In 2023 Swissmedic processed 80 advertising cases. Administrative proceedings were opened in 27 of them and criminal proceedings in five. Two of those legal proceedings concerned journalistic articles about weight-loss medicines, and the regulator also objected to a newspaper article about migraine treatment.
Read that again with a content programme in mind. The Swiss medicines advertising regime reached editorial writing, produced by journalists, published by newspapers, with no commercial relationship to the manufacturer. If that is inside scope, a well-optimised article on a pharmaceutical company's own site is comfortably inside scope, and so is a piece placed through digital PR.
Swiss financial services work the same way from a different direction. Article 95 of the Financial Services Ordinance defines advertising as any communication addressed to investors with the aim of drawing attention to specific financial instruments or services. That definition does not mention banners, and it does not exclude content pages.
This article covers what the two regimes actually require, what FINMA said about AI in December 2024, how banking secrecy interacts with vendor selection, and how to build an approval process that survives all of it. It is orientation rather than Swiss legal advice, and the classification questions here belong to your counsel.
Financial services: the definition is the trap
Article 68 of the Financial Services Act sets three requirements for advertising relating to financial instruments. It must be clearly identifiable as advertising. It must reference the prospectus and the key information document. And it must indicate where those documents can be obtained. Advertising must also be consistent with the information in them.
Nothing in that is difficult once you know it applies. The difficulty is knowing that it applies, which is where Article 95 of the Financial Services Ordinance does the real work. Any communication addressed to investors, with the aim of drawing attention to specific financial instruments or services, is advertising for these purposes.
Consider what that catches on a normal Swiss financial-services site. A comparison page for two of the firm's own funds. An explainer article that names a specific product. A landing page built around a service category with product links. A frequently-asked-questions block written to win a featured answer. None of those look like advertising to a marketing team. All of them are communications addressed to investors drawing attention to specific instruments or services.
The practical consequence for a content programme is a classification step before drafting rather than a legal review after it. Every planned page gets a decision: does this reference specific financial instruments or services, and if so it inherits the Article 68 requirements from the outset. Retrofitting prospectus and key-information-document references into a page already built for search is more expensive and produces worse pages than designing for it.
Banking secrecy reaches vendor selection
Article 47 of the Banking Act protects client identifying data, and it is criminal law rather than a regulatory guideline. Client identifying data cannot be passed to third parties without a legal basis, and a marketing agency is a third party.
FINMA Circular 2018/3 governs outsourcing by banks and insurers, requiring documented arrangements around significant outsourced functions. Between those two instruments, a Swiss bank cannot casually hand a customer data set to an external content team, and a bank's procurement process is built on that assumption.
This is one of the places where SEO and GEO work has a structural advantage worth stating clearly. Keyword research, competitor analysis, technical audits, content production, entity work and AI-answer auditing do not require client identifying data. A properly scoped programme for a Swiss bank can run without touching Article 47 material at all, which converts a hard barrier into a scoping decision.
The exposure appears at the edges. Customer segment analysis using real records. Personalisation projects. Analytics exports that include user-level data. Testimonial and case study production. Those are the workstreams where a Swiss bank's legal team becomes involved, and they should be scoped separately rather than folded into a marketing retainer as though they were the same kind of work.
Content a Marketing Team Would Not Call Advertising
Any communication addressed to investors drawing attention to specific instruments or services. The format is not the test.
Likely inside scope
Usually outside, but classify anyway
What Art. 68 FinSA then requires
Advertising must be clearly identifiable as advertising, must reference the prospectus and the key information document, must state where those can be obtained, and must be consistent with them. Designing a page to that standard from the outset is cheaper and produces better pages than retrofitting the references into something already built for search.
Sources: Art. 68 Financial Services Act (FinSA) and Art. 95 Financial Services Ordinance (FinSO), Fedlex • Art. 47 Banking Act • FINMA Circular 2018/3 on outsourcing
Created by Arfadia • arfadia.com/blog
FINMA on AI, December 2024
FINMA published Guidance 08/2024 on 18 December 2024, covering governance and risk management when using artificial intelligence. For any regulated Swiss financial institution running an AI-assisted content or visibility programme, this is the document that shapes the internal conversation.
Its structure runs through governance, inventory and risk classification of AI applications, data quality, testing and ongoing monitoring, and documentation. The risks it names are model risk, data risk, information technology and cyber risk, dependency on third parties, and legal and reputational risk.
