Basics
Swiss e-ID for businesses: how SMEs integrate the e-ID
By Dominik Natter · Last updated on 3 November 2026 · 8 min read
In short
Companies can integrate the Swiss e-ID as a proof of identity into their customer portal or software, for example for customer identification, age verification or contract signup. This requires a verification component, known as a verifier, and an entry in the federal trust registry. As a guide price, connecting it to an existing system costs CHF 3,000 to 15,000. The e-ID launch has been postponed and has no date yet, but you can already test today in the swiyu Sandbox.
What is the e-ID, and what is it not?
The e-ID is Switzerland's official electronic proof of identity. It is issued by fedpol, the Federal Office of Police. It is stored as a data package in a wallet on the holder's smartphone, usually in the federal swiyu app. Issuance is free of charge for the holder.
The e-ID is not a login account. The federal government does not run a central sign-in service that your customers use to log in to your systems. Your customer proves who they are with the wallet, and your system verifies that proof. You continue to manage the user account in your portal.
- Guide price for connecting to an existing system, up to CHF 15,000
- CHF 3,000
- Voted in favour of the e-ID Act on 28 September 2025
- 50.4%
- SMEs surveyed by Lucerne University are not yet prepared
- 4 out of 5
- name integration with existing systems as the biggest obstacle
- 47.4%
Two principles shape the system. First, the holder decides which details to share. The law also allows derived information, such as confirming that someone is of age instead of revealing the date of birth. Second, the federal government as issuer does not learn when or where the e-ID is presented.
For companies, this means data minimisation. You may only request personal data from the e-ID if identification is required by law or strictly necessary for the reliability of the transaction, for example to prevent identity theft. Anyone who asks for too much is visibly flagged in the trust registry and can be excluded. Only bodies with a legal basis may request the AHV social security number.
When is the e-ID launching? Status as of November 2026
There is no launch date for the e-ID yet. Swiss voters approved the e-ID Act on 28 September 2025 with 50.4 percent in favour.
The trust infrastructure is due to go live in the first half of 2027. From then on, authorities and private organisations should be able to issue and verify other electronic credentials.
You can start testing today. Since March 2025, the federal government has operated a public test environment, formerly the Public Beta and now the swiyu Sandbox. It offers a Beta-ID with the technical features of the future e-ID, but without legal validity.
Many SMEs are still waiting. The Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts surveyed 78 SMEs. Four out of five are not yet prepared for the e-ID. The biggest obstacle, named by 47.4 percent, is integration with existing systems, not data protection.
What can SMEs use the e-ID for?
The e-ID helps wherever you currently ask for a copy of an ID, pay for video identification or ask customers to come in person. Private companies are not required to offer the e-ID. That obligation applies only to authorities and bodies performing public tasks. If you accept the e-ID, you must also accept a physical ID document when the person appears in person.
Typical use cases for SMEs, with benefit and effort:
e-ID use cases: benefit and effort
| Use case | Benefit | Effort and timing |
|---|---|---|
| Age verification in an online shop | Age check without an ID copy, for example for an online spirits retailer: it only checks whether the buyer is at least 18 and needs no other details. | One connection, lower end of CHF 3,000 to 15,000. Live after launch. |
| Customer identification at registration | New customers prove their name and date of birth themselves, without uploading an ID. A fiduciary firm knows for certain who it is opening a mandate for. | Connection CHF 3,000 to 15,000. Test in the Sandbox now. |
| Customer portal onboarding | Verified identity linked to the account once. After that, the customer logs in as usual. | Connection plus matching with existing accounts, upper end of the range. |
| Account recovery | Anyone who has lost their password or second device proves their identity with the e-ID instead of calling support. | Addition to the existing login. After launch. |
| Online contract signup | Certainty about who signs up, for example for an equipment rental company's online rental agreement. The e-ID is not an electronic signature. | Changes to the signup process. Where the law requires written form, a qualified electronic signature is still needed. |
| Employees and external staff | New staff or external specialists prove their identity before they get access to your systems. | Connection to HR or user management. After launch. |
| Liechtenstein customers with eID.li | Digital identification of Liechtenstein customers | Separate connection, only for companies based in Liechtenstein. Approval CHF 200 to 500. |
| Preliminary study for the use case | Use case, data and cost ceiling defined | CHF 4,000 to 9,000, fixed price, 2 to 3 weeks |
What is technically required to integrate the e-ID?
