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Neon Bank Review 2024: The Best Swiss Digital Bank

Baptiste Wicht | Updated: |

(Disclosure: Some of the links below may be affiliate links)

Do you want to save money on your bank fees?

Neon is a great Swiss digital bank that offers an entirely free bank account. As Swiss banks become increasingly expensive, switching to a free bank account is excellent.

You can easily save money on your banking fees with a free bank account from Neon. You will not find a better deal anywhere else!

Over the years, Neon has been adding new features over time and has become the best digital bank of Switzerland.

Sign up for a free bank account with Neon today!

I have been using Neon for several years. So, I want to share my experience in this Neon review.

One of the great things about Neon, compared to other digital alternatives, is that your funds are insured! If it goes bankrupt, your money is guaranteed up to 100’000 CHF! You have the same security as if you had a classical bank account.

In this article, we see what Neon is! And whether you should use it? How does it compare to other Swiss banks and neo-banks?

If you keep reading to the end, I even have a special Neon code for you!

About Neon
Monthly fee 0 CHF
Users 100’000
Card Mastercard Debit
Currencies CHF
Withdrawals in Switzerland 2 Free per month, then 2 CHF
Withdrawals abroad 1.50%
Languages English, French, German, and Italian
Custody bank Hypothekarbank Lenzburg
Depositor protection 100’000 CHF
Established 2017
Headquarters Zürich, Switzerland

Neon

Best App to Pay, Save and Invest
Neon
5.0

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!

Pros:
  • Pay abroad for free
  • Invest with great fees
Use the poorswiss code

Neon is one of the earliest digital banks in the Swiss banking industry. It is an entirely digital bank. You will do everything with your smartphone. They do not have any office you can do business at.

Neon started in 2019. But even though the company is only three years old, Neon has reached 100’000 customers in 2022. And they are expanding features very quickly. The company founders are Simon Youssef and Michael Noorlander.

Their main point is to provide free banking to everybody in Switzerland. They can afford excellent prices since they do not have big offices, not many employees, and do not pay huge bonuses to their managers. Unfortunately, most large banks in Switzerland are not free anymore!

Neon has three account types:

  1. Neon Free, which is the default account.
  2. Neon Green, which contributes to growing trees.
  3. Neon Metal, which gives you extra insurance.

There are some limitations as to who can open a Neon account:

  • Only Swiss residents can open an account. The identity check system supports people from 19 different countries!
  • Foreigners need a B or C permit to open an account. You will need to present your residency card to open an account.
  • You must be over 16, which is the same limitations as most Swiss banks.
  • You need to pay taxes exclusively in Switzerland.
  • You cannot be an American citizen.

These limitations are very reasonable. Neon is an account for people living in Switzerland, and most people in this category can open an account!

Unfortunately, the limitation for American citizens is in effect with many small banks that do not want to deal with the complicated regulations for these clients.

Do not pay for a bank account. Use Neon, the new Free Digital Bank

Is Neon a Bank?

Interestingly Neon is not a bank! Indeed, they do not have a banking license. However, they do not need one!  An official bank, the Hypothekarbank Lenzburg, manages your accounts.

The most significant advantage is that your money is fully insured according to Swiss laws, contrary to other digital banks. So, 100’000 CHF of your account will be protected by law!

Moreover, this also means Neon can focus on what they do best: its mobile application and products. And the official bank can focus on what they do best: manage money!

So, there is no disadvantage to Neon not being a licensed bank.

Neon Features

Neon mobile application
Neon mobile application

So, we first look at the features of the Neon bank account.

Neon is a digital bank account, so you must access it with a smartphone. It is available on Android, iPhone, and Huawei (without Google Play Store). And you can even access it on a rooted Android phone. Therefore, you should be good regardless of your phone.

You can see your balance and make payments and transfers from the application. In addition, you will get some basic information on how your account is doing (expenses versus earnings). And all these features work pretty well. I use Neon monthly to pay my bills, and I am pretty satisfied with their system.