Two elements matter directly to an agency relationship. FINMA expects AI applications to be inventoried and risk-classified, which means an AI-assisted marketing workflow is something the institution needs to know about and be able to describe. And for outsourced AI solutions, FINMA expects thorough due diligence alongside explicit contractual arrangements addressing liability.
The practical translation is that a vendor who cannot describe their AI tooling in inventory terms creates a compliance problem for a regulated client. Which tools, for what purpose, with what data, trained on what, retained for how long, with which sub-processors. That is not an unreasonable question and it is not a marketing question. It arrives from the institution's own supervisory obligations.
One note on sourcing. During cross-validation this document appeared in only one of our four research passes, which normally means we hold a claim back. We verified it against FINMA's own publication before using it, and the date and section structure hold. Single-source claims are not automatically wrong. They are automatically unverified until somebody checks.
Medicines: the regime that reaches editorial
Public advertising of prescription-only medicines is prohibited in Switzerland. Not restricted, prohibited. The framework sits in the Therapeutic Products Act and the Ordinance on Advertising for Medicinal Products, with Swissmedic as the supervisory authority.
Three requirements follow for content work. Claims must correspond to the approved product information, so marketing cannot go beyond the authorised indication. Advertising directed at healthcare professionals is permitted but must be genuinely restricted to them, which in practice means access controls rather than a checkbox disclaimer. And promotional content must be distinguishable from editorial content.
Then there are the enforcement figures, which are unusually concrete for this field. In 2023 Swissmedic processed 80 advertising cases. Administrative proceedings were opened in 27. Criminal proceedings were opened in five. Marketing authorisation holders were made aware of infringements in 36 cases, and 12 cases involved no infringement or fell outside the authority's remit.
The detail that should change how a content programme is planned is what some of those 27 proceedings concerned. Two involved journalistic articles about weight-loss medicines, and Swissmedic also raised objections to a newspaper article about migraine treatment. The scope reaches anyone communicating to the public about a medicine, including media, regardless of commercial relationship.
For a digital PR programme in Swiss pharmaceuticals, that is the single most important sentence in this article. Earned coverage of a prescription medicine is not a safe harbour. It is inside the same regime, and a placement that would be routine in another market can create a problem for the client whose product is named.
| Content activity | Swiss regime that applies | Governance step before publication |
|---|---|---|
| Page naming a specific fund or financial product | Art. 68 FinSA, Art. 95 FinSO | Classify as advertising at brief stage, build in prospectus and key-information references, verify consistency with those documents |
| General financial education, no product named | Likely outside Art. 68, still subject to unfair competition rules | Document the classification decision rather than assuming it, and avoid drift toward naming products in later edits |
| Content referencing a prescription medicine, public-facing | TPA and Advertising Ordinance, Swissmedic supervision | Do not publish. Public advertising of prescription-only medicines is prohibited, and the regime has reached editorial articles |
| Professional-only medical content | TPA and Advertising Ordinance | Real access control rather than a disclaimer, plus verification that claims match approved product information |
| Digital PR placement naming a medicine | Same regime as owned content | Treat earned coverage as inside scope. Two of the 27 Swissmedic proceedings in 2023 concerned journalistic articles |
| AI-assisted drafting or measurement for a regulated firm | FINMA Guidance 08/2024 for financial institutions | Supply an inventory-ready description of tools, purpose, data, retention and sub-processors so the institution can risk-classify it |
| Any performance or superiority claim about your own firm | Unfair Competition Act | Substantiate before publishing. Misleading statements about services, qualifications and commercial relationships are prohibited |
The unfair competition rule that applies to everyone
The Unfair Competition Act prohibits misleading statements about a business, its services, its prices, its qualifications and its commercial relationships. It is not sector-specific, and it applies to the agency as much as to the client.
That has a direct effect on how a Swiss-facing marketing programme should be written. Number-one claims need substantiation. Certifications must exist. Office locations must be real. Case study figures need a stated measurement period and method. Guarantees about rankings or AI citations are exposure rather than merely optimism, because both outcomes sit outside any vendor's control.
It also affects how compliance itself is described, which is a subtler point. Overstating a legal obligation to a Swiss buyer is a misleading statement about services even when it sounds cautious. Telling a client they must appoint a Swiss representative when the commissioner's guidance says the conditions are rarely met is not conservative advice. It is inaccurate advice that happens to favour the vendor.