You need three building blocks: an entry in the federal registries, a verification component and a connection to your existing login.
The verification component is called a verifier. It requests the required details from the wallet, checks authenticity, validity and revocation, and passes the result to your application. The federal government provides the swiyu Generic Verifier as free open-source software. It runs in your own IT environment or with your hosting provider.
In the base registry, you record a technical identifier for your company, known as a DID. The trust registry confirms that this identifier belongs to your company. This lets your customer see in the wallet who is requesting data. According to the Federal Council, providers must also register in advance which data they request and for what purpose. If they have not, the wallet shows a warning.
The real work lies in the integration. Your portal starts the check, usually with a QR code on a computer or a hand-off to the wallet on a smartphone. It then links the result to the customer account, stores only what is needed and logs the process. Your existing login with password, second factor or company account stays in place.
For your IT team: the exchange follows the OpenID for Verifiable Presentations standard, and credentials use the SD-JWT format. The specifications may still change before launch. Organisations that verify credentials must also report cyberattacks on their systems to the Federal Office for Cybersecurity.
What does it cost to integrate the e-ID?
As a guide price, connecting the e-ID to an existing customer portal or existing software costs CHF 3,000 to 15,000. That is the range we charge for each connection to an additional system. All amounts are guide prices excluding VAT.
The lower end covers a single verification step, such as an age check at checkout. The upper end covers cases where the verified identity must be matched with existing customer accounts, edge cases such as name changes have to be handled and several processes are affected.
On top of that, budget for:
- A fixed-price preliminary study if the use case is still open: CHF 4,000 to 9,000.
- Operation and maintenance: 15 to 20 percent of project costs per year. The verifier has to keep pace with federal requirements.
- Federal fees: the law provides for fees for entries in the base and trust registries. The Federal Council sets the amount. Check the current status before you budget. The Sandbox is free.
- Internal time for workshops, testing and updating processes and privacy notices.
- If you do not yet have a customer portal, the e-ID is only one building block. A portal with ERP integration costs CHF 25,000 to 80,000. Read more in our guide "How much does a customer portal cost in Switzerland and Liechtenstein?".
What applies to companies in Liechtenstein?
Liechtenstein has its own official electronic identity, eID.li. It has been in operation since 2020 and is independent of the Swiss e-ID.
Companies based in Liechtenstein can use eID.li for their own web services. This requires approval from the Office of Information Technology and a technical connection according to its specifications. In principle, only surname, first name, date of birth and an identifier are transmitted. The E-Government Ordinance sets a fee of CHF 200 to 500 for the approval, and up to CHF 1,000 in complex cases.
For a Liechtenstein company with customers in Switzerland, this means you may need two separate connections to identify both customer groups digitally. Swiss law refers to private verifiers in general and does not expressly require a registered office in Switzerland. How registration works in practice for Liechtenstein companies has not yet been publicly described. Clarify this with the federal authorities before starting a project. The Sandbox is a good first step.
When the e-ID is not yet worth it
Not every SME needs the e-ID right away. Hold off if any of these apply:
- You do not identify customers today, and there is no reason to. In that case you may not simply start requesting the data.
- Your customers are almost exclusively companies. The e-ID identifies individuals, not companies or signing authority.
- You identify only a few people per year. Checking an ID at an appointment is cheaper.
- Many of your customers have neither a Swiss ID document nor a Swiss foreign national permit. These people cannot obtain an e-ID.
- You need a live process by a fixed date. As long as the launch date is open, no process should depend on the e-ID alone.
- Your industry has its own identification rules, for example as a financial intermediary. First check with your supervisory authority or a specialist body whether the e-ID is sufficient.
Roadmap: test now, roll out after launch
You do not have to wait for the launch date to prepare. If you test now, you can roll out within a few weeks after launch. A sensible sequence for SMEs:
01
Now: define the use case
Where do you ask for ID copies today? Where do customers drop out because identification is cumbersome?
