Whether someone is a financial intermediary decides whether the Anti-Money Laundering Act applies with all its duties. The question comes up more often than expected: with payment services, credit brokerage, crypto services, fiduciary work and family offices that trigger payments for family members.
Two groups
Art. 2 para. 2 AMLA lists institutions that need FINMA authorisation anyway: banks, fund management companies, life insurers, securities firms, portfolio managers and trustees under the FinIA and others. Art. 2 para. 3 AMLA additionally covers the so-called parabanking sector: persons who, on a professional basis, accept or hold third-party assets or help invest or transfer them. Examples include lending, financial leasing, payment services, trading on behalf of others in foreign exchange, precious metals or securities, and safekeeping or managing securities.
When an activity is professional
The Federal Council’s Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance sets thresholds. In substance, an activity is professional if it generates gross revenue of more than CHF 50,000 per calendar year, involves business relationships with more than 20 contracting parties per calendar year, gives unlimited power of disposal over third-party assets exceeding CHF 5 million, or involves transactions exceeding CHF 2 million in total per calendar year. The ordinance text and FINMA practice are decisive; borderline cases should be clarified in writing.
What follows
Anyone falling under Art. 2 para. 3 AMLA must join a self-regulatory organisation before starting the activity. The due diligence duties then apply: identification, establishing the beneficial owner, special clarifications, documentation, organisational measures and the duty to report to MROS. Operating without membership is not permitted and can trigger supervisory measures.
Distinction from advisers
Since 1 October 2026 the revised act also covers certain advisory activities, for example in connection with real estate transactions or setting up legal entities. These advisers are not financial intermediaries under Art. 2 but have their own adapted duties. Anyone who both advises and moves money must keep the two regimes apart.
Further reading
Which self-regulatory organisations are recognised is shown in the list of SROs in Switzerland.