With Neon, you can also send money directly to other Neon users. So, if you have people in your contacts with a Neon account, you can send them money directly.

With your Neon account, you will get a Neon Mastercard prepaid. With this card, you can pay in Switzerland and abroad and withdraw money. And as we will see later, the fees on this card are outstanding!

Neon was the first digital bank to introduce support for electronic bills (e-bills). The support is simple since they simply use the SIX portal for e-bills. But it works well.

The application also lets you freeze your card temporarily. This feature is great if your card is lost or stolen.

Since May 2022, you can have Spaces in your account. It means you can create sub-accounts dedicated to your needs. For instance, many people want to save money for holidays in a different account.

It is important to note that you get a higher interest rate on your Spaces. As of July 2023, you get a 0.9% interest rate up to 25’000 CHF.

You can also use Neon with Google Pay and Apple Pay to pay from your phone! And you can also use Neon with TWINT. That way, you will not need a physical card to do your groceries!

Neon uses two-factor security to make your account more secure. You need to activate this feature. And you need to use a strong password to ensure nobody can access your account.

A great thing about Neon is that they are available in English and the three National Swiss languages: French, German, and Italian. These languages make Neon an excellent option for expatriates in Switzerland.

Overall, Neon has more than enough features for any bank user. I do not think anything is missing to make it an excellent bank account.

A significant issue with Neon is that they often cannot scale when many users are on the platform. Almost every month, the platform is overwhelmed on the 25th, when people receive their salary and pay their bills. This means that basic banking features are unavailable when people need them the most.

This is an important issue that Neon acknowledged several times. However, it seems they are not able to fix the issue. This has already led several people to leave Neon.

Neon Fees

Your Neon card is excellent for vacations
Your Neon card is excellent for vacations

The Fees of Neon are where they are shining! Almost everything is entirely free! If you follow a few rules, it will be completely free for you!

First of all, opening an account is free. And there is no management fee! And all your payments in CHF will be free as well.

Your Neon MasterCard has no yearly fees either. A free payment card is essential because the essential feature of a payment card is to be free! However, you must pay 10 CHF to deliver your card (unless you get a Neon Green account).

You can also withdraw twice per month for free at any ATM. You will have to pay 2 CHF per withdrawal from the third withdrawal.

The card is also very interesting abroad! You will not pay any fee for any transaction with the Neon card outside Switzerland or in foreign currencies online. Free transactions in foreign currencies and abroad make Neon an alternative to Revolut.

If you withdraw money abroad, you will pay a 1.5% fee. Generally, you should avoid withdrawing money abroad with any card.

Neon also has a partnership with Wise for outgoing foreign payments. So, you can profit from cheap foreign currency transfers with Neon. This partnership makes Neon the best Swiss bank account for foreign transfers.

If you only use your card in Switzerland, it will be entirely free! Neon is much better than most Swiss bank accounts!

Neon Limits

Like with most bank accounts, there are some limits to your Neon Bank account.

Most of the limits are related to the card itself. Here are the limits of the card:

  • You can withdraw 2000 CHF per day at most
  • You can spend 5000 CHF per day online and another 5000 CHF per day in stores
  • You can only spend 10’000 CHF per month with the card

These limits are acceptable since they are similar to most payment cards. I have never been over these limits with any of my cards.

There is also a daily transaction limit of 50’000 CHF. In most cases, this will not be an issue. In my life, I only had to do a more significant transaction once (for the downpayment on our house). So, it should be fine for most people. But it is still important to know this limit.

Investing with Neon Invest

Since July 2023, you can now invest directly from your Neon account! Neon has introduced great trading features where you can trade stocks and ETFs directly in CHF without currency conversion fees.

If you want to learn more about this nice feature, you can read my Neon Invest Review.

User Reviews

If you want more points of view than my own, we can take a look at online reviews for Neon.

