Raiffeisen Switzerland is one of the country’s biggest retail banks and not known as a digital first mover. But today’s announcement suggests that the bank is about to make a big step forward toward a more digital future (in German).

St. Gallen-based Raiffeisen will launched a digital market place for bonds in the first quarter of 2020, it said in a statement released on Tuesday. The platform allows issuers to emit their new bonds digitally.

Designed by Valyo

On the platform, investors and Swiss bond issuers will link up directly and all the steps involved in an issue will be concluded over the platform. Even the final settlement on the repayment of the bond will be handled by the platform.

The system was designed by a company owned by Raiffeisen called Valyo, which will also stay on the case and accompany its further development.