via eBill, using virtual credit and debit cards with mobile wallets and even investing in digital Pillar 3a pensions are things that many clients already take for granted. 

However, that’s only one side of the coin. As a rule, innovation in banking is incremental, not radical. A lot of progress happens in the background, where clients don’t see it. The aim is often to optimise existing processes or improve system efficiency rather than create entirely new business models.

What are the greatest challenges in this respect?  

The first is that the Swiss market is more or less saturated – not just in traditional financial services, but in fintech too. A new study by Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts confirms this. New market players like digital banks and fintechs are breathing new life into the market, but growth is centred more on international B2B rather than B2C. Business models focused solely on the domestic market come up against scaling issues due to the market’s size and level of saturation. Another challenge is restricted market access. While it’s easy for international providers to enter the Swiss market, Swiss players often struggle in other countries with regulatory hurdles or a lack of bilateral agreements. This increases regulatory complexity and further limits the scope for scaling up.

To conclude, let us look back on this year’s Point Zero Forum, which took place in May. Why are digital platforms like this important for the financial centre? 

They build bridges between the worlds of politics, technology and finance. The Point Zero Forum in Zurich showed to impressive effect how important cross-border exchange is when it comes to shaping technological innovation responsibly in the global financial sector. Topics such as AI, digital assets and digital sovereignty were discussed in an egalitarian, practically oriented setting – not as visions of the future, but as real-world tasks.