Swiss eID: how to verify users in Switzerland in 2026

Last reviewed: 5 October 2026 · Not legal advice

This guide covers every scheme in Switzerland, the rules behind them, what the user will see, and what to run while the state E-ID is on hold.

The state E-ID will be issued by fedpol, the Federal Office of Police, under the E-ID Act (BGEID) of 20 December 2024, and it lives in a federal wallet app called swiyu.^[1][2] Our full guide to that wallet is swiyu and the Swiss E-ID for businesses.

The short answer: which Swiss eID to accept

Today there is no state eID a business can accept in production. The E-ID is free and optional for holders, a complement to the physical identity card.^[2] Once it opens, any authority or private party may verify it after registering its data requests and purpose in a public federal register.^[5]

Sources: the Federal Chancellery, the Federal Council, Swiss Post and the eGovernment MONITOR 2025.^{[4][6][14][16]}

Our recommendation: build for the E-ID first. It is the state credential, FINMA is consulting on accepting it for anti-money laundering (AML) onboarding, and it supports an anonymous proof of age.^[3][8] SwissID is a private login; the public sources we reviewed do not document a data set it returns to third parties.^[15]

Swiss eID schemes at a glance

Two schemes matter in Switzerland, as published on 5 October 2026.

eID schemes in Switzerland, 5 October 2026.

The AHV number is the Swiss social security number. The E-ID holds no address, so regulated onboarding still needs a residence source.^[1] For every country side by side, see eID schemes by country.

Swiss E-ID timeline: from the 2021 vote to 2027

Voters rejected a first E-ID law in 2021, mainly because private companies would have issued it.^[4] The second law, with fedpol as issuer, is dated 20 December 2024 and passed the referendum of 28 September 2025 with 50.39% yes on a 49.58% turnout.^[1][4]

1. 2021First lawRejected; private issuers were planned.
2. 28 September 2025ReferendumE-ID Act approved, 50.39% yes.
3. 30 June 2026Postponed1 December 2026 start dropped.
4. September 2026SandboxPublic beta becomes the swiyu Sandbox Wallet.
5. First half of 2027InfrastructureExpected start; launch date to follow.

National eID milestones in Switzerland.^[2][4][6]

In February 2026 the plan was still a start on 1 December 2026, with the 2026 E-ID budget cut by CHF 1.7 million.^[5] On 30 June 2026 the government postponed the launch to harden online issuance against AI and deepfake risks. It expects the trust infrastructure to start in the first half of 2027 and will announce the exact date once that work is largely complete.^[6] The FOJ is tendering a launch campaign "from 2027 onwards".^[2]

Swiss eID rules: the E-ID Act, AML law and regulators

The E-ID Act sets who can hold the E-ID, what it contains and what verifiers must do.^[1]

The E-ID Act articles that matter to a business.^[1]

Article 31 fee amounts are not published as of 5 October 2026.

AML: FINMA is opening online onboarding to the E-ID

Swiss AML identification rests on the Anti-Money Laundering Act (GwG, Article 3 on identifying the contracting party), the FINMA AML Ordinance (GwV-FINMA) and FINMA Circular 2016/7 "Video and online identification".^[8][9] No provision in force names the E-ID yet. FINMA consulted on changing the circular from 16 December 2025 to 27 February 2026.^[8]

FINMAConsultation on Circular 2016/7, 16 December 2025

"Financial intermediaries should be able to offer the E-ID as an option for the AMLA-compliant digital opening of client relationships."

Source: FINMA, 16 December 2025^[8]

"AMLA" in that quote is the Swiss act. A partial revision of GwV-FINMA was in consultation from 12 May to 9 June 2026.^[9] The Swiss Bankers Association summed up the draft on 26 February 2026: "Mit der vorgeschlagenen Teilrevision [...] soll die Schweizer E-ID künftig für die digitale Eröffnung von Kundenbeziehungen nach GwG zugelassen werden" (the E-ID is to be admitted for opening client relationships digitally under the GwG). It added that the draft recognises the E-ID for online but not video identification.^[10] Final texts and in-force dates are not published as of 5 October 2026. Until then the current online route applies, which according to FINMA has allowed chip (NFC, near-field communication) reading since 2021.

