What is the Best Swiss Bank in 2024?
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Unless you live entirely off the grid and get paid in cash, you need a bank account. But which Swiss Bank should you choose?
There are tons of Swiss banks. After all, Switzerland is the country of banks. However, contrary to popular belief, Swiss banks are not great!
Most Swiss banks are costly and offer poor service. You can find much cheaper and better banks in other countries. Fortunately, this situation is improving with new banks trying to break the status quo.
Which is the Best Swiss Bank in 2023? But first, let’s consider how to choose a bank!
How to choose a bank?
You can use many criteria to compare banks. We see the most important parameters. Of course, your needs may be different from mine. So, the best Swiss bank for me may not be the best for you!
The parameters will also depend on what you need. But here are the things most people need from a bank:
- A checking account to get their salary.
- A debit card to withdraw cash when you cannot use your credit card.
- Possibly, a savings account. But not everybody needs one. I have not used one in years.
You will also need a credit card. However, the best credit cards are not the ones you can get from a bank! I would encourage you to have a separate credit card from your bank account. If you do not know which one to choose, you can read about the best credit cards in Switzerland. So, for our comparison of banks, we will ignore credit cards.
The Base Price
First, you need to consider the price of the bank account. These days, you can find free bank accounts in Switzerland. So there is no reason to pay anything for a bank account!
You need to be aware that some Swiss banks have conditions that make it free. For instance, my current bank, Migros Bank, used to be free only as long as I had 7500 CHF in my bank account (this fee has since been waived). These limitations were not an issue for me, as I generally keep about 10,000 CHF on my account. But it could be an issue for people having less than that.
So, before you choose a bank account, you need to know how much you will keep in your account.
The price of features
The base price of a bank account is essential, but we should also consider the prices of the features.
First, you want a free debit card. You can find several banks with free debit cards, so there is no reason to pay for a debit card! You should not use it too much, of course. You should only use it to withdraw money. And you can use it if you cannot use a credit card.
Of course, you want to be able to do bank transfers in Switzerland for free! You do not want to pay extra money to pay your bills! You will also need bank transfers to send money to your broker (Interactive Brokers, for instance).
You may want cheap bank transfers in Europe in euros. This feature is not mandatory since you generally do not want to use your bank account for this. For this, you probably want to use Neon to save on fees and bad conversion rates.
Finally, you want to be able to withdraw some cash for free! There are always some cases where you will need cash, and you do not want to have to pay to get some money!
The security of the bank
Even if you do not keep much money in your bank account, you want your money to be safe.
For that, you should keep your money in a Swiss bank account. All Swiss bank accounts are insured for up to 100’000 CHF. If your bank goes bankrupt, you still get your money back.
You must ensure the money is kept in an institution with a Swiss banking license. You should not consider small startups that may not yet have a banking license.
If you are serious about security, learn how to secure your online finances!
Access to the bank services
For this one, it will highly depend on you. You need to decide how much access you want to your bank account.
Some people want an actual office with people in case they have an issue. I do not care about that. But that is not the case for everybody!
And also, sometimes, people want a local bank. They feel like they can trust a regional bank more. We have plenty of cantonal banks in Switzerland, and people seem to like them. This would be one of the last points I would use to compare the two banks. But if you want, that is something you can consider! I prefer to look at the ATMs of that bank rather than the bank itself.
Some people want a mobile application, and some, like me, prefer a web application. If you want a mobile or web application, you may want to ensure it works well, but you do not need to use your bank application a lot.
I use my bank account monthly to pay all my bills. Except for that time, I rarely check my bank account. As long as I can do that relatively quickly, I do not care how to do that. But I want to be able to do that from home.
But some people check their bank accounts daily. For these people, it is essential to have a powerful application that works well. If you are one of these people, I encourage you to find reviews of bank mobile apps and maybe demos so that you can get a feel for them.
One important thing is where you can withdraw money for free! The lack of ATMs was a big issue for me with Postfinance. There were no ATMs close to where I worked or lived where I could withdraw cash for free. This could be vital if you withdraw money often!
Features of the bank
Finally, the least important thing about a bank is its features.
You do not need anything fancy with your bank. For instance, I only use four features with my bank:
- Getting my salary in.
- Paying my bills by scanning them with my phone or computer.
- Transfer money to my broker.
- Withdraw cash from time to time.
