UTRUST are now a licensed financial intermediary incorporated in Switzerland. This means that they they can operate in complete compliance as a digital technology service payment provider and are one of the first cryptocurrency blockchain companies in the world to have obtained this status.
For many online retailers and a majority of consumers, cryptocurrency and blockchain are still words which we vaguely understand but largely don’t know quite how they work. UTRUST aims to democratise the BlockChain and make accepting cryptocurrencies easy and seamless. This is important as there are a growing number of cryptocurrency users and just as it makes sense to add checkouts such as PayPal and Amazon Pay to our website, it equally makes sense to add a cryptocurrency blockchain checkout for those that wish to use it. Removing friction from checkout and increasing consumer choice is what it’s all about.
With UTRUST it is no more complicated to add a cryptocurrency checkout than it is to add any other payment button to your website , there’s a bit of work in the background to set up your account but that’s a one off task and then consumers have the additional choice of cryptocurrency blockchain as a payment method. Then as soon as a consumer makes a payment they cash out the crypto to a fiat currency (legal tender) – generally in your chosen currency which for UK merchants would be £ Sterling but could be dollars or Euros.
UTRUST has now been granted membership with VQF (Financial Services Standards Association), a self-regulatory organization (SRO) approved by Switzerland’s financial markets regulator, FINMA. This enables UTRUST to operate as a ‘financial intermediary’ under the Swiss Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA). In addition to enabling UTRUST to begin operating as a digital payments technology provider, the membership with VQF will also streamline UTRUST’s process of onboarding merchants and customers into its ecosystem.
“Securing this SRO membership gives further credibility to UTRUST, our operational model and to the blockchain ecosystem as a whole. This sets a new standard for blockchain companies and sends a strong message that this technology is here to stay.”
– Nuno Correia, Co-Founder and CEO, UTRUST
The VQF SRO exercises legally prescribed supervisory functions towards its members with regard to the combating of money laundering and the preparation of the financing of terrorism. Approval for UTRUST as a member of VQF is a crucial step in its journey to becoming a fully operational company.
With this approval, UTRUST will also contribute to the continued development of the digital currency payments industry by helping to establish best-practice guidelines for organizations operating in the space.
