As Neosurf breaks into the fiercely competitive Swiss market, Global CEO Andrea McGeachin shares why the company believes it can make a real impact – and what it’s taken to get off to a strong start.

You mentioned in a previous interview that Neosurf initially had reservations about entering the Swiss market as the existing competition was thought to be too strong. What was it that caused the company to change its mind and where do you think Neosurf’s products can provide a competitive edge compared to other companies?

I’d say our outlook began to change when we had gambling operators, game merchants and other clients tell us that the market was falling short at a service level. For some it was a question of fees and for others it was to do with the general approach to account management, but after listening to their concerns we had a completely different picture of the Swiss landscape and knew that Neosurf would be able to help. This is usually the approach we take in countries that we’ve not thought about launching in – we really make an effort to talk to clients and other strategic partners about what we should be working towards and where Neosurf can make a difference. Switzerland was definitely one of those countries and you’ll see the same in South America soon!

As is often the case for Neosurf, you talked extensively with Swiss regulators before ultimately making the decision to go ahead and launch. What was the content of those discussions and were there any specific issues raised that made you think “ok, this is an area where Neosurf can help operators meet their compliance requirements”?

Absolutely. Digital wallets in Switzerland often create limitations on spend to help operators meet their AML requirements, which in turn leads to situations where customers have to switch their payment method later in the year because they’ve already hit the upper cap. This can be quite an onerous process for payment companies to support, so we worked with our excellent lawyer, local MD and local MLO to create something that was less arduous for the player but also met the standards and due diligence required on the regulator’s side. When I first heard about the rule, I thought “this sounds so old-fashioned and slow and it will cost way more than we’d like to spend,” but I loved the way my team and colleagues all came together to come up with a smart solution that ensures players don’t leave an operator simply because they’ve reached their spending limit.

Presumably launching in a market like Switzerland where regulation is well-established and strong competitors already exist is quite different from entering an emerging market like LatAm. Did you have to make any specific adjustments to your entry strategy or localised tweaks to your product offering to account for this fact?

Yes we did and yes we have! We’ve got a number of local experts – both internally and among our partners – who’ve really supported us in adapting for the Swiss market. While we recognise that operators can’t simply switch off our competitors, we’re happy that they’re giving us the opportunity to prove our worth and we’ll continue to collaborate very closely with them to ensure that we keep improving and give players the best possible solution. Switzerland is a very tough country to enter and return in quickly, but whereas other competitors have tried and left, we’re here for long term and are more than willing to be patient. When we encountered friction in the Netherlands, we didn’t just pack up and walk away – we went to the regulator and ensured they understood and accepted our product – and that’s exactly what we’ll do in Switzerland if needed.

What are some of the biggest challenges that are specific to the Swiss market in terms of payments and how will Neosurf’s products address these? Does the fact that you offer more than just transaction completion and instead take an active role in supporting compliance, AML and responsible gaming make your offering unique?

The use of our Compliance Handshake and explaining that process to MLRO teams and operators’ compliance teams always creates amazing discussions that make them realise we’re a payments company that does things differently. For me, it’s always a fun challenge trying to get a compliance person to want to talk to a payments company, because they’re not used to having someone come and chat with them about what they need and how they can be better supported. Of course, it’s always easy to say these things, but when you actually deliver on them like Neosurf does, it starts to build trust in your responsible gambling practices and your use of AML controls and data sharing for compliance issues. All of that helps us stick in the minds of operators – we’re able to sit down with them and say, “we can, and we will” and that’s when things start to change.

By all accounts, the Swiss launch has been very successful for you so far. Given the high level of competition you mentioned, are you surprised at just how well you’ve started in the region and what do you attribute this early success to? Do you have any key numbers from your first months in the market that you’re particularly proud of?

While we’re not ready to publish the numbers at such an early stage, it has definitely been a success. As I said earlier, starting out in Switzerland is always a slow process, but we’ve seen steady growth and the fact we’re known as an honest company in the industry that’s willing to sit and talk to people has really helped us make an impact. Interestingly, some of the partners and operators we work with that don’t normally target the Swiss market have started to realise that Swiss players also want to access international business with the Swiss franc and that in itself has been a major catalyst for further growth. Naturally, there are rules and limits that we have to follow, but we’re starting to open doors for Swiss citizens to be able to play a game or place a bet and I think that’s helped merchants and operators see that they too can serve the Swiss market.