FINMA-regulated bank Alpian taps Visa to issue exclusive metal debit card
Alpian has recently been approved for a full banking license by FINMA, the Swiss regulator.
Swiss-digital private bank, Alpian, has become a Principal Member of Visa in order to be able to issue its premium, metal debit card in Switzerland.
The pairing of an exclusive metal debit card with a multi-currency current account (CHF, EUR, GBP and USD) and real-time foreign exchange capabilities with no handling fees strengthens the Alpan’s position with its clients in their everyday banking needs both within Switzerland and abroad.
Alpian’s debit card is accepted in over 200 countries and regions and at more than 100 million merchant locations worldwide.
Alpian received a full FINMA banking license
Schuyler Weiss, CEO of Alpian, commented: “At Alpian we are committed to delivering a premium service to each and every one of our clients. The capabilities, sophistication, and stability of the Visa enterprise enables Alpian to deliver just that in its card offering. Visa has been one of Alpian’s most long-standing and trusted partners, and we are excited to take our next steps with them by our side.”
Santosh Ritter, Country Manager Switzerland & Liechtenstein, Visa, stated: “The joint journey with Alpian now receiving a full FINMA banking license has been excellent. We are very much looking forward to see the first Alpian-issued Visa debit cards in the Swiss market and to continue the collaboration with this great partner to help them achieve their growth objectives in providing innovative services for all regions of Switzerland.”
Alpian has recently been approved for a full banking license by FINMA, the Swiss regulator, which has allowed the new bank to launch its services to select members of its waitlist, with a launch to the general public of Switzerland planned before the end of 2022.
Fueling the bank’s expansion is the successful completion of a Series B+ financing round of CHF 19 million in April 2022. The firm was originally incubated by REYL Intesa Sanpaolo, majority-owned by Fideuram, who was the sole investor in this third round of financing. The Series A round raised CHF 12.2 million in 2020 and the Series B raised CHF 16.9 million in 2021.
Alpian combines machine and human intelligence in a hybrid model able to provide private banking services and investment expertise to the Swiss affluent.
The bank features a foreign exchange and bank transfer service, an exclusive metal debit card with in-app card controls, and a chat interface allowing clients to communicate with Alpian’s Swiss-based banking specialists in the four supported languages.
