Zak Erfahrungen 2025: Kostenloses Bankkonto von Bank Cler

Zak

Zak is the earliest Swiss digital bank account. Bank Cler started offering Zak accounts in 2018. Bank Cler was previously known as Bank Coop. There are a few new digital bank accounts now. But, interestingly, they were the first ones to start.

This bank account is entirely digital. You can only use it from your smartphone. There is no e-banking access from your desktop.

The main selling point of Zak is to be entirely free for operations in Switzerland. These days, banks have no interest rate. So, it is essential to choose a free bank account. You do not want to waste your money on bank fees.

All people who are more than 15 years old can open a Zak bank account. But you also need to be a resident of Switzerland. You need a B or C permit to open an account if you are not a Swiss citizen.

With Zak, you will have a physical Debit Visa card with each account. You can use this card in Switzerland and abroad. Viseca issues the card.

I have not been using their mobile application for a long time, but it feels well-designed. It is easy to use and user-friendly. The app simplifies people’s lives. Of course, you want your banking app to be as simple as possible.

Since March 2022, Zak has supported eBill. Their users widely requested this feature. I know many people were not using Zak because of that.

Please note that Zak is only available in the three Swiss national languages: French, German, and Italian. It is not available in English. The absence of English is slightly disappointing for ex-pats. It could be a substantial disadvantage for many people.

Zak Fees

The main advantage of Zak compared to other Swiss bank accounts is the pricing. However, if you use the Zak account correctly, you will not have to pay for anything.

There are no management fees at Zak, and you will not pay any monthly or yearly statement fees.

All payments through the application are free in CHF and EUR. Most bank accounts offer free payments in CHF, at least.

The Debit Visa card of Zak is free. You can withdraw money for free at all Bank Cler ATMs. If you withdraw cash at other ATMs, you will pay 2 CHF per withdrawal in CHF and 5 CHF in EUR. This limitation could be an issue if you have no ATM from Bank Cler nearby. You must pay 5 CHF per withdrawal if you withdraw money abroad.

If you pay with a Debit Visa card in Switzerland or abroad, transactions will be free.

Unfortunately, even though there are no fees for Zak abroad, the exchange rate is unfavorable to the users. Generally, users have seen about a 2.5% surcharge on the exchange rate when using this card. This makes it very poor abroad or in foreign currencies online.

You can also deposit cash for free at a Bank Cler ATM. This is interesting because very few neo-banks allow this.

The card offer of Zak is not great for purchases in Switzerland. The Visa card does not offer any cashback. The absence of cashback is not a big deal since we have a very strong credit card strategy. This drawback is currently the same for every Swiss digital bank.

Other features

Zak also has a few interesting extra features. These features could make a difference for some people.

Zak also has a savings account. From your main account, you can open a second savings account. And then, you can easily manage both accounts from one app. The savings account has an excellent interest rate. You can withdraw 10’000 CHF for free per year. If you withdraw more, you will need a 3-month notice.

It is worth nothing that their savings account is a true bank account, with an IBAN. It means that people could transfer money to you directly to your savings account. This is not the case of most digital banks where savings accounts are simply sub-accounts without an IBAN.

One feature that could be very practical is Zak Illico. With this feature, you can directly send money to other Zak users in real-time. You can imagine using that to pay your friends quickly or to split a bill.

This feature is excellent if you know many people using the application. On the other hand, this is less useful if you do not know any other users. Depending on how Zak becomes popular, this could become a great thing.

You can also create common savings pots. These pots are like small accounts that up to ten people manage. You can use this to share project expenses with a group of people. For example, I can see this being very useful if you are on vacation with some friends and want to keep an overview of the shared bills.

Another thing you can do is create savings pots with individual goals. These are like an account where you can save money for a goal (vacation or retirement). And you can automate some transfers to this account every month. This could be a great feature if you need this to manage your finances. But if you keep it simple, like me, you probably will not need this feature.

Inside the app, you will also find some deals for shops and services. Depending on the offers, this could be interesting. But I do not see that as a selling point. There are more than enough deals on the internet already. And I will never open my bank application to look for deals.

Some of these features could be interesting for some people, especially the direct payment to other users. However, several features can be great if you know people using the application.

Zak Plus

Zak also has a premium version: Zak Plus. This bank account costs 8 CHF per month.

With this option, you will have all the features of the standard account. And you will pay fewer fees for one thing: All withdrawals are free regardless of the country or ATM.

You also have a few other advantages, like a card with a unique design and free coffee in Bank Cler offices.

Honestly, I do not feel this is a great offer. Generally, you can avoid withdrawing money abroad. And since you can already pay for free abroad with the Visa prepaid card, there is little advantage in doing the same with the physical Visa.

Zak Plus is a great way to get cash abroad. If you travel a lot and need cash, 8 CHF per month is a small amount. However, it will account for a small percentage if you withdraw large amounts regularly.

How to open a Zak account?

Opening a Zak bank account is very easy. Bank Cler made the process extremely straightforward.

You can open an account directly from your phone. You just have to download the app and follow all the steps. You can do that on Apple and Android devices, so I do not have to explain every step. The process is straightforward. And all the questions asked are entirely standard.

You need to make sure to have your identity documents ready at hand. You will have to take pictures of your documents from the app to verify your identity. If you are a foreigner, you will need both your passport and your local residency permit for this process.

Overall, you should be able to create a new account from your couch in less than 10 minutes.

It is important to mention that you need another bank account to create your Zak account. To verify your Zak account, you must transfer money from an existing bank account in your name. So, Zak cannot be used if you just arrived in Switzerland without a bank account!

Zak as a payment card

Zak is a great bank account. It also offers a good Visa card for free when paying abroad.

