Online shop delivering to the EU
You ship to Germany, Austria, France or Italy, show prices in euros or run an EU version of your shop.
For companies based in Switzerland
EU representative for Swiss companies
Switzerland is outside the EU. A Swiss company that offers goods or services to people in the EU, or tracks their behaviour online, falls under Article 3(2) GDPR and generally has to designate a representative in the EU — in addition to complying with the Swiss FADP.
When it applies
Typical triggers for Swiss companies
The Swiss FADP and the EU GDPR apply side by side. Serving the EU market from Switzerland brings the GDPR into play.
Software and apps with EU users
People in the EU create accounts, subscribe or use your app, including free plans.
Tracking and advertising
You use analytics, pixels or retargeting on visitors from the EU, which can count as monitoring behaviour under Article 3(2)(b).
B2B with EU customers
Your customers are companies, but you process data about their employees and users in the EU.
Swiss law and EU law
FADP and GDPR: what each requires
Complying with the FADP does not satisfy the GDPR’s Article 27 duty, and vice versa.
| Topic | Swiss FADP | EU GDPR |
|---|---|---|
| Representative duty | Art. 14 FADP: private controllers with their seat or domicile abroad need a representative in Switzerland under cumulative conditions (including high risk). | Art. 27 GDPR: controllers and processors outside the EU need a representative in the EU when Art. 3(2) applies, unless an exemption applies. |
| Who it concerns | Companies abroad that process data of people in Switzerland. | Companies outside the EU — including Swiss companies — that target or monitor people in the EU. |
| Supervisory authority | Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC). | Every EU authority can contact your representative (Recital 80). |
| Where rep4eu fits | Not covered. rep4eu is not a Swiss representative. | Covered: rep4eu acts as your representative in the EU, established in Germany. |
Adequacy does not remove the Article 27 duty
The EU recognises Switzerland as providing an adequate level of data protection, so personal data can flow from the EU to Switzerland without extra safeguards. That concerns transfers only. It does not change whether the GDPR applies to a Swiss company that targets or monitors people in the EU, and it does not replace the representative.
What rep4eu does not cover for Swiss companies
- Representation in Switzerland under Art. 14 FADP.
- Advice on the FADP or dealings with the FDPIC.
- Representation for the UK GDPR, the DSA or the AI Act.
Practical points
What Swiss companies ask us
Currency. You can pay in Swiss francs. The price you see in CHF is the amount charged; the currency never depends on the website language.
German handled in German. Correspondence from German authorities is handled in German, and your letter contains privacy-notice wording in English and German.
Why Germany works for most Swiss companies. Article 27(3) requires the representative to be in a member state where the people you serve are. For most Swiss companies selling into the EU, customers in Germany are part of that.
LanguagesThis website is available in several languages. Support is provided by email in English and German. The contract is concluded in English: the Terms of Service and your designation letter are in English, and the English text is the binding version. Your letter includes privacy-notice wording in English and German.
Questions, answered
If they offer goods or services to people in the EU or monitor their behaviour, and have no establishment in the EU, Article 27 GDPR generally requires a representative in the EU unless the occasional-processing exemption applies.
No. Adequacy allows data transfers from the EU to Switzerland. It does not exempt Swiss companies from the GDPR when Article 3(2) applies, or from Article 27.
No. rep4eu covers Article 27 of the EU GDPR only. Article 14 FADP is a separate duty with its own conditions.
Yes. Prices are published in CHF, and the CHF amount shown is the amount charged once a year.
Official sources
- Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP), Fedlex (opens in a new tab) Official source
- FDPIC: representation under Art. 14 FADP (German) (opens in a new tab) Official source
- European Commission: adequacy decisions (opens in a new tab) Official source
- EDPB Guidelines 3/2018 on territorial scope and the representative (opens in a new tab) Official source
Serving EU customers from Switzerland?
Check in two minutes whether Article 27 applies, then appoint rep4eu with a written designation. Plans from €348/year$480/year£360/yearCHF 396/yearAED 1,752/yearAUD 684/yearSGD 612/yearR$2,472/year₹45,612/yearCAD 684/year.