The Future of Open Banking Payments: Opportunities for SMEs
Quick Answer
Open banking is transforming how businesses send and receive payments. Discover the opportunities and risks shaping the future of financial services.
What is Open Banking?
Open banking refers to the practice of banks sharing customer data with authorised third-party providers via APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), with the customer’s consent. This creates a connected financial ecosystem where payment providers, fintech companies, and businesses collaborate seamlessly. In Europe, open banking is driven by the EU’s PSD2 (Payment Services Directive 2), which mandates banks to provide third-party access to financial data, fostering innovation and competition.Opportunities for SMEs with Open Banking Payments
1. Lower Transaction Costs
Open banking payments eliminate the need for intermediaries such as card networks, leading to reduced fees. With direct account-to-account payments, SMEs can lower transaction costs, particularly for recurring payments or cross-border transactions. Swiss Example: A Lausanne-based subscription service can offer open banking payments to reduce costs compared to traditional credit card transactions.2. Faster Payment Settlements
Traditional bank transfers can take several days to process. Open banking payments facilitate real-time transfers, improving cash flow for SMEs by reducing payment delays. Fact: The European SEPA Instant Credit Transfer allows businesses to receive payments in seconds, enhancing liquidity and operational efficiency.3. Improved Customer Experience
With open banking, customers can make payments directly from their bank accounts without entering card details, reducing friction during checkout. This streamlined experience leads to higher conversion rates for online stores and e-commerce businesses. Insight: Integrating open banking solutions such as Klarna or Revolut offers Swiss SMEs faster and more convenient payment options for customers.4. Enhanced Security and Compliance
Open banking payments leverage strong customer authentication (SCA), ensuring secure transactions and reducing fraud risks. SMEs benefit from these robust security measures, building trust with customers and minimising chargebacks.5. Access to Financial Insights
Open banking enables SMEs to access real-time financial data from multiple bank accounts through a single interface. This data integration supports better financial planning, budgeting, and forecasting, giving SMEs a clearer view of their cash flow and financial health.The Growing Importance of Open Banking in Switzerland
Switzerland has begun embracing the open banking movement, although at a slower pace than the EU. However, Swiss financial institutions are increasingly collaborating with fintech providers to develop open banking services, providing SMEs with access to cutting-edge payment solutions. Swiss Financial Landscape Example: The SIX Group, Switzerland’s financial infrastructure provider, is developing an open banking framework to encourage greater interoperability between banks and third parties.Challenges for SMEs Adopting Open Banking Payments
While the future of open banking payments is promising, SMEs may encounter some challenges:- Regulatory Variations: SMEs operating across borders need to navigate different regulations between Switzerland and the EU.
- Customer Awareness: Educating customers about the security and benefits of open banking is crucial for widespread adoption.
- Integration Costs: Although open banking payments reduce transaction fees, SMEs may need to invest in technology for seamless integration.
The Future of Open Banking Payments
Open banking is paving the way for innovative payment solutions, such as Request-to-Pay (RTP), which enables businesses to send real-time payment requests to customers. As more fintech providers enter the market, SMEs will have greater access to customised financial services, such as embedded payments and BNPL options, enhancing their competitive edge.Conclusion: Seizing Open Banking Opportunities
Open banking payments represent a game-changing opportunity for SMEs, offering lower costs, faster transactions, and enhanced security. By adopting open banking solutions, Swiss businesses can provide better customer experiences and improve cash flow, setting the stage for sustainable growth. As the financial ecosystem continues to evolve, SMEs must stay ahead by leveraging open banking tools to remain competitive. Early adoption of these solutions can provide a significant advantage in meeting both customer expectations and operational needs.Related Resources
Scalemetrics helps Swiss SMEs act on decisions like this before market conditions shift. Our corporate tax and VAT compliance services and outsourced CFO team give finance directors the senior expertise to move first.
Sources & References
Frequently Asked Questions
What financial services does Scalemetrics provide for Swiss SMEs?
Scalemetrics provides Swiss SME owners and CFOs with practical financial expertise: from accounting and tax compliance to financial planning, KPI monitoring, and on-demand CFO services. The goal is to give growing businesses access to senior financial leadership without the cost of a full-time hire.
When does a Swiss SME need a fractional CFO?
A fractional CFO becomes valuable from around CHF 1–2M in annual revenue, or ahead of specific events: bank financing applications, investor rounds, M&A, or rapid growth phases. The cost is a fraction of a full-time CFO salary, with expertise available immediately.
How does Scalemetrics differ from a traditional Swiss fiduciary firm?