That is it! And I do not think that people need any more features than that.
But if you need it, you could consider a few things.
One thing many people want to have is electronic bills. I do not like them. Using electronic bills will bind you with a bank. And that is bad. You want to be able to change to a new bank very easily. But some people like it and cannot live with it. So you could use that as an argument.
Some people also want to transfer transactions to their fancy budgeting tools, such as YNAB or Personal Capital. Once again, I do not think this is useful. You do not need any fancy budgeting tool. You need a simple spreadsheet. And you can even have some budget applications for free! I do not understand people willing to pay for a budgeting tool.
Managing your budget with a simple spreadsheet will take you fifteen minutes a month! But if you want, this could limit your bank choice. I do not think it is a good argument, but that is up to you!
Some banks have even more features than that. Some banks try to do your budget for you, for instance. Some banks have features to automate bank transfers between accounts. But do you need that? Ultimately, deciding which feature is worth it will be up to you.
The two Best Swiss Banks
Based on these arguments, here are the two best Swiss banks in 2022:
- Neon is the best digital Swiss Bank
- Migros Bank is one of the best traditional Swiss Bank
I decided to choose one digital bank and one standard bank. Because some people do not yet want to move to a digital bank, I can understand them. And as it turns out, there are still some great Swiss Banks!
Also, digital banks currently have more limitations. So, it still makes sense to have a traditional bank account.
And, of course, there are other Swiss banks than these two. And some of them are pretty good. But I do not want to give you a list of too many banks. That would be a waste of time for you and me! There is more value in a shorter list with two good banks.
The Best Digital Swiss Bank in 2022: Neon
All the services you need to pay, save and invest, in a neat package, with extremely good prices!
Use the poorswiss code to receive 10CHF!
- Pay abroad for free
- Invest with great fees
Neon is an entirely digital bank. That means they do not have any office that you can walk in. Of course, they have some form of customer service. But all your operations will need to go through the mobile app.
Neon does not offer a Maestro card. Instead, it provides a Mastercard prepaid card. You can use this card where you usually use a Maestro card, but there are some exceptions in places that only accept Maestro cards.
Given its wide range of features and low price, Neon is currently the best digital Swiss bank.
If you enter the code “poorswiss” during registration, you will get 10 CHF for free once you use your account. And I will get 10 CHF as well.
The Base Price
Price is where Neon excels! The base price of a checking account with Neon is entirely free! That’s right. You will not pay any management fees! And you do not need a specific amount of money on your account for this to be valid!
Not all operations are free. For instance, you will still have to pay to transfer money abroad or receive money in foreign currencies, but these are exceptional events.
The price of features
The price of features at Neon is also excellent! Pricing is where Neon shines compared to other Swiss banks.
You can make free payments in CHF in Switzerland. These payments are for all our bills and money transfers!
With your Mastercard, you can purchase things online and abroad in foreign currencies for free! These free purchases abroad are probably one of the most significant advantages of Neon.
If you transfer money abroad from Neon, you will profit from their partnership with Wise. So, you will also pay very low fees for transferring money to other countries.
Neon does not offer a Maestro card. Instead, it provides a MasterCard. This is different from most Swiss banks. But Neon offers the MasterCard for free! However, you may have to use cash in places that only accept Maestro.
You can also use your Neon card with Google Pay. So you can pay in many shops.
Finally, you can also withdraw money at any ATM for free! However, you only have two free ATM withdrawals per month. After this, you will have to pay 2 CHF for each withdrawal. If you are like me and trying to avoid cash, you should be more than okay with two monthly withdrawals. I generally withdraw money less than once a month.
The safety of the bank
All Swiss bank accounts are insured for up to 100’000 CHF. But Neon is not a bank. However, your funds are deposited in your name with the Hypothekarbank Lenzburg bank. This bank has a Swiss banking license.
So, as long as you do not have over 100’000 CHF, your money is fully insured!
Access to The Bank
Access to the features of the bank is entirely on your phone. That means that your bank is always in your pocket!
You can use all ATMs in Switzerland to withdraw money, which is great because this is not the case for many banks!
Another great thing is that the website is entirely translated into all national languages and English! The application itself is also available in English! If you are an ex-pat and do not yet speak one of the national languages, this could be very important to you!
Finally, customer service is available by email and by phone. But you will not be able to talk to people in person since they do not have offices for the customers.
