VERD Purpose Cooperative

What VERD Purpose Cooperative does

VERD Purpose Genossenschaft is a Swiss cooperative (Genossenschaft) founded in 2024 and headquartered at Marktgasse 55, Bern, operating a community-oriented payment and civic engagement platform. The company's core product, VERD.cash, is a fair payment solution built on boncard's contactless NFC prepaid card infrastructure and ep2 terminals, with merchant settlement handled through Valiant Bank AG. VERD.cash charges merchants a 0.6% transaction fee — substantially below typical Swiss card processing rates of 1-3% — and automatically routes 50% of that fee to the cardholder's registered municipal community fund (Gemeindetopf) and 50% to a Swiss national fund. The accompanying VERD.pos mobile app enables merchants without physical terminals to accept payments, while an integrated democratic voting platform allows cooperative members to propose and decide on local projects funded by the accumulated community pools.

The business model combines three revenue streams: (1) merchant transaction fees (0.6%, with 50% pass-through to community funds), (2) one-time cooperative membership shares (CHF 5 per person, granting voting rights), and (3) one-time municipal activation fees (CHF 0.50–1.00 per household). VERD serves three customer segments: Swiss residents who join the cooperative and use VERD.cash, local SMB merchants who accept the card, and Swiss municipalities that activate their community fund. As of early 2026, the company had approximately 2,506 cooperative members, 469 active merchants, 1,586 active cardholders, and 34 activated municipalities across six cantons (BE, FR, SO, SG, SZ, ZH). The cooperative is led by eight co-founders, operates with a lean team of 7 employees, and has raised CHF 84,000 through a March 2026 wemakeit crowdfunding campaign. VERD's go-to-market relies on community-led growth, Living Lab municipal pilots (starting with Riggisberg in 2024), and channel partnerships with Payrexx (~7,000 e-commerce shops) and probon (~970 retail stores).

Name

VERD Purpose Cooperative

Legal name

VERD Purpose Genossenschaft

Website

https://verd.swiss

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

VERD Purpose Genossenschaft is a Swiss cooperative operating VERD.cash, a fair payment solution that charges merchants 0.6% per transaction and routes half of fees to municipal community funds governed by cooperative member voting. It serves Swiss residents, local merchants, and municipalities with a contactless NFC card and mobile payment app.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Bern

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Transaction Fees - VERD.cash: VERD.cash charges merchants a 0.6% transaction fee on card payments. Half of this fee (0.3%) is allocated to the cardholder's municipal community fund, and the remaining half (minus operating costs) flows to the Swiss national fund.
2. Cooperative Membership Shares: Individuals purchase cooperative membership shares (Anteilsscheine) for a one-time fee of CHF 5, making them co-owners of VERD Purpose Genossenschaft with voting rights.
3. Municipal Activation Fees: Municipalities pay a one-time activation fee for their community fund (CHF 0.50 per household for Variant A, or CHF 1 per household for Variant B when funds are available), providing VERD with a secondary revenue stream.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

VERD operates a fair payment solution (VERD.cash) — a prepaid NFC card and mobile app that charges merchants only 0.6% per transaction, with 50% of those fees automatically routed to the cardholder's municipal community fund (Gemeindetopf) and 50% to a Swiss national fund. As a cooperative, VERD gives individual members voting rights to democratically allocate community funds to local projects, while also providing a merchant mobile payment terminal (VERD.pos), an e-bike program (VERD.bike), and municipal activation services.