Five Gates, All Before Publication
Regulatory classification is a briefing input in Switzerland, not a final review step.
Classify at brief stage, not at sign-off
Every planned page carries a written decision on whether it names specific financial instruments or services, or references a medicine. That decision changes the brief, the structure and the target queries, so it has to come first.
Trace every claim to an approved source
For medicines, claims must match the approved product information. For financial products, advertising must be consistent with the prospectus and key information document. Record which document each claim came from, at paragraph level.
Route through the client's own approval process
The regulated entity holds the authorisation and the liability. An agency proposes and documents; it does not sign off regulatory classification, and it should say so in the contract rather than absorbing a decision it cannot lawfully make.
Version history that survives an inquiry
Who wrote it, who approved it, what changed, when it published, when it was last reviewed. Swissmedic opened administrative proceedings in 27 cases and criminal proceedings in five during 2023, so the question can be asked in earnest.
Extend the trail to earned coverage
Digital PR placements naming a medicine sit inside the same regime as owned content. Two of the 2023 Swissmedic proceedings concerned journalistic articles, so a placement plan needs the same classification gate as a content plan.
Sources: Swissmedic official communication, January 2025, on 2023 advertising cases: 80 processed, 27 administrative proceedings, 5 criminal proceedings, 36 marketing authorisation holders notified, 12 no infringement or outside remit • Therapeutic Products Act and Ordinance on Advertising for Medicinal Products • Art. 68 FinSA
Created by Arfadia • arfadia.com/blog
Why this is an advantage rather than an obstacle
Regulated-sector content in Switzerland is slower and requires more documentation than the same work in a lighter-touch market. It is also more defensible, and that has commercial value in a country where buyers treat process quality as a proxy for competence.
There is a second reason it pays off, which connects this article to the measurement side of the same programme. Content with traceable claims, named sources, article-level statutory references and dated approvals is content that reads as authoritative to a retrieval system as well as to a compliance officer. The governance work and the citation work want the same properties. Specificity, attribution, jurisdictional anchoring and internal consistency are not compliance overhead layered on top of good content. They are what good content in a regulated Swiss category looks like.
Tessar Napitupulu covers how compliance-heavy sectors build search and AI visibility programmes that survive both regulatory and algorithmic scrutiny in Cited or Silent, available as a free gated edition, with retailer editions on Amazon, Google Play and Apple Books.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Swiss financial advertising law apply to an SEO content page?
It can, and the definition is what catches teams out. Article 95 of the Financial Services Ordinance defines advertising as any communication addressed to investors with the aim of drawing attention to specific financial instruments or services, which does not turn on format. A comparison page covering the firm's own funds, an explainer naming a specific product, a service landing page with product links, or a frequently-asked-questions block built to win an extracted answer can all fall inside. Where they do, Article 68 of the Financial Services Act requires the content to be clearly identifiable as advertising, to reference the prospectus and key information document, to state where those can be obtained, and to be consistent with them.
Can we advertise prescription medicines in Switzerland?
Not to the public. Public advertising of prescription-only medicines is prohibited under the Therapeutic Products Act and the Ordinance on Advertising for Medicinal Products, with Swissmedic supervising. Advertising directed at healthcare professionals is permitted but must be genuinely restricted to them, which means real access controls rather than a disclaimer checkbox. Claims must correspond to the approved product information, so content cannot go beyond the authorised indication, and promotional material must be distinguishable from editorial content. Classification questions belong to your regulatory affairs function or Swiss counsel rather than to a marketing team.
Does the Swiss medicines advertising regime really reach journalism?
It has. Swissmedic processed 80 advertising cases in 2023, opening administrative proceedings in 27 and criminal proceedings in five, with marketing authorisation holders made aware of infringements in 36 cases and 12 cases involving no infringement or falling outside the authority's remit. Two of those legal proceedings concerned journalistic articles about weight-loss medicines, and the regulator also raised objections to a newspaper article about migraine treatment. The scope reaches anyone communicating to the public about a medicine, regardless of commercial relationship, which means earned coverage is not a safe harbour for a digital PR programme.
What does FINMA expect if we use AI in marketing?
To be able to inventory and risk-classify it. FINMA published Guidance 08/2024 on 18 December 2024 covering governance and risk management when using artificial intelligence, structured around governance, inventory and risk classification, data quality, testing and ongoing monitoring, and documentation. The risks it names include model risk, data risk, information technology and cyber risk, third-party dependency, and legal and reputational risk. For outsourced AI solutions FINMA expects thorough due diligence and explicit contractual arrangements addressing liability, so a vendor should be able to describe which tools are used, for what purpose, with what data, trained on what, retained how long, and with which sub-processors.