Gambling, telecom and age checks

The sources reviewed contain no position from Switzerland's gambling or telecom regulators on the E-ID as of 5 October 2026, and no Swiss age-verification rule that names it. Age checks are a stated design goal: the federal pages name alcohol purchases, club entry and online shops, with an anonymous proof of age instead of the birth date.^[3][13]

EU customers and Swiss users under the AMLR

For an EU obliged entity onboarding Swiss residents, the Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (AMLR, Regulation (EU) 2024/1624) applies from 10 July 2027.^[11] Its Article 22(6)(b) allows "electronic identification means which meet the requirements of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 with regard to the assurance levels 'substantial' or 'high'".^[11] The EU Anti-Money Laundering Authority's (AMLA) final draft standards of 30 September 2026, not yet law, keep the same two levels.^[12] Our reading, not a regulator's: no source cited here has assessed the Swiss E-ID against those levels, so keep the document route for Swiss customers of EU entities.

What users see with the Swiss E-ID

The user first gets the E-ID from fedpol, which compares their face with the registered photo.^[1] At your service: scan your QR code, see the data requested, approve or decline.^[3]

The federal pages describe only this QR route; no same-device variant is described as of 5 October 2026.^[3] The E-ID is bound to one phone and cannot be copied, so a new phone means a new E-ID.^[3]

Simplified: what a verifier will do, from the federal descriptions.^[3][5]

Choosing a route by use case

Until the E-ID opens, every sector starts with an ID document, chip reading, liveness and face match.

Where each sector stands in Switzerland, 5 October 2026.

E-ID first when it opens, document route always ready.

People without a Swiss E-ID

• Foreign residents. Foreigners qualify only with a Swiss foreigner's ID card or a legitimation card; anyone without a Swiss-issued document cannot get an E-ID.^[1]
• Minors. They need the consent of their legal representative.^[1]
• Cross-border customers. People living in neighbouring countries can use their own national eID where your rules accept it.

Notified eIDs of Switzerland's neighbours.^[7]

See eID verification in Germany and eID verification in Austria. Everyone else uses the document route; how NFC chip verification works explains the chip check.

Launch checklist for Switzerland

• Run a document route with chip reading for every Swiss user today.
• Test your verifier flow in the swiyu Sandbox Wallet.^[2]
• List the E-ID attributes you need and drop the rest.^[3]
• Use the anonymous age proof where age is the only question.^[3]
• Prepare your register entry: data requests and purpose.^[5]
• Budget for register fees once Article 31 amounts are published.^[1]
• Read the final FINMA texts before using the E-ID for AML onboarding.^[8][9]
• Keep a physical-ID option wherever you accept the E-ID in person.^[1]
• Watch for the launch date, expected after the infrastructure starts in 2027.^[6]

How Didit helps with eID verification in Switzerland

Didit adds Swiss E-ID on request. Our eID verification page shows the national eIDs Didit runs today. In Switzerland, Didit verifies users with the document route: NFC chip reading, liveness and face match, plus AML screening against sanctions, PEP and watchlists, in one workflow.

A full KYC (know your customer) check costs $0.33, NFC verification $0.15 and AML screening $0.20. For cross-border customers from Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Belgium, Didit runs MitID, BankID Sweden, the Finnish Trust Network, Smart-ID and Mobile-ID in the same workflow, with the document route as fallback. Setup is in the digital ID wallets docs.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. Bundesgesetz über den elektronischen Identitätsnachweis und andere elektronische Nachweise (BGEID), 20 December 2024, Fedlex, BBl 2025 20.
2. E-ID and swiyu, Federal Office of Justice, eid.admin.ch.
3. The e-ID, Federal Office of Justice, eid.admin.ch.
4. Federal vote of 28 September 2025, E-ID Act, Swiss Federal Chancellery.
5. E-ID press release, 25 February 2026, Federal Department of Justice and Police.
6. E-ID launch postponed, 30 June 2026, Swiss Federal Council.
7. Overview of pre-notified and notified eID schemes under eIDAS, European Commission.
8. Consultation on Circular 2016/7 Video and online identification, FINMA, 16 December 2025.
9. Consultation on the partial revision of GwV-FINMA, FINMA, 12 May 2026.
10. Statement on FINMA Circular 2016/7, Swiss Bankers Association, 26 February 2026.
11. Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 (AMLR), Articles 22 and 90, EUR-Lex.
12. Final Report, draft RTS under Article 28(1) AMLR, AMLA, 30 September 2026.
13. Bund führt E-ID per 1. Dezember ein, SRF.
14. SwissID: 3.4 million users, Swiss Post release, 9 February 2023.
15. SwissSign, Swiss Post Digital.
16. eGovernment MONITOR 2025, Initiative D21.
17. Regulation (EU) 2024/1183 (eIDAS 2), EUR-Lex.

See every national eID Didit runs, and the document route that covers everyone else, on the eID verification page.