A consortium of six major Swiss banks has joined forces with Swiss Stablecoin AG to test use cases for a stablecoin pegged to the Swiss franc, the country’s largest bank, UBS, announced on Wednesday.
UBS, PostFinance, Sygnum, Raiffeisen, Zürcher Kantonalbank and BCV, together with Swiss Stablecoin AG, have established a sandbox in a coordinated effort to bring blockchain-based payments to Switzerland’s financial system, the statement added.
The group will run the stablecoin test period until 2026, allowing banks and other institutions to test transactions in a live but controlled environment.
The Swiss franc-pegged stablecoin project is designed to allow participants to simulate real payment flows with limits on users and transaction volumes to manage risk.
Switzerland does not yet have a regulated Swiss franc stablecoin with wide use. The banks aim to test how such a token could support payments, improve settlement speed and connect blockchain-based applications with traditional money.
The project will focus on testing payment processes and exploring how programmable money could support financial services.
The stablecoin testing period will remain open to other banks, companies and institutions, the statement said. The group aims to gather operational experience and evaluate whether a full market debut of a CHF stablecoin is possible.
The Swiss stablecoin testing period follows a consortium of 12 major banks, including BBVA, ING and UniCredit, coming together to back Qivalis, a digital euro set to debut in the second half of 2026, with the primary goal of becoming the European alternative to dominant dollar stablecoins such as Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC.