On the App Store, Neon got a 4.7-star average rating out of about 1.1K ratings. This is an excellent score! On the Play Store, Neon got a 4.6-star average rating out of about 1.6K ratings.

The positive reviews talk about several points:

  • Low fees
  • Very easy to use
  • Nice looking app

The negative reviews are also mentioning several specific points:

  • It takes a few days to activate the app since you will receive the code by mail
  • People complain they cannot open an account while being out of Switzerland (but this is well explained on the website)
  • The app is sometimes a little slow (with many users).

Given the excellent ratings and positive reviews, I would not worry too much about these negative ratings. Most negative reviewers do not read the conditions and complain they cannot open an account.

So, overall, users are extremely satisfied with Neon! And so am I!

Neon Green – Carbon-Neutral account

Neon Green (Source: Neon)
Neon Green (Source: Neon)

Neon Green is the second bank account from Neon. It started in May 2021. The idea of Neon is to be carbon-neutral. And to achieve that idea, Neon will plant trees for all Neon Green users.

Neon Green users can choose between a wooden card and a recycled PVC card. Both of these cards have a very low carbon impact.

For each Neon Green user, Neon will plant five trees every month! On top of that, they will plant one more tree for every 100 CHF spent with this account. So, a user spending 3000 CHF monthly on this card would result in 35 trees planted per month!

As of 2023, Neon Green already has more than 8500 users, meaning a lot of trees were already planted. In fact, more than 3 million trees were planted by Neon Green.

Finally, you also get an extended warranty of 3 years for your electric and electronic devices.

The Neon Green account has all the features of the basic Neon Free account, but it costs 5 CHF per month. And you will receive the Mastercard for free (10 CHF for Neon Free).

Neon Green is an interesting approach for people wanting to affect the climate positively. And even at 5 CHF per month, Neon is still an interesting bank account! So, if you want to plant some trees easily, you could opt for Neon Green.

Neon Metal – Extra insurance

Neon Metal (Source: Neon)
Neon Metal (Source: Neon)

In April 2022, Neon introduced a new account: Neon Metal. As its name indicates, the card you will get is in metal, 22g of stainless steel, to be precise.

Neon Metal has all the features of the standard account with extra advantages on top. You can withdraw cash for free in the entire world (except in Switzerland, where you only have five free withdrawals per month).

With Neon Metal, you get several insurances included:

  • Three years warranty on electronic devices
  • mobile-phone insurance
  • ticket insurance
  • best-price guarantee insurance

On top of that, you will get also get extra insurance as you use your card more:

  • Shopping insurance if you spend more than 500 CHF with your card
    • Insurance if what you received is not what was advertised, for instance
  • Cyber insurance if you spend more than 5000 CHF with your card
    • Insurance if one of your online accounts gets hacked, for instance
  • Travel insurance if you spend more than 15’000 CHF with your card
    • Insurance for your luggage, for instance

These packages cover many more areas I did not cite here and are well covered on the Neon Metal website.

Compared to the basic account, this account is not free. You will pay 15 CHF per month.

Given the amount of insurance you can get with this price, 15 CHF per month is a fair price. If you need some of these insurance policies, Neon Metal may be a great deal.

Medical care outside of Switzerland may also be covered by complementary insurance. Household insurance may cover some issues with your phone, and it is generally possible to get travel insurance on your travels should you decide to.

So, if you are interested in this account, you should check exactly what you need coverage for and see whether 15 CHF per month is a good deal for it.

Extra features of Neon

Neon does not have any extra features. But you do not need any additional features! Neon already has all the features you need.

Nevertheless, Neon has several partnerships with interesting digital companies. You can access these deals directly from the application:

It is good that Neon is partnering with innovative companies caring about their customers. This strategy is much better than reinventing the wheel and doing everything. I like Neon’s approach there.

