FINMA’s revised Swiss guidance for video and online client identification took effect on 1 November 2026, following an 8 October announcement. The changes update Circular 2016/7, the regulator’s interpretation of due-diligence obligations for digital onboarding. Financial intermediaries using remote identification should read the revisions as a set of identification-process conditions, not a general waiver of anti-money-laundering checks.[1]
The circular accommodates Swiss electronic identity credentials under the country’s evolving e-ID legislation. FINMA also allows certain documents with QR codes, such as qualifying Swiss driving licences, to be treated like documents with a machine-readable zone for identification. The change concerns accepted verification technology and document standards; it does not automatically turn any online document into adequate proof of identity.[1]
One important revision is liveness detection as an additional safeguard for online identification. FINMA connects the measure to increasing impersonation and manipulation risk, particularly from artificial intelligence. A liveness test attempts to establish that the person completing onboarding is a live participant rather than a replayed recording or synthetic representation, but it cannot replace identity validation and risk-based review.[1]
Key facts and scope
| Measure | Verified position |
|---|---|
| Effective date | 1 November 2026 |
| Instrument | Revised FINMA Circular 2016/7 |
| New identity route | Electronic credentials recognised under stated conditions |
| Document change | Eligible QR-coded IDs treated as equivalent to MRZ documents |
| Fraud safeguard | Liveness detection for online identification |
| Address verification | Reliable digital residence-linking methods allowed |
The regulator has also accommodated digital methods that reliably connect a contracting party and its infrastructure with a place of residence. This recognises that conventional paper utility bills are not the only possible evidence of address. The operative issue is how reliably the digital method demonstrates the location, what happens when results conflict and how the intermediary retains the evidence.[1]
For forex brokers and securities firms serving Swiss customers or operating through FINMA-supervised affiliates, implementation is primarily a workflow problem. Vendor-assisted onboarding must carry the correct credential checks, fraud review and escalation route into the firm’s compliance records. A provider offering a face-scan API should not be treated as a substitute for the licensed firm’s responsibility to know its customers.[1]
Effective-date language matters: the revised circular is already in force from 1 November. It is not merely a consultation or a promise that Swiss e-ID infrastructure will be universally available to all customers on that date. Eligibility and documentation choices still depend on the applicable underlying law, the specific institution and the capabilities of the identity service.[1]
What brokers should watch
Compliance and operations teams can audit failed or manual-review onboarding cases, verify the handling of QR documents and check how liveness failures are escalated. That will test the real impact more effectively than marketing claims about faster sign-ups. The next question is whether more secure digital channels improve legitimate completion rates without raising false-positive rejection or weakening audit trails.[1]
Sources & further reading
- FINMA adopts partially revised Circular 2016/7 Video and online identification Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority · 8 Oct 2026 · Accessed 6 Nov 2026