Features
Overall, Neon has more than enough features for most people. The mobile application is excellent and very easy to use.
You can scan your bills with your phone to get the reference number! This feature can save you a lot of time, but nowadays, it is almost present in all mobile banking applications.
Also, you can easily download account statements in PDF. This feature is essential if you want to archive them! You can also receive an SMS notification when something happens to your account. This feature could be helpful.
Neon is also the only digital Swiss bank with support for e-bills. On top of that, Neon has a few extra features. For instance, you can send money directly to other Neon users.
The Best Standard Swiss Bank in 2022: Migros Bank
If you prefer a standard brick-and-mortar Swiss Bank, Migros Bank is an interesting option. I am using Migros Bank as my main bank account.
One thing you need to be aware of is that the application is not available in English. If you are an ex-pat and do not speak one of our national languages, I recommend going with Neon instead.
The Base Price
We start with the base price. Checking and savings accounts are free.
The price of features
Most of the features you use are free with Migros Bank.
First, you can make payments for free in CHF in Switzerland. So you can pay your bills and transfer money for free!
The Visa debit card is free. You must pay 30 CHF per year if you want an additional card. Their credit cards are not free either. But they are not great, so you do not wish to use them anyway!
Withdrawing money in all the places I mentioned before is free of charge. You can withdraw money as many times per month as you want! But if you want to withdraw from another ATM, you will pay 2 CHF per withdrawal.
However, SEPA payments in euros are not free! You will pay 0.30 CHF per payment in EUR abroad. I think this fee is a bit disappointing. But it should not be an issue if you do not get too many incoming payments.
You should not use the Migros Bank card to make payments abroad. They will be costly. Neon is much better for this.
The safety of the bank
Migros Bank is a licensed Swiss bank. As such, your money is protected for up to 100’000 CHF. This protection is the best security you can get for your money in Switzerland.
Access to The Bank
Since Migros Bank is a standard brick-and-mortar Swiss bank, you can access its service in offices. That means you can do transactions in the office and get customer support there. Actual customer support is the main difference with a fully digital bank.
There are plenty of Migros Bank offices in Switzerland. If you live in a city, you should have access to one. Otherwise, the nearest town should have one!
And, of course, you will also have access to the bank services through the Migros Bank mobile application. And they also have a desktop application for Windows and Mac.
Finally, if you want to withdraw money, you have many choices! You can withdraw cash with your Migros Bank debit card in:
- Migros Bank offices
- Migros shops
- Migrolino shops
- Migrol shops
- Denner shops
This list makes up many places where you can withdraw money! It takes time to get used to it since people are used to withdrawing cash from banks. But now, I always withdraw money in Migros shops.
Features
For features, nothing is missing with Migros Bank.
All the basic features are here. You can get report statements in PDF, scan bills with your phone, and access electronic bills (e-bills).
However, the mobile application of Migros is much worse than the mobile app of Neon. It is not intuitive at all. And it does not look good at all, either.
The biggest problem is what they call two-factor authentication. You need a second computer, mobile phone, or tablet with the application to validate transfers from the main. This limitation is a big issue for me because my computer runs Linux. And Migros Bank does not support Linux!
For me, this system is a big problem with Migros Bank. I had to install the application on my wife’s phone to use it. It is terrible! If you do not have two phones or a tablet and a phone, you cannot use Migros. Even if you install it on your computer, you must still install it on your phone to confirm transactions.
Swiss Banks Summary
We can summarize our findings with this comparison table of the best Swiss banks:
|
Best Digital Bank
|
Best traditional bank
|
|
5.0
|
4.0
|
|
Free
|
Free
|
|
|
|
|
- Pay abroad for free
- Transfer money abroad for a good fee
- Everything from your phone
- Good mobile application
- Cannot deposit cash easily
- Mobile-only
- High limits
- Good withdrawals
- Can deposit cash easily
- Mobile and desktop applications
- Expensive purchases abroad
- Expensive transfers abroad
- Poor mobile app
And here are the compared fees of both banks:
| Bank | Neon | Migros |
|---|---|---|
| Management fees | 0 CHF | 0 CHF |
| Incoming transfer | 0 CHF | 0 CHF |
| SEPA payment | 0 CHF | 0.30 CHF |
| Foreign currency or abroad payment | About 0.4% | About 2.0% |
| Foreign currency transfer | About 0.8% | About 2.0% |
Alternatives
Of all the banks I considered, these two were the best.