However, these companies are not necessarily the best for your money. For instance, Frankly is far from being the best third pillar available. So, do not choose a financial account only because you have a tiny benefit using it from your bank. Remember that you always need to do due diligence.

Alternatives

We should also compare Neon against some alternatives, both digital and traditional banks.

Neon Bank vs Yuh

Best Digital Bank
Good to start investing
Yuh
5.0
4.0
No custody fees
No custody fees
  • Swiss broker
  • Very easy to use
  • Excellent fees abroad
  • Excellent fees for all operations
  • Swiss broker
  • Very easy to use
  • Fractional trading in stocks
  • Good fees for most operations
  • Hold multiple currencies in your account
  • Expensive for large operations
  • No fractional trading
  • Technical issues on salary day
  • Misleading names for stocks
  • Foreign transactions could be cheaper
  • Expensive for large operations
Best Digital Bank
5.0
No custody fees
  • Swiss broker
  • Very easy to use
  • Excellent fees abroad
  • Excellent fees for all operations
  • Expensive for large operations
  • No fractional trading
  • Technical issues on salary day
Good to start investing
Yuh
4.0
No custody fees
  • Swiss broker
  • Very easy to use
  • Fractional trading in stocks
  • Good fees for most operations
  • Hold multiple currencies in your account
  • Misleading names for stocks
  • Foreign transactions could be cheaper
  • Expensive for large operations

Yuh is a digital bank born of a collaboration between PostFinance and Swissquote. It is entirely digital. No offices are available, so everything is done on the mobile app. These two digital bank accounts have much in common.

Both accounts are free by default. You will pay no monthly fee. All basic operations are free with these two accounts.

Interestingly, both digital banks offer investing features. You can invest in stocks and ETFs with both. They both have similar features for most investors. But Yuh packs a few extra features like fractional trading, savings plans, and themes investing.

However, there are a few places where they differ:

  • Neon is significantly cheaper than Yuh when it comes to foreign currency exchange.
  • Neon is also cheaper when investing in foreign stocks and ETFs.
  • You can hold multiple currencies with Yuh but only CHF with Neon.
  • Neon is significantly more transparent about trading than Yuh.

If you want more information, I have a full comparison article of Neon vs Yuh.

Neon Bank vs Migros Bank

Best Digital Bank
Best traditional bank
5.0
4.5
Free
Free
  • Pay abroad for free
  • Transfer money abroad for a good fee
  • Everything from your phone
  • Good mobile application
  • High limits
  • Good withdrawals
  • Can deposit cash easily
  • Mobile and desktop applications
  • Cannot deposit cash easily
  • Mobile-only
  • Expensive purchases abroad
  • Expensive transfers abroad
  • Poor mobile app
Best Digital Bank
5.0
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
Best traditional bank
4.5
Free
  • High limits
  • Good withdrawals
  • Can deposit cash easily
  • Mobile and desktop applications
  • Expensive purchases abroad
  • Expensive transfers abroad
  • Poor mobile app

Before Neon, I was using Migros Bank. Now, I am using both accounts. I think Migros Bank is the best traditional bank account available in Switzerland. We can see how they compare with Neon.

Neon is entirely digital, while Migros is still a traditional bank with offices. However, it does not matter much these days. You can do everything on both banks with your smartphone. Migros has a few more options, like broker accounts. But these are not services you should generally take with your bank anyway.

Both accounts are free. However, Migros Bank is only free if you have more than 7500 CHF in your account. Otherwise, it is expensive at 3 CHF per month. If you do not hold 7500 CHF in your bank account, Neon is an excellent bank!

Another disadvantage of Migros is that you will pay 0.20 CHF for each incoming payment. However, at Neon, it is free to receive money in your account (as it should be for any bank!).

The cards offered by Migros and Neon are very similar. Neon has a Mastercard, while Migros has a Visa. Both cards are free and have the same features. None of these two offer a Maestro.

You will not be entirely blocked with only a Mastercard, either. And with Neon’s Mastercard, you can pay abroad for free, while it would be costly with Migros Bank.

