Freiburger Kantonalbank (FKB) Review 2024
| Updated: |(Disclosure: Some of the links below may be affiliate links)
The Freiburger Kantonalbank (FKB) is the bank of the canton of Freiburg, the canton where we live.
Is FKB any good as a bank? We find out in this in-depth review of this bank. I review the features, fees, advantages, and disadvantages of the Freiburger Kantonalbank.
| Yearly fee | 40 CHF |
|---|---|
| Users | Unknown |
| Card | Sesam and Mastercard Debit |
| Currencies | CHF |
| Withdrawals in Switzerland | Free |
| Withdrawals abroad | 5 CHF |
| Languages | German and French |
| Custody bank | Freiburger Kantonalbank |
| Depositor protection | Unlimited |
| Established | 1892 |
| Headquarters | Freiburg, Switzerland |
Freiburger Kantonalbank
The Freiburger Kantonalbank (FKB) is the cantonal bank of the canton of Freiburg. The bank was created in 1892 under the name Freiburger Staatsbank and changed to its current name in 1998. The headquarters of the bank is in the city center of Freiburg.
The bank belongs entirely to the canton of Freiburg. They currently have about 25 offices and 500 employees. The bank has a good reputation in our canton and many people use it.
As I mentioned before, I do not intend to review all cantonal banks. However, I plan to review a few to get an idea of what is available. I chose the Freiburger Kantonalbank because I live in the canton of Freiburg.
So, in this review, we will see what are the banking features of the bank and its fees. The Freiburger Kantonalbank also offers mortgages and investments and even some insurance. But we only focus on banking in this review.
FKB Features
First, we start by looking at the banking features of the Freiburger Kantonalbank.
The bank has a relatively simple system with a few accounts and a few packages. It is interesting that the packages and accounts and different per age group:
- Junior: 6 to 14
- Young: 15 to 22
- Standard: 23 to 59
- Plus: 60 years and more
All accounts can be managed either online through the e-banking portal or using the mobile app. All accounts can be opened by Swiss residents only with a passport or a B or C residency permit. And you can do everything you can expect from a standard bank account.
With the checking account, you can withdraw up to 50’000 CHF per month without notice. With the savings account, you can withdraw up to 50’000 CHF per year without notice.
As of May 2024, you get the following interest rates:
- 0.10% on the checking account
- 0.75% on the savings account up to 25’000 CHF and 0.50% after that.
They also have a second special savings account (Savings Bonus) where you can only withdraw 20’000 CHF per year without notice, but you get better interest rate:
- 1.0% up to 25’000 CHF
- 0.75% up to 100’000 CHF
- 0.50% after that
The Freiburger Kantonalbank offers two main cards:
- The Sesam card which comes with every account and that can only be used in FKB ATMs.
- A Debit Mastercard that can be used more widely, but that needs to be requested.
It is important to if you ever need money outside of canton Freiburg and its FKB ATMs, you will need to order the Debit Mastercard.
They also offer some credit cards, but these cards are not very interesting. Generally, the best credit cards are not offered by banks directly.
The bank has its own TWINT app. And the Mastercard Debit card can be used with Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay.
It is worth noting that you cannot open an account online. If you want to open an account, the best you can do online is to take an appointment in one of the offices to open the account in person.
The bank is available in French and German only. Nothing is available in English.
Overall, the Freiburger Kantonalbank has all the features you require for banking.
FKB Fees
Then, we must look at the fees of the Freiburger Kantonalbank.
Fortunately, the base accounts are all free. So, you will not need to pay any fees for the account itself. And all the basic operations, like paying your bills and sending and receiving money, are free.
On the other hand, you will need to pay 40 CHF per year for the Mastercard Debit card. And since it is the only way to use the account outside the canton Freiburg, it is almost necessary. So, I will assume that 40 CHF per year is the base fee for a FKB account.
With the Sesam card, you can withdraw money for free at all FKB ATMs. With the Mastercard Debit card, you can withdraw money for free at all ATMs in Switzerland. If you are withdrawing money abroad, you will pay 5 CHF.
Paying with the Mastercard Debit card in Switzerland will be free. If you pay abroad, you will pay 1.50 CHF per payment. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find out whether they have an extra exchange rate surcharge or they are using the Mastercard Debit surcharge only. But I would be surprised if there was not some hidden surcharge.
Overall, the Freiburger Kantonalbank has good fees. I just wish they would offer the Mastercard debit card for free instead of making it 40 CHF, since it is mostly required.
User reviews
It is important to look at what users think of a bank before using it.
First, we can look at the ratings of the mobile app. The app got a 3.0 rating on the Play Store and a 2.9 rating on the App Store. Review. These are not good scores. Looking at the reviews with text, they are mostly negative and pointing out technical issues with the app and difficulty to use the app.
I also look at the ratings of the bank offices on Google, but they are few of them. Overall, they also get about 3 stars on average. On the headquarters office, people are mostly pointing out long wait times. And in general, bad reviews are about poor service by employees. And good reviews are about good service by employees. So, it appears that you can either get lucky or unlucky based on who you are seeing.
Overall, it looks like the user reviews of the Freiburger Kantonalbank are not great. However, this must be taken with a grain of salt given the limited number of reviews that are available.
Is the Freiburger Kantonalbank safe?