Traditional fiduciary firms focus on tax compliance and year-end accounts. Scalemetrics adds strategic financial leadership: rolling forecasts, cash flow modelling, KPI dashboards, and financing advisory, delivered as an ongoing mandate or for a specific project.
What does outsourced accounting for Swiss SMEs include?
Outsourced accounting for Swiss SMEs covers OR-compliant bookkeeping under Arts. 957–963b, monthly bank reconciliation, accounts payable and receivable management, payroll runs with AHV/BVG/UVG deductions, quarterly MWST filings, and monthly financial statement preparation, delivered by an external specialist without the fixed cost of an in-house team.
Which Swiss accounting standards apply to SMEs?
Swiss SMEs must maintain accounts under the Code of Obligations (OR), Arts. 957–963b, using accrual-basis bookkeeping with a balance sheet and income statement. Companies with turnover above CHF 500,000 or 10+ employees require a statutory limited audit (eingeschränkte Revision) unless all shareholders formally opt out.
Open Banking as a Strategic Opportunity for Swiss SMEs
Open banking — the framework that allows third-party providers to access bank account data and initiate payments with customer consent — is reshaping how businesses manage their financial operations. While Switzerland's adoption has been more gradual than in EU markets subject to PSD2, the infrastructure is now sufficiently mature for Swiss SMEs to capture meaningful advantages: better cash flow visibility, lower payment costs, faster access to financing, and reduced administrative burden in finance operations.
The practical entry point for most Swiss SMEs is account information aggregation. By connecting multiple bank accounts — business current accounts at PostFinance, ZKB, or UBS; a savings buffer account; and potentially an EUR account for EU transactions — to a single financial dashboard via the b.Link API standard, finance teams gain a consolidated real-time view of liquidity without logging into multiple e-banking portals. For SMEs managing cash across two or more accounts, this alone can reduce daily treasury management time by 30–45 minutes.
The second opportunity is payment initiation via open banking. Rather than routing outgoing payments through a bank's proprietary e-banking interface, SMEs using open banking-enabled accounting platforms can initiate CHF and EUR payments directly from within their ERP or accounting software. This reduces the number of systems in the payment workflow, cuts error rates from manual re-entry, and enables payment scheduling aligned with cash flow models rather than manual processing windows.
Open Banking Credit and Working Capital Access for Swiss SMEs
The most transformative long-term application of open banking for Swiss SMEs is financing. Traditional Swiss bank lending to SMEs relies heavily on collateral, historical tax returns, and relationship banking — a process that is slow, opaque, and often unfavourable for asset-light service businesses. Open banking-enabled lenders can assess creditworthiness using real-time transaction data, dramatically shortening the credit decision timeline from weeks to hours and enabling credit limits calibrated to actual cash flow patterns rather than historical balance sheet snapshots.
Swiss neo-lenders and fintech platforms operating under FINMA supervision have begun offering working capital facilities, invoice financing, and revenue-based financing products that use open banking data as their primary underwriting signal. For Swiss SMEs with strong, consistent revenue but limited fixed assets, these products can provide CHF 50,000–500,000 in working capital at competitive rates, funded within 24–48 hours of application.
The regulatory safeguards in Switzerland are robust. FINMA licensing requirements apply to any provider initiating payments or offering credit on a commercial basis, and the Swiss nDSG data protection framework governs how financial data shared via open banking APIs may be used. Swiss SMEs engaging with open banking providers should confirm FINMA authorisation and data processing agreements before sharing account access.
| Open Banking Use Case | SME Benefit | Swiss Availability |
|---|---|---|
| Account aggregation | Consolidated cash view, reduced admin | Available (b.Link, select fintechs) |
| Payment initiation | Faster payments, lower error rates | Available (select ERP integrations) |
| Invoice financing | Working capital without bank collateral | Growing (FINMA-licensed providers) |
| Revenue-based financing | Growth capital aligned to cash flow | Emerging (2025–2026) |
Understanding how open banking fits into your broader treasury and financing strategy requires structured financial planning. A financial planning partner helps Swiss SMEs evaluate which open banking tools genuinely improve their financial operations and avoid the risk of adopting technology without a clear ROI framework.
Pascal Stämpfli leverages over a decade of expertise in corporate finance and venture capital to scale and optimize businesses. A CFA charterholder with a Master's in Economics from the University of St. Gallen, Pascal specializes in market & company assessments, strategy, and business value creation. Having assessed more than 1,000 companies for financial and strategic investors provides him with a sophisticated understanding of investor rationale and capital allocation. As the Managing Director of Scalemetrics and Managing Partner at COREangels Big Data & AI Europe, Pascal operates at the intersection of financial discipline and technological innovation.