What is the best Swiss bank for non-resident?

Why a Swiss bank as a non-resident?

I receive at least one email a week from people wanting to open a bank account in Switzerland while living abroad. These people are searching for a good and cheap Swiss bank account.

But why? As a Swiss resident, I would rather not have an account abroad, so why do non-residents want a Swiss bank account?

There are multiple reasons, but they all boil down to the stability of the country and of our currency, the Swiss franc.

Many people do not trust the banking services of their country. So, they want to protect their hard-earned money.

Sometimes, people do not trust their currency. In cases of high inflation or corruption, the currency can make some wild swings. And this can eliminate the savings of some people.

And in some cases, people are also afraid of the local geopolitical situation. This is the case of many people in countries neighboring Ukraine, for instance.

In all these cases, these non-residents feel like their savings would be safer in Switzerland. The problem is that most Swiss banks will not deal with non-residents because it implies more regulations.

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Yuh

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Yuh is an easy and affordable way to invest in the stock market and spend money abroad.

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• Low fees for small operations
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Code only for Swiss residents.

Yuh is worth mentioning because they will open accounts for residents of a few countries:

• Austria
• France
• Germany
• Italy
• Liechtenstein

Most digital banks will not take any non-resident customers, so it is good that Yuh is a bit more open. However, we should note that they will not accept any US citizens.

The bank account itself will be free of charge. There is no non-resident fee. And you will be able to get some interest as well if you put money into a so-called savings project.

Since they are a digital account, you can open an account entirely online. It means you do not have to go to Switzerland to open a bank account.

Moreover, you could also use this account to invest.

Zürcher Kantonalbank

The Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB) is also a suitable option for many non-residents. While it is a cantonal bank, it is the largest of the cantonal banks. In Zurich, the bank is used to dealing with people of many languages and expats. As such, they have the necessary experience to deal with non-residents.

ZKB is a great option for Swiss citizens leaving abroad. They are part of SwissCommunity, the organization of the Swiss abroad (OSA).

The ZKB will charge 360 CHF per year (90 CHF per quarter) for non-residents. ZKB has good banking packages, with well-regarded applications.

Their website and their apps are available in English. And it is generally not too difficult to find some English speaker when dealing with ZKB.

If you want further details, you can read our review of the Zürcher Kantonalbank.

UBS

Even though it is not the cheapest option, UBS is often the best Swiss bank for foreigners. This bank is huge and has offices in many countries. They are used to dealing with foreigners so that it is not an issue with them, and they have experience of doing that, in contrast to most other banks.

You should be able to open an account entirely online. The process may take time because you will have to provide multiple documents, and you will have to talk to multiple people. But in theory, you should not have to meet UBS representatives in person.

UBS will charge an extra 360 CHF per year for non-residents, on top of the other banking fees.

While expensive, the fact that they are huge and used to deal with non-residents makes UBS a good choice for non-residents.

If you are a US citizen, UBS will likely be your best choice.

Both the website and the apps are available in English, which is a great advantage for many non-residents. And you are very likely to find somebody who speaks English at UBS.

If you want further details, you can read our review of UBS Bank.

PostFinance

PostFinance is the bank of the Swiss, mostly owned by the Swiss government. It is a considerable bank, with many offices. And they do accept non-residents.

The bank will charge an extra 25 CHF per account per month for non-residents. That fee is on top of the standard fees of the PostFinance account.

PostFinance has a mandate to accept US citizens. This is good because it means that support for US citizens will last for a while.

The apps and the website are available in English, which is a plus for non-residents. And you should be able to find someone speaking English relatively easily.

Overall, you should be able to get everything you need from PostFinance as a non-resident. Their service is not always top-notch, but it is decent.

If you want additional information, you can read my review of PostFinance.

Migros Bank

Migros Bank also accepts non-residents. Migros Bank is a large bank, by the Migros group.

If you live in a neighboring country of Switzerland, you will pay 300 CHF per year for the account. This can be reduced to 60 CHF per year if you have more than 7500 CHF in your account. And if you live in a non-neighbor country, the fee will be 360 CHF per year.

You will not be able to create your account fully online. Indeed, Migros Bank requires the customer to go in-person to the office. Even for residents, the process is very long. I would also add that Migros Bank apps are incredibly antiquated.

Neither the website nor the apps are available in English. In some of Migros Bank offices, you will find people speaking English, but this is not a guarantee. Also, US citizens will likely be refused.

Overall, I would not recommend Migros Bank for non-residents. They may be among the cheapest, but you will likely have more issues than necessary.

For further information, you can read my review of Migros Bank.

Raiffeisen

Raffeisen is a bank cooperative, grouping many local Raiffeisen branches. They do accept non-residents in most of their local branches.

You can usually start your account application online, but you will need to complete it in person.

Since all Raiffeisen banks are independent, they also have different fees. It looks like the fee for non-residents varies from 240 CHF to 600 CHF per year. To be sure, you will need to contact the local branch.

There will be major differences between the different local branches of Raiffeisen. In some cases, like Zurich, it will be possible to find a person speaking English. But in many smaller local branches, it will be difficult to find somebody speaking a non-national language. And if you speak any other language than English or a non-national language, you are unlikely to find a person to speak to.

Another issue with Raifeisen is that despite being available in most of Switzerland, each of the branches is separated. So, you have to choose the branch cautiously. It may also depend on each local branch, but most Raiffeisen branches will refuse US citizens.

Overall, I would not particularly recommend Raiffeisen for non-residents because of the small local branches.

Other Limitations

Even if you can open an account with one of these banks, you will have to be careful about some extra limitations.

For instance, mobile apps are sometimes only available in one App Store. That is the case for PostFinance where the Apple apps are only available in the Swiss app store. So, if you are using the app store of another country, you will not have access to the apps and will be limited to the e-banking platform.

Therefore, it is likely a good idea to contact a bank to know more before deciding because these small limitations may be undesirable.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, the choice of a Swiss bank for non-residents is very limited.

If you live in a neighboring country, you will get some suitable options. For instance, if you live in France, you can even use a Swiss digital bank and open an account online.

However, if you live farther, your options will be more limited and pricier. Indeed, traditional banks charge an extra non-resident fee. So, not only will you be limited in your choice, but you will have to pay extra fees.

And if you are a US citizen, your choice will be even more limited.

For me, the choice boils down to:

• Yuh (our review here) if you are in a neighboring country.
• UBS or PostFinance if you are not or if you are a US citizen.

If you left Switzerland, this is a bit different. In this case, you may already have a bank account in Switzerland, and it may be easier to keep it than to open a new one from abroad. And once you have one account while abroad, it is better to stick to it since it can be complicated to open another one from abroad.

I wish I would have more options to propose to non-residents, but the choice is quite limited.

If you are a resident, you can choose among the best Swiss banks.

What about you? Any other good option a non-resident could use?

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