I keep Migros Bank as my primary bank account because it has higher daily limits, and I have my mortgage there. Without my mortgage, I would probably make Neon my main account.

Another advantage of Migros is that you have no limits on withdrawals. So if you use a lot of cash, you should use Migros over Neon.

Neon is superior to Migros Bank. The most significant advantage of Neon is that Neon’s mobile application is much better than the app from Migros. I have had many issues with the app from Migros. I do not like it. And with Neon, you only need a single card, and you can use it abroad! This is why I am using Neon for almost everything these days.

If you want to learn more, you can read my review of Migros Bank.

Neon vs Zak

Best Swiss Bank
 
Zak
5.0
3.5
  • Pay abroad for free
  • Cheap international transfers
  • Everything from your phone
  • Medium limits
  • Translated in English
  • Pay abroad for free
  • Can deposit cash in account
  • Support for e-bills
  • Difficult to deposit cash
  • Expensive withdrawals abroad
  • No Maestro card
  • Not very transparent fees
  • Low limits
  • Expensive international transfers
  • Expensive withdrawals abroad
  • No Maestro card
  • No physical card for abroad
  • No English support
2 free withdrawals per month
Free withdrawals at Bank Cler ATMs
0
0
Best Swiss Bank
5.0
  • Pay abroad for free
  • Cheap international transfers
  • Everything from your phone
  • Medium limits
  • Translated in English
  • Difficult to deposit cash
  • Expensive withdrawals abroad
  • No Maestro card
2 free withdrawals per month
0
Zak
3.5
  • Pay abroad for free
  • Can deposit cash in account
  • Support for e-bills
  • Not very transparent fees
  • Low limits
  • Expensive international transfers
  • Expensive withdrawals abroad
  • No Maestro card
  • No physical card for abroad
  • No English support
Free withdrawals at Bank Cler ATMs
0

Another popular digital bank in Switzerland is Zak, from Bank Cler. We can quickly compare both banks.

Both banks are fully digital, and both banks are Swiss. That means they have the same features, more or less, and they have the same security. However, Neon is available in English, which may be important for expatriates.

Neon is much better to pay abroad thanks to its great exchange rate. Indeed, Neon has about a 0.5% surcharge on the interbank rate, while  Zak has about a 2% surcharge.

And Neon has an extra advantage for fees. Indeed, by partnering with Wise, Neon can offer affordable international bank transfers.

On the other hand, it is difficult to deposit cash in a Neon account. With Zak, it is easy since you can deposit it at some Bank Cler ATMs.

For me, Neon is significantly better than Zak. If you want to learn more, read my comparison of Zak vs Neon.

Neon vs Revolut

Best Digital Bank
Good for travelers
5.0
3.0
Free
Free
  • Great support in Switzerland
  • Pay abroad for free
  • Free withdrawals
  • Money is insured
  • Great worldwide support
  • Great transfer fees
  • Hold many currencies
  • International transfers are not free
  • Cannot hold several currencies
  • Not transparent exchange rate
  • Very limited withdrawals
  • Expensive during the weekend
  • Poor customer service
  • Poor reputation
  • Money is not insured
yes
yes
no
yes
Best Digital Bank
5.0
Free
  • Great support in Switzerland
  • Pay abroad for free
  • Free withdrawals
  • Money is insured
  • International transfers are not free
  • Cannot hold several currencies
yes
no
Good for travelers
3.0
Free
  • Great worldwide support
  • Great transfer fees
  • Hold many currencies
  • Not transparent exchange rate
  • Very limited withdrawals
  • Expensive during the weekend
  • Poor customer service
  • Poor reputation
  • Money is not insured
yes
yes

Another option I have talked about before is using Revolut Card. Revolut allows you to do transactions in foreign currencies with no transaction fees.

