Impact of the Money Laundering Act on value-added services

The Federal Court considers the billing of third-party goods and services (such as value-added services) to pose a risk of possible money laundering or terrorist financing. This means that from 1 July 2020, the billing of third-party purchases will be subject to the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA). As part of this court ruling, Swisscom will ensure that from 1 July 2020, no contractual partner may exceed the revenue limit of CHF 5,000.– per year with value-added services such as 090x numbers, SMS/MMS Business Numbers, Swisscom Pay.
 
In order to implement compliance with the law by 1 July 2020, Swisscom is planning to take the following measures:

  • The turnover of all private and SME customers will be monitored with regard to their consumption of value-added services. Once the de minimis threshold of CHF 5,000.– has been reached they will be immediately blocked
  • As of 29 June 2020 (via Swisscom mobile network business connections from 6 July 2020), all large customers will be blocked for third-party purchases and the use of value-added services. Due to the size of the customers and the requirement for manual blocking, compliance with the de minimis threshold cannot be guaranteed.

In recent years, Swisscom has taken legal action to defend this issue in the interests of its customers and the providers of value-added services, but unfortunately without success. We very much regret the measures that must now be implemented and therefore ask for your understanding.

We have put together a list of the most frequently asked questions here:

Which services are included in the value-added services 090x numbers, SMS/MMS Business Numbers, Swisscom Pay and are billed via the Swisscom bill?

  • 090x numbers: Chargeable hotlines for advice, technical support as well as participation in votings & competitions
  • SMS/MMS Business Numbers: Chargeable SMS/MMS for the purchase of public transport tickets, stamps, vending machine purchases and donations
  • Swisscom Pay: Purchases of cinema tickets, apps, games, music, etc. or payment of subscription fees for the consumption of TV sports broadcasts or films via the mobile postpaid subscription or mobile prepaid credit.

Is only Swisscom affected by the AMLA regulation?

No, the Federal Court has taken a decision in principle and considers the debt collection exemption and telecommunications legislation to be inapplicable. The judgement establishes that the billing of third-party services via the telephone bill is subject to the AMLA. This also applies for Swisscom’s competitors. Depending on the business model, the judgement may also affect other sectors.

Why does the block only apply to residential customers and SMEs once they reach a limit of CHF 5,000.–, whereas corporate customers are universally blocked?

For large customers, the use of value-added services will be blocked from June 29, 2020, since most customers exceed this threshold.

What impact will these measures have on private and SME customers?

For the majority of private and SME customers, the new AMLA measures will have no noticeable impact. Only a small proportion of clients use more than CHF 5,000 per year for third-party services.

What happens when a private or SME customer reaches the CHF 5,000.– limit?

Before reaching the limit, and upon reaching approx. CHF 4,200.–, the customer will be informed that they will be blocked from consuming any further such value-added services. If the customer reaches the threshold of CHF 5,000, his value-added services are blocked for the current calendar year.

How are private and SME customers notified when they have reached the limit?

By SMS as a general rule. Customers that do not have a mobile phone contract with Swisscom will be contacted by e-mail or letter.

How or through which channel can I have my block lifted?

For large customers, the block on value-added services cannot be lifted either by the customer himself or via the customer service representative or other customer contact channels.

For private and SME customers, the block is automatically removed in the following calendar year.Blocks from the year 2021 or earlier will only be removed at the customer's request. To do this, the customer must proactively contact Swisscom.

Will I have a special right of cancellation?

The limitation of services (blocking value-added services) does not lead to a significant change in the basic telephony service and this shall not give the customer any entitlement to early termination of their contract. We refer to the General Terms and Conditions for Services of Swisscom (Switzerland) Ltd, which are an integral part of the contract