Can a Swiss bank share customer data with a marketing agency?
Not without a legal basis. Article 47 of the Banking Act protects client identifying data as a matter of criminal law, and a marketing agency is a third party. FINMA Circular 2018/3 additionally governs outsourcing by banks and insurers, requiring documented arrangements for significant outsourced functions. The useful point is that most search and AI-visibility work does not need that data: keyword research, competitor analysis, technical audits, content production, entity work and AI-answer auditing all run without client identifying information. Segment analysis on real records, personalisation, user-level analytics exports and testimonial production are the workstreams that require separate scoping and legal involvement.
Who signs off regulated content, the agency or the client?
The client, always, and the contract should say so. The regulated entity holds the marketing authorisation or the financial-services licence and carries the liability, so regulatory classification is its decision to make. An agency's role is to classify at brief stage, trace every claim to an approved source document at paragraph level, route drafts through the client's own approval process, and maintain version history covering who wrote, who approved, what changed and when it published. An agency that offers to absorb sign-off is offering something it cannot lawfully deliver.
Are performance claims about our own agency regulated in Switzerland?
Yes, under the Unfair Competition Act, which prohibits misleading statements about a business, its services, its prices, its qualifications and its commercial relationships. It is not sector-specific and it applies to agencies as much as to clients. Number-one claims need substantiation, certifications must exist, office locations must be real, and case study figures need a stated measurement period and method. Guarantees about rankings or AI citations are exposure rather than optimism, since both outcomes sit outside any vendor's control. Overstating a client's legal obligations is also a misleading statement about services, even when it sounds cautious.
Sources & References:
- Article 68, Federal Act on Financial Services (FinSA / FIDLEG), Fedlex: advertising relating to financial instruments must be identifiable as such, must reference the prospectus and key information document and state where they can be obtained, and must be consistent with the information in those documents.
- Article 95, Financial Services Ordinance (FinSO / FIDLEV): advertising defined as any communication addressed to investors with the aim of drawing attention to specific financial instruments or financial services.
- Article 47, Banking Act: protection of client identifying data as a matter of criminal law; disclosure to third parties requires a legal basis. FINMA Circular 2018/3 on outsourcing by banks and insurers.
- FINMA Guidance 08/2024, "Governance and risk management when using artificial intelligence", published 18 December 2024. Sections cover governance, inventory and risk classification, data quality, tests and ongoing monitoring, and documentation. Named risks include model risk, data risk, IT and cyber risk, third-party dependency, and legal and reputational risk. Outsourced AI solutions require thorough due diligence and explicit contractual arrangements on liability. This document appeared in one of four research passes and was verified against FINMA's own publication before use.
- Therapeutic Products Act (TPA / HMG) and Ordinance on Advertising for Medicinal Products (AWV / OPuM), Swissmedic as supervisory authority: public advertising of prescription-only medicines prohibited; claims must correspond to approved product information; advertising directed at healthcare professionals must be genuinely restricted to that audience; promotional content must be distinguishable from editorial content.
- Swissmedic official communication, January 2025, on 2023 advertising supervision: 80 advertising cases processed; administrative proceedings opened in 27; criminal proceedings opened in 5; marketing authorisation holders made aware of infringements in 36 cases; 12 cases with no infringement or outside the authority's remit. Two of the legal proceedings concerned journalistic articles on weight-loss medicines, and objections were also raised regarding a newspaper article on migraine treatment. Scope applies to anyone communicating to the public about a medicine, including media.
- Unfair Competition Act (UWG / UCA), Fedlex: prohibits misleading statements about a business, its services, prices, qualifications and commercial relationships. Not sector-specific; applies to agencies and clients alike.
- Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner guidance on Article 14 FADP, referenced here in the context of not overstating client obligations. The commissioner limits the representative duty to private controllers domiciled abroad meeting all four cumulative conditions, which Swiss legal commentary describes as rarely satisfied in practice.
- This article is orientation on Swiss sector regulation as it affects content and visibility programmes. It is not Swiss legal or regulatory advice. Classification of specific content under FinSA, the Therapeutic Products Act or FINMA guidance should be determined by the regulated entity with qualified Swiss counsel.