Product overview

VERD Purpose Cooperative operates a suite of community-focused financial products centered on VERD.cash, a fair payment card and app that directs transaction fees to local municipality funds. The portfolio includes VERD.pos (mobile payment terminal app), VERD-App (upcoming mobile application), and VERD.bike (e-bike program). All products serve the cooperative's purpose of channeling economic activity back to local communities through democratic fund distribution.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• VERD.cash: Fair payment solution with 0.6% transaction fees, where half flows to the user's municipality community fund.
• VERD.pos
• VERD.bike

Products and services

• VERD.cash Fair payment solution combining a prepaid NFC debit card and app that allows Swiss residents to pay at merchants while automatically routing 50% of the 0.6% transaction fee to their municipality's community fund. Merchants benefit from reduced processing fees compared to standard card rates.
• VERD.pos Mobile merchant application that transforms a smartphone into a payment terminal, enabling VERD.cash acceptance by businesses without physical point-of-sale hardware. Targeted at markets, pop-up shops, farm stores, and associations.
• VERD.bike E-bike program where each kilometer ridden generates 3 Rappen that flow into the rider's municipality community fund, combining sustainable mobility with community benefit.
• VERD Purpose Cooperative Membership One-time purchase of a CHF 5 cooperative share (Anteilsschein) granting Swiss residents co-ownership of VERD Purpose Genossenschaft with equal voting rights (one person, one vote) to propose and vote on local community projects funded by VERD.cash transaction fees.
• Municipal Community Fund Activation Formal activation service enabling Swiss municipalities to establish a municipal community fund (Gemeindetopf) that automatically accumulates 50% of VERD.cash transaction fees from registered residents, with no financial risk or ongoing obligations. Available in two pricing variants (CHF 0.50 or CHF 1 per household).

Quantifiable outcome

• Transaction fee reduction to 0.6% (from typical 1-3%+), saving merchants significant processing costs
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core, important, minor and supporting.

• Innosuisse & FHNW (Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026Innosuisse (Swiss Innovation Agency) and FHNW are conducting a 30-month research project accompanying VERD's community fund distribution in five municipalities. FHNW provides scientific methodology and estimates a 100-250 million CHF annual socioeconomic benefit. The project aims to ensure broad participation, develop an implementation toolbox, and verify robustness and transferability.
• PayrexxcoreTechnology or Integration · 25 November 2025Payrexx integrates VERD.cash pro bono into its payment gateway, making the fair payment solution available to approximately 7,000 Swiss online shops. This enables VERD.cash to be used in e-commerce for the first time, expanding from physical retail to digital commerce.
• probon (Genossenschaft probon.ch)importantChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 4 November 2025probon links its loyalty program (approx. 970 specialty retail stores) with VERD.cash, enabling probon customers to earn loyalty rewards while also routing transaction fees to their municipal community funds. This gives VERD access to a ready network of merchants.
• boncardcoreTechnology or Integration · 31 October 2025boncard provides VERD with contactless NFC prepaid card infrastructure and settlement processing through ep2 terminals. This partnership enables VERD's physical card payment system, handling all card issuance, transaction routing, and merchant settlement.
• Valiant Bank AGcoreTechnology or IntegrationValiant Bank AG handles all banking operations for VERD.cash including deposits, withdrawals, and merchant payouts. All approximately 1,300 transactions during the beta launch were processed without errors through Valiant Bank AG.
• Universität St. Gallen & Global Society for Good LeadershipimportantStrategic or Co-development PartnerVERD was accepted as a Pioneer Organization in a global research project covering 150 innovative companies. The research concluded VERD's business model is 'worldwide unique' and represents a 'new economic system.' This provides academic credibility and visibility.
• Inova EnergyminorOthersInova Energy sponsored the first VERD-E-Bike (Tour de Suisse brand) for Gemeinde Gerlafingen, contributing to the municipality's community fund with each kilometer ridden.
• Friendly GmbH (Friendly Automate)supportingTechnology or IntegrationFriendly Automate is VERD's email/SMS/marketing automation platform used for newsletters, transactional emails, and member communications.
• cyon GmbHsupportingTechnology or Integrationcyon provides web hosting services for VERD's digital infrastructure.
• Webflow Inc.supportingTechnology or IntegrationWebflow is the website builder/platform used to create and maintain verd.swiss.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/verd-purpose

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about VERD Purpose Cooperative