Zug, Switzerland (press release) – Aximetria, a crypto-centric personal finance app of the future, announces that it has been awarded the Swiss Financial Services Standards Association (VQF) license, officially recognized by Switzerland’s Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). This organization is primarily responsible for the supervision of Anti-Money-Laundering (AML) regulations, with the acceptance as a member underlining Aximetria’s commitment to compliance, reinforcing the company’s seriousness regarding the highest requirements of financial regulation. With a Swiss financial intermediary license, Aximetria is able to definitively state that its product is fully compliant with Switzerland’s anti-money laundering laws, which were crafted to stop cyber criminals from laundering fiat and crypto-currencies via trading platforms and online digital wallets.
As the most rapidly developing and innovative fintech startup that has evolved from an idea to a product in just 11 months, Aximetria’s growth metrics have exceeded fintech benchmarks, growing organically by 60% – with the best still yet to come. In particular, the cost of attracting the user (CAC) is USD $1.60, compared to the market average of $6.93, and conversion from installation to registration is inline with the market average of 27%.
Following this announcement, Aximetria can now start operating as a crypto financial intermediary under the Swiss AML Act, with the license also streamlining the processing of new customers into its ecosystem. Benefiting people around the world underserved by traditional banks, Aximetria is committed to providing Swiss-level finance services to global consumers in Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America. Unlike European neo-banks offering traditional currencies only to Europeans, Aximetria continues to adhere to the policy of providing high-quality, stable and secure financial instruments globally. This year the company will also extend its services to B2B payments.
Aximetria believes that compliance with regulation is one of the main conditions for the continued development and maturity of the digital cryptocurrency finance market, with the company deeply committed to a safe and reliable financial service with an increase in the level of customer protection while meeting the highest financial security requirements. Aximetria users are required to go through a rigorous, remote verification process (KYC or Know-Your-Customer), after which they can buy or sell global currencies. They can also securely store and exchange other currencies. For investors, the licensing puts trust in the company business on the widely volatile fintech market, into which Aximetria’s achievements are helping deliver a new level of stability and scalability. All of this delivers Aximetria the ability and mobility to target an impressive market of over 4.5 billion users worldwide.
“The Swiss license is of vital importance to Aximetria and our customers, partners, investors and the industry at large, including the blockchain ecosystem. Compared to the EMI (Electronic Money Institutionlicense, which is the most popular regulation standard for European and British companies, the Swiss license is much more desirable for a fintech company. This is because it also extends to crypto laws in Switzerland and gives us a wide range of future business development, including loans, FX, e-money accounts and salary projects. I’m proud to have built a great team and a company based on strict Swiss financial principles, and the license signifies reaching a new level of maturity that enhances and validates the trust our customers place in us,” Alexey Ermakov, founder and CEO of Aximetria, said.
Since its foundation, the company has conducted extensive analyses of the applicability of banking regulation to fintech companies and was able to find a unique formula to provide services and ability to select customers worldwide. “We started with the sandbox model, then we went through all the options for applying the requirements, which were triggers for obtaining a banking license. Finally, we found the business model that most accurately met the project’s requisites: compliance with the AML requirements, the possibility of remote onboarding from anywhere in the world, and other benefits,” said Ermakov.
The Swiss financial intermediary license helps Aximetria continue transforming the mobile finance industry, not only disrupting customers’ risk of fraud and market volatility, but also by increasing the level of trust in the service from partners which require financial organizations to maintain strictly compliant licensing, reinforcing Aximetria’s standing as a trusted partner. It also enhances the prospect of quickly obtaining a fintech license, among others in the future, given the strong foundation now in place for such imminent logical moves.
Under financial intermediary licensing, Aximetria will be subject to an even greater number of strictly enforced rules and guidelines, including rigorous audits, AML compliance, on-boarding, KYC and KYB (Know-Your-Business) processes for users, all of which will be stringently monitored on a continuing basis. These procedures will further strengthen Aximetria’s position in the market as a trusted finance platform.
From the beginning, Aximetria has worked closely with Pestalozzi Attorneys at Law Ltd. which provided legal and regulatory advice on the company’s business model, including licensing requirements, AML, and other aspects, and helped define the entire legal framework. “For any financial service in Switzerland, it is imperative to meet Swiss KYC standards. To become a member of a Swiss self-regulatory organization like VQF, strict requirements must be met which we regard as invaluable in demonstrating determination to be fully compliant, as well as establishing the qualifications necessary for sustainable business development.,” said Urs Kloeti, managing partner and head of financial services group at Pestalozzi Attorneys at Law.
“We are truly honoured to be granted the financial intermediary license, and are striving towards a very near future where our customers hail from across the globe in ever greater numbers, as traditional financial services are positively disrupted resulting in an ever stronger and more resilient global economy – and we are proud to be part of the solution in making that happen,” Ermakov added.
Aximetria continues to adhere to and affirm its internal policy of meeting the highest financial security requirements and establishing itself as the leading financial service with strictest Swiss jurisdiction. The financial intermediary license allows Aximetria to fully implement the pledged product palette and functionality set, and opens up a number of new opportunities for the development of future innovative financial products, including the ability to extend its service into other markets, regulated and unregulated, starting with Latin America where the demand for crypto and stablecoins services is at an all-time high.