The Swiss FinTech Awards 2021 go to FQX and Yokoy

Since 2015, the Swiss Fintech Awards bring promising start-ups into the limelight. For the sixth time two companies and a supporter were awarded in three categories.

The «Early Stage Start-up of the Year» category is for start-ups which are currently working on a first demo, prototype or which are about to go-to-market with the first product or service. This year FQX wins the category «Early Stage Start-up of the Year».

The start-up digitizes globally used but still paper-based promissory notes and brings them onto the blockchain as so-called eNotes. This digitization step allows eNotes to be sold and transferred much more flexibly, so that the flow of liquidity can be better scaled globally. The enforcement regime applicable to eNotes is recognized in over 165 countries. FQX is the first market-ready solution for eNotes and at the epicentre of a pivotal and exponentially growing market. In June the start-up raised $4.7 million from SIX Fintech Ventures and Earlybird.

Start-ups which have a successful product on the market, a working business model and have clear signs of significant growth are judged in the «Growth Stage Start-up of the Year» category. Yokoy is the winner of 2021 in this category. Yokoy offers a complete solution for corporate expenses. By using artificial intelligence, the tedious management and processing of expenses, credit card or supplier invoices is automated and anomalies can be easily detected and reviewed. As a result, significant efficiency gains are achieved for medium and large companies.

The «Fintech Influencer of the Year» category was created for individuals or organisations who have positively shaped or influenced the Swiss fintech scene. Cornelia Stengel, lawyer and co-director of the Swiss FinTech Innovations association, is named "Fintech Influencer of the Year" for her manifold efforts and contributions.

The award ceremony at the Swiss FinTech Awards Night on July 6, 2021, with around 130 invited guests, was preceded by an extensive selection process. All start-ups were subject to a multi-tiered application process whereas the winner of the Influencer category was nominated directly by the jury. From the approximately 70 accepted written applications, the jury of 20 designated fintech experts selected the ten best fintech companies into the top 10 round. In this round, all ten fintech companies went through the fintech bootcamp, organized by knowledge partner Accenture. In addition, the top 10 fintech companies presented themselves at a "speed dating session" to the assembled jury members and members of the awards’ supporters club.