Since 2020, Neon has offered free payment abroad with the card in any currency. Free payment abroad is an awesome thing! Furthermore, neon is cheaper than Revolut since they do not have weekend fees, for instance.

Neon has one big advantage over Revolut. Your assets are insured for up to 100’000 CHF. Assets on Revolut are not insured by law. It is because Revolut is not a bank.

Another advantage of Neon over Revolut is that you have no limit for free withdrawals in Switzerland. You can only withdraw twice a month with Neon but with no limit. With Revolut, you can only withdraw 200 CHF per month for free.

On the other hand, with Revolut, you can receive money in other currencies for free. And you can also hold money in foreign currencies in your account. However, for now, you can only keep CHF on your Neon account. And receiving foreign currencies will not be free.

For now, it is still good to have a traditional bank in Switzerland for monthly payments and a small emergency fund. And in Switzerland, getting some cash occasionally is still necessary. And Neon is an excellent alternative to other traditional banks.

So you need both a Swiss bank account and a free foreign currency card to minimize your fees! With Neon, I feel you have all the advantages. I will probably close my Revolut account to simply my accounts.

To learn more, I have made an in-depth comparison of Neon and Revolut.

Neon as a Payment Card

While it is an excellent bank account, it is not the best option as a payment card. If you want to optimize your cash back, you should avoid this card for payments in Switzerland.

The reason is simple: there is no cashback using the Neon card. It is free, but it is not enough to make a good payment card.

In my credit card strategy, I am using two cards:

  • Swisscard Cashback American Express with 1% cashback. I am using this card every time it is possible.
  • Certo One Mastercard with 1% cashback in three shops. When American Express is not supported, I use this second card.

Both these cards are free, and both these cards have higher cashback.

So, you may use it as your bank account. But using Neon as a payment card is not optimal!

Now, will it change your life? No! It is a small optimization. If you are not using payment cards often, you will be fine with Neon only. And if you do not want to carry several cards, Neon is perfect.

How to open a Neon account?

Opening a Neon account is very easy. You can download the app from the App Store (search Neon in any app store!). Then, you can go through the entire process step by step.

It will require you to do a video chat to authenticate yourself at some point. This seamless process will allow you to open an account in about 10 minutes. Neon will then send you the card by mail.

If you need more information, you can read my guide on opening and using a Neon account.

Neon FAQ

What is Neon?

Neon is a great Swiss digital bank. It is an entirely mobile bank providing modern banking features with no account management fees.

What is Neon Green?

Neon Green is an alternative to the Neon Free account. With Neon Green, Neon will plant trees each month for each user. On top of that, every time you spend money, Neon will plant more trees. This advantage makes Neon Green a carbon-neutral account.

Who can open a Neon account?

Swiss residents at least 16 years old can open an account with Neon. Foreigners from 19 countries with a B or C permit can create accounts.

Is Neon entirely free?

It is almost entirely free. You will only pay if you withdraw more than the allowed free limit or withdraw money abroad. Also, if you send foreign money abroad, you must pay some currency exchange fees.

Is Neon a Bank?

Technically, Neon is not a registered bank in Switzerland. However, your assets are held by Hypothekarbank Lenzburg, a licensed bank. So you have the same security as with any other Swiss bank!

Who is Neon good for?

Neon is great for anyone who wants a digital bank account in Switzerland and does not want to deal with cash too much.

Who is Neon not good for?

Neon is not great if you often get cash since you cannot deposit it for free in your account. Neon is also not good if you want a joint account since they only have individual accounts. Finally, Neon is not great if you want make payments in an office since they are only digital.

Neon Bank Summary

Neon Bank

Neon is a free digital bank in Switzerland. It is entirely free, is used from your smartphone and is an extremely attractive Swiss Bank!

