Switzerland will soon have its own Bitcoin ATM network thanks to the company SBEX, which recently received approval from the Swiss regulators to install the machines in the country.
The approval became public shortly after the publication of a report announcing that the authority had shut down a different operator called Bitcoin Suisse AG only a couple of weeks ago.
This decision means that Geneva-based SBEX can now deploy ATMs to the rest of the country, since it has been accepted as a member of a non-profit organisation called ARIF (Association Romande des Intermédiaires Financiers), which is regulated by FINMA, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, Coindesk reports.
The good news allowed SBEX to apply for a money transmitter licence, fulfilling the regulatory requirements to operate an ATM network. The company received a letter from ARIF that states that Bitcoin is treated as a means of payment in Switzerland.
“We finally got clearance from ARIF, who were asking FINMA many questions about how they should deal with us. [The clarification from ARIF] is what we were expecting”, said SBEX co-founder Mathieu Buffenoir.
Alexis Roussel, the company’s CEO, revealed that the approval from FINMA “creates fantastic opportunities for the cryptocurrency users in Switzerland”.
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