However, it is not the best option for a payment card in Switzerland. That does not mean you should not use Zak. This means you should get a second card to make your payments in Switzerland.

The reason is simple: you want a little cashback on your payment card. My favorite credit card is currently the Certo One Mastercard with 1% cashback in three shops of your choice. This card is free and offer some cashback. Zak’s card is free, but it does not offer any cashback.

So, Zak is an excellent bank account. But you should try to get another credit card to pay in Switzerland.

Alternatives

We should compare Zak against some alternatives.

Zak vs radicant

Günstigste Digitalbank

radicant

4.5

radicant ist eine ausgezeichnete digitale Bank mit allen Funktionen, die man braucht – und das zu einem unglaublichen Preis.

Verwende den Code POORCH, um 50 CHF auf dein Konto zu erhalten, wenn du die Karte benutzt!

Pros:

• Interbankenkurs

Verwende den Code POORCH Unsere Erfahrungen

Um die Prämie zu erhalten, gib den Code innerhalb von 7 Tagen nach der ersten Einzahlung ein und tätige 3 Kartentransaktionen innerhalb von 30 Tagen nach der Code geben.

radicant is another digital bank account, backed by Basler Kantonalbank (BLKB). Both Zak and radicant are fully digital bank accounts.

Both digital banks have the same set of basic features. Zak has a few extra features like projects and instant sending between users.

The base accounts are free in both cases. The main difference in fees lies in payments abroad and in foreign currencies. With Zak, you will pay about 2.5% surcharge, while radicant offers the interbank exchange rate without any surcharge! This can make radicant much cheaper than Zak abroad.

Zak is more established than radicant, this may be an advantage for some people.

Overall, I believe that radicant is a better bank account than Zak.

Zak vs Neon

Great App to Pay, Save and Invest

Neon

4.5

All the services you need to pay, save and invest, in a neat package, with extremely good prices!

Use code thepoorswiss to receive up to 100 CHF in trading credits!

Pros:

• Invest with great fees

Use code thepoorswiss Read my review

The trading credits are redeemable for trading fees in 3 trades within 2 months of account opening

Neon is another great free digital Swiss bank account. We can make a small comparison of both bank accounts. These two bank accounts are very similar.

Both banks offer free purchases abroad as part of their basic plan. With Neon, you can use the Mastercard for this. And with Zak, you can use a prepaid Visa card. This free service can make a lot of difference.

However, one huge difference is that Neon uses the Mastercard exchange rate with a small surcharge, while Zak uses the Visa exchange rate with a large surcharge. On average, Neon will be 0.75% more expensive than the interbank exchange rate, while Zak will be about 2.5% pricier. So, Neon is much better than Zak abroad.

Regarding their mobile applications, I think that Zak’s mobile application is better. It feels more polished and better finished. But this is not a huge difference. And in the end, you will probably spend very little time inside the application. So it should not matter much. But, on the other hand, if you know many people using Zak, some collaboration features could be a good selling point.

One advantage of Zak for some people is that it is offered by a standard bank (Bank Cler). Many people find this comforting. Many people do not want to use digital bank accounts because they prefer big banks. On the other hand, Neon is not well-known and is only a digital bank and a startup.

One slight advantage of Neon is that it is available in English. For people coming to Switzerland who do not yet speak any national languages, this could be an essential advantage.

Overall, I believe that Neon is significantly better than Zak.

If you want more details, I made a detailed comparison of Neon and Zak.

FAQ

Zak Zusammenfassung

Zak

Zak ist ein kostenloses digitales Schweizer Bankkonto von Bank Cler mit einigen erweiterten Funktionen.

Pruduktmarke: Zak

Bewertung des Redakteurs:
4

Vorteile

• Sehr einfach zu bedienen!
• Keine Kontoführungsgebühr!
• Sie können Geld direkt an andere Zak-Benutzer senden!
• Alle Funktionen sind auf Ihrem Handy verfügbar!
• Sie können Bank Cler Büros über Ihr Konto nutzen!
• Unterstützung für eBill!

Nachteile

• Zur Eröffnung eines Zak-Kontos benötigen Sie ein anderes Bankkonto;
• Teure Währungsumrechnungen mit der Karte;
• Nicht auf Englisch verfügbar;
• Kein Cashback auf die Kreditkarte;
• Relativ niedrige Limite (10'000 CHF pro Woche);

Schlussfolgerung

Wenn Sie ein kostenloses und gutes Bankkonto suchen, ist Zak eine gute Wahl! Wenn Sie es richtig nutzen, werden Sie ein voll funktionsfähiges Bankkonto haben. Und Sie müssen keine Gebühren zahlen!

Ich bin begeistert, dass die digitalen Banken in der Schweiz immer besser werden. Allerdings würde ich es vorziehen, wenn sie keine kostenfreien Transaktionen im Ausland behaupten würden, falls sie einen Aufschlag auf den Wechselkurs erheben.

Und wenn Sie viele Leute kennen, die Zak nutzen, können Sie einige Ausgaben ganz einfach teilen. Sie können mit der Anwendung sogar Projektausgaben in Gruppen planen.

Wenn Sie noch ein nicht kostenloses Bankkonto benutzen, ist Zak eine gute Alternative! In der Tat sollten Sie den Wechsel zu einem digitalen Bankkonto oder zumindest zu einem kostenlosen Bankkonto in Betracht ziehen.

Wenn Sie Alternativen in Betracht ziehen möchten, könnten Sie sich auch Neon, eine weitere hervorragende Schweizer Digitalbank, ansehen. Für weitere Details habe ich einen Vergleich zwischen Zak und Neon erstellt. Ich persönlich verwende Neon.

Wie sieht es bei Ihnen aus? Was hältst du von Zak? Welche Bankverbindung nutzen Sie?