02
Now: clarify the data
Which details do you really need, and which legal basis or risk of misuse justifies them?
03
Coming months: build a prototype
Build a prototype with the Beta-ID in the swiyu Sandbox. Registration is free. Use test data only.
04
Apply for registry entries
Once the trust infrastructure is live, expected in the first half of 2027: apply for an entry in the production base and trust registries.
05
After launch: run in parallel
Introduce the check alongside your existing process. The physical ID remains available as an alternative.
06
After a few months: review
Review usage and decide whether to extend it to other processes.
Where this information comes from
Legal basis
The legal information is based on the Federal Act on Electronic Proof of Identity and Other Electronic Credentials of 20 December 2024, known as the e-ID Act or BGEID, published in the Federal Gazette BBl 2025 20. Articles 10, 15, 23 to 25 and 31 are particularly relevant.
Timeline and Sandbox
The timeline is taken from the Federal Council press release of 30 June 2026, issued by the FDJP and the Federal Office of Justice. The rules on data requests and warnings come from the Federal Council release of 25 February 2026. Information on the Sandbox comes from eid.admin.ch and the swiyu technical documentation.
Liechtenstein, study and referendum
For Liechtenstein, the E-Government Ordinance applies, LGBl. 2020 No. 459, in the version dated 1 July 2026, Articles 9 and 10 and Annex 2. The figures on SME readiness come from a study by the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, reported by Netzwoche on 4 May 2026. The referendum result is taken from the VOX analysis by gfs.bern.
Costs and legal notice
The costs are guide prices from our price ranges and do not replace a preliminary study. This guide is not legal advice. For legal questions, please consult a specialist body or a lawyer.
As of: November 2026.
| Age verification in an online shop | Age check without an ID copy | One connection, lower end of CHF 3,000 to 15,000. Live after launch. |
|---|---|---|
| Customer identification at registration | New customers identify themselves, no upload needed | Connection CHF 3,000 to 15,000. Test in the Sandbox now. |
| Customer portal onboarding | Verified identity linked to the account once | Connection plus matching with existing accounts, upper end of the range. |
| Account recovery | Secure alternative to calls to support | Addition to the existing login. After launch. |
| Online contract signup | Certainty about who signs up. Not a signature. | Changes to the signup process. Qualified signature still needed where written form applies. |
| Employees and external staff | Identity verified before system access | Connection to HR or user management. After launch. |
| Liechtenstein customers with eID.li | Digital identification of Liechtenstein customers | Separate connection, only for companies based in Liechtenstein. Approval CHF 200 to 500. |
| Preliminary study for the use case | Use case, data and cost ceiling defined | CHF 4,000 to 9,000, fixed price, 2 to 3 weeks |
Frequently asked questions
Are companies required to accept the Swiss e-ID?
No, private companies are not required to. Under the e-ID Act, the obligation applies only to authorities and bodies performing public tasks when they identify people while enforcing federal law. If you choose to accept the e-ID, you must also accept a physical ID document when the person appears in person.
When can companies start using the Swiss e-ID?
In live operation only once the federal government issues the e-ID, and as of November 2026 there is no date for that yet. The trust infrastructure is expected to go live in the first half of 2027. You can already test today, free of charge, in the federal swiyu Sandbox using a Beta-ID.
What data do we receive when customers identify themselves with the e-ID?
Only the details you request and your customer approves in their wallet. You may request personal data only if identification is required by law or strictly necessary for the reliability of the transaction. For an age check, the age is enough, not the full record. Only bodies with a legal basis may request the AHV social security number.
What does a project with Natter Solutions cost?
A single automation or interface starts at around CHF 8,000. Business applications such as customer portals or the replacement of an Excel solution usually come to between CHF 25,000 and 100,000, larger platforms more. Every solution page shows a price range. It becomes binding after the discovery phase, which you receive at a fixed price.
Can users sign in with their existing company account?
Yes. Portals can be connected to Microsoft Entra ID, Google Workspace or other providers using OpenID Connect and SAML. For external customers we set up a sign-in with two-factor authentication.
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