The digital client relationship

Read the PDF edition (2 pages)

The financial centre’s clients now expect a high-quality digital relationship in addition to the human one. The large Geneva houses have developed applications that offer portfolio viewing, performance reports, secure communication with the adviser, routine transactions and, increasingly, personalised analytical content. The retail banks have done the same. The Swiss neobanks, one of which is based in Geneva, have set a level of expectation that traditional institutions must match.¹ Remote onboarding, with identity verification by video or by electronic identity, reduces the time needed to open an account from several weeks to a few days, which matters for a mobile international clientele.

The digital relationship raises a question of business model for private wealth management. The adviser remains the centre of the relationship, but the client has information and tools that allow him to compare, to question and, if he so wishes, to act alone. Geneva’s institutions respond by making digital channels an extension of advice, with tools that prepare meetings, document recommendations and allow the client to follow execution, without replacing the conversation. The youngest clients, heirs to the fortunes the financial centre manages, judge an institution as much on its digital offering as on its tradition. The transfer of relationships from one generation to the next, a central issue for private banking, is played out in part on this ground.

Notes

ICTjournal, 6 April 2022: Alpian, a Geneva company founded in 2019, obtains its banking licence from FINMA and raises CHF 19 million (series B+); positioned as a “mobile first” digital private bank for affluent clients, it planned its public launch for the third quarter of 2022. ↩

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of September 2025.

English

Contact

Dr Alexander Ressos, TEP

Rechtsanwalt/Attorney-at-Law

I am a Swiss attorney-at-law and also admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong and in England & Wales, with almost 25 years of experience.

Together with my multilingual team, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Ukrainian and French native speakers, I advise companies and their owners from around the world on the full range of banking, corporate, commercial and tax law matters in Switzerland, including international tax planning, fiduciary services, and legal family office services including immigration & relocation or real estate investments. My practice has a particular focus on clients from growth and frontier markets in Greater China, Central Asia and the Caucasus, the rest of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, and I equally advise clients from Europe and North America. Through an affiliated Swiss trust company, we also take care of the incorporation and ongoing administration of their companies and other structures, including accounting, tax returns and corporate secretarial services, and I serve as a professional director where required. With the support of a network of first-class cooperation partners, I also implement solutions worldwide.

My approach is to act as a trusted advisor who works directly with decision-makers, on an equal footing: I start from what you want to achieve and shape every structure, contract and tax decision around your commercial goals and how it improves your after-tax return. As “lawyers who make it happen”, my team and I stay involved until your company is set up, your structure is in place and your transaction has closed, and we remain available for any follow-on work that may be required. You benefit from bespoke solutions and personal attention, and sound, friendly and practical advice. We are not the lowest-cost provider in the market, nor do we intend to be; our aim is to deliver well-founded, proper solutions and excellent value for money.

Get in touch →

The digital client relationship

Notes

Setting up or expanding in Switzerland?