Product Brand: Neon

Editor's Rating:
5

Neon Bank Pros

Let's summarize the main advantages of Neon Bank:

  • Extremely cheap bank.
  • Free purchases abroad and in foreign currencies!
  • Cheap transfers in foreign currencies
  • Support of ebills.
  • Neon was the first digital bank supporting ebills.
  • Protection of your assets up to 100'000 CHF
  • Excellent reviews
  • Excellent reputation
  • Fast-growing company
  • Carbon-neutral option with Neon Green
  • You can freeze the card from the app

Neon Bank Cons

Let's summarize the main disadvantages of Neon Bank:

  • The account takes a few days to be fully activated.
  • You cannot deposit cash (bank notes) for free in your account.
  • You need to wire funds to your account
  • Neon does not offer a Maestro card.
  • No offices. If you have an issue, you have to call support.
  • Mastercard Prepaid is slightly worse than Mastercard Debit.
  • Technical issues often on the 25th of the month.
  • No joint accounts with Neon.

Conclusion

Best App to Pay, Save and Invest
Neon
5.0

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!

Pros:
  • Pay abroad for free
  • Invest with great fees
Use the poorswiss code

Neon is an excellent bank for Swiss people. Using it correctly, it is one of the best Swiss banks. You will not have to pay any fees. Neon is currently the best Swiss digital bank. Since they offer free payment with the card abroad, it is even better!

If you are still using an expensive bank such as PostFinance, UBS, or Credit Suisse, you should consider changing to a cheaper bank such as Neon! If you do not want a digital bank, Migros Bank is the next best alternative, but you will pay more.

I opened a Neon account several years ago and am entirely pleased. It replaced my Revolut account for usage in foreign currencies. And since the mobile application is so much better than the applications at Migros, I am paying all my bills with Neon!

The only thing that keeps me from using Neon as my only account is that they do not offer joint accounts. In the future, I would like to keep Neon as my only bank account. As soon as Neon offers joint accounts, I will transfer everything from my Migros accounts to Neon.

If you want to open a Neon account, please use the code “poorswiss” during the registration process, and you will receive 10 CHF for free. And I will also receive 10 CHF.

If you want more digital bank alternatives, you can look at my comparison of Zak vs Neon.

If you want to learn more about Neon, you can also take a look at Neon’s blog. It is worth reading!

What do you think about Neon? Do you use this bank?

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Photo of Baptiste Wicht

Baptiste Wicht started thepoorswiss.com in 2017. He realized that he was falling into the trap of lifestyle inflation. He decided to cut his expenses and increase his income. This blog is relating his story and findings. In 2019, he is saving more than 50% of his income. He made it a goal to reach Financial Independence. You can send Mr. The Poor Swiss a message here.

Recommended reading

216 thoughts on “Neon Bank Review 2024: The Best Swiss Digital Bank”

  1. Neon no longer does the 10 CHF referral reward for either side. They give unspecified promo benefits for the person sending the friend code and nothing to the person using it.

  2. I did the neon account long time ago and dropped for a simple thing. It is impossible to see the IBAN or bank that made the payment to your account. Am I missing something?

  3. Hi, thank you, very useful.

    But: can you wire from your Interactive Brokers account to your Neon account?

  4. Hello Baptiste
    Thank you so much for your great blog! since I discovered it (a week ago) I haven’t stopped reading it.
    I am a Swiss citizen, with an ID card + passport + address of a family I stay with often, but I pay taxes abroad.
    I am looking for a Swiss bank to which I can make bank transfers from foreign currency to CHF and use this account to make transactions in Switzerland, I understand that neon is not suitable for me (because I do not pay taxes in Switzerland). Which bank would you suggest me? When what’s important to me is low costs and a user-friendly digital interface.
    Thanks, Max

    1. Hi Max,

      Unfortunately if you are not a resident and tax-payer, your options are very limited and they won’t be cheap.
      You can ask Migros Bank, but they generally don’t speak English.
      I mostly recommend UBS for foreigners wanting an account in Switzerland because they know how to deal with these accounts. It won’t be cheap, but it should work.

