Cloud for Fintechs: What to Consider When Choosing a Cloud Provider

What should fintech companies operating in Switzerland consider when choosing a Cloud provider?

FINMA requirements, project-specific compliance requirements, and the growing need among financial services and insurance companies for greater digital sovereignty: For fintech companies, choosing a Cloud infrastructure is far more than a technical or financial decision.

For FINMA-supervised fintechs, permanently outsourcing significant IT functions to a Cloud provider may fall under FINMA Circular 2018/3. Swiss data residency, ISO-certified processes, and a locally based Cloud provider can make it easier to meet regulatory and data protection requirements. "Data flows, legal responsibilities, and access paths in particular are often easier to trace and control with a Swiss Cloud provider," says Roman Schweizer, CEO of Xelon, who has more than a decade of experience in the Cloud industry.

Many Swiss companies are becoming increasingly skeptical of US Cloud providers such as AWS, Google, and Microsoft. One key factor is the CLOUD Act (Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act), passed in the US in 2018. Under this law, US hyperscalers can be compelled to hand over data regardless of where it is physically stored. For fintech companies that process sensitive financial data and act as technology partners to banks or insurers, potential extraterritorial access remains a relevant risk. A sovereign Swiss Cloud provider with no relevant ties to US jurisdiction is not subject to this access regime.

Keeping data in Switzerland can therefore reduce regulatory and data protection complexity. Depending on the setup, cross-border data transfers, additional contractual safeguards, or assessments of a third country's legal system can be avoided. That said, Swiss data residency alone does not guarantee compliance. What matters is the entire processing chain, any remote access, the subcontractors involved, and the specific contractual arrangements.

Data location is also becoming more important in the sales process. Banks, insurers, and other regulated companies increasingly expect their technology partners to provide detailed information on where their data is stored and processed, which companies may be given access to it, and which law those companies are subject to. "We're seeing Swiss companies pay closer attention to who they work with. Questions like 'Who picks up the phone?' and above all 'Where is my data processed?' are becoming more important. The current geopolitical situation has heightened this awareness even further. For many companies, the origin of a tech solution is no longer just a marketing message but part of their risk management," confirms Christian Walter, Managing Partner at swiss made software.

These are Swiss Cloud alternatives to hyperscalers

Today, the Swiss Cloud industry offers modern IT infrastructure on par with global providers, in most cases complemented by stronger compliance guarantees, pricing transparency, local support, and user-friendliness. For fintech companies that consider hyperscalers too risky, here is an overview of Swiss alternatives to the global hyperscaler Clouds.

The Cloud providers are listed in alphabetical order; this is not a ranking.

Cloudscale

As a developer-friendly Swiss Cloud provider, Cloudscale focuses on ease of use, fast provisioning, and high-performance NVMe storage. However, Cloudscale concentrates on Linux environments, which makes it less suited to Windows-based workloads or complex enterprise scenarios.

Exoscale

With data centers in Switzerland and across Europe, Exoscale offers Cloud services such as VMs, Kubernetes, and object storage. This makes Exoscale particularly well suited to Cloud-native applications and European fintech companies with GDPR requirements.

Green Virtual Datacenter Pro

Green offers virtual Swiss data centers with a focus on ease of use and performance. The infrastructure is energy-efficient and fully hosted in Switzerland. Thanks to direct connections to colocation and hyperscaler services, Green is also suitable for hybrid Cloud setups.

Infomaniak Public Cloud

Infomaniak's cost-effective OpenStack Cloud is also hosted in Switzerland and stands out for its strong sustainability focus. For production and regulated workloads, fintechs should individually review the SLAs, support models, and performance limits of each Cloud service they use.

Swisscom Dynamic Computing Services

As Switzerland's largest telecom provider, Swisscom offers a highly regulated Cloud platform aimed at enterprise clients. Hybrid Cloud options and integration with Azure and AWS are available, though at a higher price and with more complex cost structures than smaller Cloud providers.

Xelon

Hosted in ISO-certified Swiss data centers, this user-friendly Cloud solution combines the data sovereignty that is essential for fintech companies operating in Switzerland with transparent Cloud pricing and fast deployment. Xelon supports both Windows and Linux systems as well as Kubernetes, making it suitable for a wide range of use cases.

Our experienced Cloud specialists will be happy to show you how a Swiss Cloud from Xelon helps you meet the highest compliance and data security requirements simply and reliably. Book a free, no-obligation consultation here.

Good to know: Swiss Clouds aren't necessarily more expensive than global Clouds

At first glance, international Cloud offerings often seem cheaper than a Swiss Cloud solution. Entry-level prices look attractive and the barriers to entry are low. Over time, however, a more nuanced picture often emerges. Costs for data transfer, additional services, monitoring, or support are added step by step and aren't always immediately apparent. Especially as teams grow, customer bases expand, or Cloud infrastructure requirements change, a level of complexity emerges that is also reflected in the cost structure. This can lead to unpleasant surprises when the monthly bill is higher than planned and hard to make sense of. That's why it pays to look beyond the entry price, consider the total cost over time, and understand the pricing structure in detail.

Calculate the cost of a tailored Swiss Cloud from ISO-certified data centers here.