There is one group of banks we need to mention: cantonal banks. Cantonal banks are generally providing great value for money. I did not mention any cantonal bank in this article because they are, by definition, local banks. I would have to make one article per canton. But for instance, the Zuger Kantonalbank provides excellent value, and so does the Freiburg Kantonalbank from my canton, Fribourg.
I have also reviewed other brick-and-mortar banks, such as Raiffeisen and PostFinance. And I also compared some other digital banks like Yapeal and Yuh. But they are not as good as Neon or Migros. If you want me to compare other Swiss banks, let me know in the comments below, and I will see what I can do.
The only honorable mention I would like to mention is Zak. Just after Neon, this is the second-best digital bank in Switzerland. And they have some great features. You can check out my Zak review to know more.
What about the most famous Swiss banks: UBS (my UBS review) and Credit Suisse? These banks are not bad, but they are expensive. I do not believe they provide enough value to justify their price. So, you can get much better value for your money by using the two best Swiss banks I have outlined in this article.
Conclusion
All the services you need to pay, save and invest, in a neat package, with extremely good prices!
Use the poorswiss code to receive 10CHF!
- Pay abroad for free
- Invest with great fees
The two best Swiss Banks for 2022 are Neon and Migros Bank!
The choice of a Swiss bank currently boils down to whether you want a digital bank. If you want a Digital Swiss Bank, you can go with Neon. If you prefer a Swiss Bank with an office, choose Migros Bank.
These Swiss Banks are cheap and offer a good amount of features.
I use both banks. I was with Migros Bank before discovering Neon. Then, I opened a Neon account to test it, and I like it. I pay all my bills on my Neon account.
Today, I would probably use Neon as my primary bank account if I had to choose. The main advantage is the mobile app, which is ten times better. However, there are a few things that keep me at Migros:
- The limits of Neon. Generally, 30’000 CHF per day should be more than enough. But there are some cases where I had to do larger transfers than this, for instance, for my downpayment. So, this limit could be a blocker for some people.
- The fact that my mortgage is at Migros Bank.
Overall, Neon is better than Migros Bank for me, mainly because of the issues I have with the Migros Mobile Application. This would save me a little money by avoiding the 0.20 CHF fee on each incoming payment.
Learn more about these best Swiss banks with my detailed reviews:
If you want to create an account at Neon, do not forget to enter the code “poorswiss” during registration. You will receive 10 CHF once you start using your account. And I will get 10 CHF as well.
What about you? Which of these two Swiss Banks do you prefer?
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Hi, I’m just seriously considering leaving postfinance after years of collaboration. The service quality is unbearable already, the app functionality heavily deteriorated after the switch to the new user interface and I just have no more patience with them. They started also to raise the payments and introduced the negative interest rates for private account. Interestingly, UBS and Reifaisen are my top choices now (I resigned from UBS 8 years ago due to high prices, but now, it’s not so far of postfinance). Would be good to read some overview about them.
Hi Jack,
Thanks for sharing!
I have heard many good things about Raiffeisen, I will make a review of their banking offers soon. And since UBS is also used by many expats, I will consider doing a review later on as well.
But as of now, I do not know enough to have a good point of view.
Hi The Poor Swiss. As you said, these banks are a good combination but have both some minuses since you have to use both probably. Maybe it would make sense to also have a view on other banks with great services, even if you pay a small fee each month. I am a happy customer of Postfinance and I am not sure what I am missing by staying with them. To me, things like lack of design or clumsy authentication as you mentioned for Migros are a no go, also limits you mentioned to Neon. So options for having just one bank, where you can do everything, from sending funds to IBKR to scanning bills, easy autentification & design, banking license etc. If all great features are included at some bank, then a small fee might make sense for some user. Saving XX minutes per month by easiness to do stuff might beat those 5 CHF you would pay for that experience. Just a thought.
Hi Dan,
Depending on your needs, you may be able to use only Neon. But it’s true that both banks have limitations. As you said, you can’t send money to IB from Neon which means I cannot use only Neon. And on the other hand, the apps from Migros Bank are terrible, which makes me pay my bills with Neon :)
And I agree that at some point, paying a little amount of money each month can save you some hassle and that would be worth it. For now, I am happy with my combination.