  5. Do any other the banks/services you compare Neon to in this article handle US persons? Asking for a friend :>)

    1. Migros may accept US customers, but I am not sure. I still generally recommend UBS for US person because UBS knows how to deal with US persons. It’s not a cheap option, but better than a bad option.

      1. I am with Raiffeisen Thalwil, but they first had to check with the manager if they “want” to have us as a customer. Maybe they only took us, because we are only US person for this year as we moved back home to Switzerland and renounced the greencard.

        I like the extra perks, but you pay for the debit card (not in the first year). They also support a partner account. Not sure where you are based and as usual these Raiffeisen banks are all kind of independent and make their own rules.

        Migros should be okay as well, but they were ab it annoying with the opening process

      2. With that said, ZBK announced that they will remove their account and debit card fees. Not sure if that is for all their private accounts or not. ZKB might also be open to US persons. Let’s see once the new pricing is public for Jan 24

  6. I do not intend to use this as my primary account so hopefully I can avoid some of the aforementioned issues. What I am getting this account for is for when I travel. I absolutely detest how my credit cards charge 1.75-2.25% (depending on the card) in fees. Question, where can I find the info to use this account to travel? Can you please advise me on the strategy to take advantage of that feature?

    1. I use Wise (TransferWise) for this.

      And Neon … in the background … is using Wise. The only thing you will miss is not having a dedicated account in CHF to service direct debits standing orders etc.

      1. The main problem of using Wise for this (traveling) is that you cannot top-up during the weekend nor after noon, as Swiss banks do not seem to like working more than 4 hours a day :D. Neon may come handy as a replacement in that case.

        I do think that Wise supports Standing Orders in CHF (“Scheduled Transfers”), although it does not support Direct Debits indeed.

    2. I am not sure what you mean by strategy. Neon acts like a debit card, so you need money before on your account. And then, you can use the Mastercard in any country with very low fees.

  7. Once again, 25 Sept 2023, Neon cannot not handle payments/transfers.

    Even though it is a recurring problem (that even yourself acknowledge in the comments), there is no mention about it in the actual post – worse yet, you point out lesser issues in the Migros app.

    This is seriously damaging to site’s credibility.

    1. Today is my last day as a Neon customer.

      I gave them 6 months but it didn’t work out. The product is not stable and it cannot reliably perform the standard functions of any bank at least once per month.

      It was painful to switch banks the first time … now switching back again … but at least I have them security that the competitor bank operates like a bank and not a haphazard startup.

    2. Please keep in mind that I have 450+ articles to maintain, in three languages, next to a full time job and a family and no sleep, I cannot keep everything pristine. If you don’t think the blog is credible, find another one.

      That being said, I agree with you that they have a strong issue and will mention that on this article, like it’s already mentioned in other articles.

  8. Hi Baptiste,

    I switched to Neon at the end of last year on the basis of your review and use it as my day-to-day banking account. I made the full switch after the second month and now pay my salary into the Neon account.

    However, i’ve faced problems every month since with the most simple of banking activities. Usually around the 24-30th of any month, the application becomes practically unusable as it becomes overwhelmed with users / transactions. As an example, it is often the case that you can’t view your pending transactions. Or in some cases, you cannot see your balance. When I have raised this with Neon, they blame their banking partner Hypothekerbank Lenzburg.

    Today – and this is not the first time – i’ve been unable to login to the application at all since early morning. Given that this is my salary account, where I co-ordinate my day-to-day banking, it’s a concern not being able to access my money, make payments, or organise my banking life.

    It would appear that the money Neon spends on marketing would be better served making their technology platform more robust.

    I wanted to share my experience for the community and would ask you to consider the feedback in your future reviews.

    1. Hi Ali,

      Thanks a lot for sharing your experience!

      That’s a fair point. I have had a few times the same issue where I could not login on the 25th (my salary day), especially after work hours. Usually, it resolves in the evening. But I agree that this should be resolved if they hope to grow more.

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