The bank you select for your money should be as safe as possible. Therefore, it is critical to look at the safety of a bank when reviewing it.
Like most cantonal banks, the Freiburger Kantonalbank has an unlimited guarantee from the canton. In case of bankruptcy, the canton of Freiburg is entirely responsible for covering for all customer deposits. This is definitely an advantage of most cantonal banks.
The FKB is financially healthy. For the last 30 years, the bank has always been growing. And recently, it has always made nice profits. This is also a good sign because it suggests that the bank is unlikely to fail and is well managed.
Overall, the Freiburger Kantonalbank appears to be a safe cantonal bank.
Alternatives
It is essential to always compare a bank against alternatives before choosing.
Freiburger Kantonalbank vs ZKB
The Zürcher Kantonalbank is the largest cantonal bank in Switzerland. And since I already reviewed it in details, it makes sense to compare the two cantonal banks.
The two accounts are free, but the Mastercard from FKB is not free, at 40 CHF per year. This makes ZKB cheaper since the card is free.
In terms of features, both banks have similar features. They both offer e-banking, mobile banking and in-person banking.
They are both cantonal banks and have the same unlimited state guarantee. And they both have a good financial reputation.
The user reviews of the ZKB are better than for the Freiburger Kantonalbank. But in both cases, there are some significant differences between different bank offices.
For withdrawing money, FKB has a slight advantage with the Mastercard, since you can withdraw for free in all of Switzerland. ZKB, on the other hand, is only free on cantonal banks ATMs.
ZKB is more available since people outside of Zurich can also open accounts. FKB, on the other hand, is limited to Freiburg. Furthermore, you can open individual accounts online with Zürcher Kantonalbank, but not with Freiburger Kantonalbank.
Since the ZKB account is free and more available, ZKB is a better cantonal bank account than the Freiburger Kantonalbank.
If you would like to know more about ZKB, you can read my review of the Zürcher Kantonalbank.
Freiburger Kantonalbank vs Neon
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- Pay abroad for free
- Invest with great fees
Neon is my favorite digital bank. Therefore, we can compare Neon and the Freiburger Kantonalbank.
Since Neon is a digital bank, it has no offices, only a mobile app. On the other hand, the FKB has multiple offices in the canton of Freiburg and also a web e-banking portal. However, the FKB is limited to the canton of Freiburg, while Neon is made for the whole of Switzerland.
In terms of features, both banks have similar features. One advantage of Neon is that you can do everything with a single card, while you have two cards at FKB.
Neon is available in the entire Switzerland, but FKB is only available in Freiburg. And you can always open Neon accounts online, while you need to do it in person for Freiburger Kantonalbank.
As for fees, the individual account of Neon is cheaper than the FKB. The joint account from Neon will be almost the same price.
One advantage of FKB is that it has unlimited state guarantee. Neon only has the standard deposit insurance of 100’000 CHF.
One major advantage of Neon is that the card is great to use abroad and in foreign currencies. On the other hand, the FKB card is not great to use abroad.
Overall, with lower fees, more availability and a better card, I feel like Neon is a better choice as long as you are open to digital accounts.
FAQ
Who can open an account wtih Freiburger Kantonalbank?
Residents of the canton of the Fribourg with a Swiss passport, a B or C permit can open an account with the Freiburger Kantonalbank.
What is the Sesam card from the FKB?
This is a special card that can only be used in FKB ATMs in the canton of Fribourg and in the offices. You cannot use it elsewhere or for paying.
How much cash is protected if the Freiburger Kantonalbank bankrupts?
The cash deposits from FKB have an unlimited guarantee from the canton of Fribourg, like most cantonal banks in Switzerland.
Who is the Freiburger Kantonalbank good for?
The Freiburger Kantonalbank is good for people in the canton that want an affordable bank account with decent features.
Who is the Freiburger Kantonalbank not good for?
The FKB account is not great if you are planning to use it abroad or in foreign currencies, and is also not ideal if you are looking for the cheapest bank account.
Summary
Freiburger Kantonalbank
The Freiburger Kantonalbank is the bank of the canton of Fribourg, used by many. In this review, we cover this bank in depth, with its pros and cons!
4
Pros
- The account is free of charge
- Can be used on mobile, computer and in the offices
- Good TWINT support
- Unlimited state guarantee
Cons
- Need to pay for the Mastercard Debit card
- Poor user reviews
- The base Sesam card is very limited
- No support for English and Italian
- Not great at foreign currency transactions
Conclusion
Overall, the Freiburger Kantonalbank offers good bank accounts for residents of the canton of Freiburg. They have a good level of features and offer web, mobile and in-person access to these features.
In Freiburg, the bank has a relatively good reputation. On the other hand, its online reviews are not that great. It looks like the apps are not always working well and that there are long wait times in the offices.
The main disadvantage of this account for me is that the Mastercard Debit card is not included by default. If they included it by default and entirely removed the need for the Sesam card, it would become a more interesting account.
If you would like to learn more about Swiss banks, read my article on the best Swiss banks.
What about you? What do you think of the FKB? Would you like me to review another cantonal bank?
Recommended reading
- More articles about Best banks
- More articles about Save
- What is the Best Swiss Bank in 2024?
- What is the best Swiss bank for non-resident?
- Swissquote Debit Mastercard Review 2024: Pros & Cons
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