I plan to review more banks in the future and PostFinance as a bank is on my list. Raiffeisen has also been suggested.
Why using neon instead of a brick-and-mortar bank plus the Wise card, except large fee-free cash withdrawal? In most countries it is free ok they make money the other way but 3-5 CHF is not much I don’t think that there should be a full time staff available to help, and if something goes wrong, and many additional optional services even if they have fees. If someone is ok to spend 40-60 CHF a year for brick-and-mortar benefits and not withdraw 200 CHF or more per month, does it make any sense to use neon?
Hi Gk,
The main advantage is indeed the price. But then, you also have the benefit of having a single card, not one bank card and one Wise or Revolut card.
If you are okay with spending for your bank account, then, there are not that many advantages to Neon, no.
My experience with big banks is that their apps are worse than Neon. I only have experience with PostFinance and Migros Bank and while the first one way okay, the second is absolutely terrible. So, you may want to compare the apps if you are going to go mobile.
Hi,
Unfortunately, the article is a bit misleading.
For new expats, it is impossible to open an account with Neon – it takes several weeks to get the “plastic” version of the Swiss identification card, which is required by their registration process. No other bank has this requirement.
Martin
Hi Martin,
I do not think this is misleading, but it’s indeed more suited to Swiss citizens.
This is indeed a limitation of Neon, but I do not think this is the only bank with this limitation. Most digital banks I know will ask you have to a residency card.
Hi Martin,
I had no better luck with Migros either:
No “plastic” residency, no bank account.
Just got my card today so I can finally open an account 1.5 months after moving to Switzerland.
Can a person open a “joint account online”
from another country such as USA?
Hi Chris,
You may be able to do that with very large banks like UBS and CS. But digital banks will not accept persons that do not live in Switzerland. And digital banks currently do not have joint accounts in Switzerland.
The one thing which is preventing me to go for Neon is that they do not have “Joint account”, so I can have one that I can share with my partner: https://www.neon-free.ch/en/faq/?category=3&article=67.
We like to have a joint account in which both salaries are transferred onto, alongside with all our expenses.
The above in the article is indeed valid but as soon as you have shared responsibilities (aka not married), the comparison between banks can actually change.
Hi Marc-O
That’s a good point. Currently, we do not have a joint bank account, but I wanted to open one in 2021. However, I am really getting fed up with the Migros applications, so I do not want one there, but for now, I did not find a good alternative for joint accounts.
Same, I was denied to open an account in Neon due to the fact that I did not have a B permit. Mr. Poor Swiss, can you please recommend some banks that can be options for expats with an L-permit?
I would try larger banks like UBS or Credit Suisse.
Hi Sadaf,
You can receive “Bonviva Silver” banking package for free for 2 years from Credit Suisse Bank if you use service of Hello Switzerland. I haven’t try it yet therefore I have limited information about it.
Link: https://www.helloswitzerland.ch/en/services/open-a-bank-account-at-credit-suisse/
However I have some experience with Dukascopy Bank because I could open an account online from different country. Maybe it isn’t the cheapest one but they require less then the competition. You can open in 23 different currencies but card is available only 4 of them. More details and fees: https://www.dukascopy.bank/swiss/
I am Belgian and live in SWISS for one month, applied for work permit L. Tried to open in Neon today. They ask for residence permit B which is not available for me now and god knows when I’ll get it. RESUME: Neon is not for newcomers.
Yes, unfortunately, Neon only accepts residents with a minimum of a B permit.
Unfortunately, most small Swiss banks are very restrictive because of the regulations if they get foreign clients.
That will the same for most Swiss banks.
Hi Mr.PoorSwiss ,
I really like your reviews and have been following them for sometime. You are doing a great job and helping so many of us. Did you consider digital bank CSX by Credit Suisse ? They seem to be having free services and advantage of customer service of CS.
Hi Srinivas,
I wrote a review of CSX a few months ago.
Let me know what you think.
Great review. Your recommendation for Neon is great, the digital bank is the same for the EU wide German based digital bank N26, also free and offering near identical features. Using TW for both institutions will save you money if you shop outside CH and wish to shift CHF. Cheers
Hi James,
I am not sure I understand how TW will help with Neon? Neon is cheaper than TW when you shop outside of CH, no?