Migros Bank Review 2024 – Best Traditional Bank in Switzerland
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I have used Migros Bank as my primary bank account for several years. They offer good service at excellent prices. Considering the expensive bank accounts in Switzerland, these fees are essential to consider.
In this article, I review the bank account offering of Migros Bank in detail. We see all their prices and how they compare against other Swiss banks.
| Yearly fee | 0 CHF |
|---|---|
| Users | N/A |
| Card | Visa Debit |
| Currencies | CHF |
| Withdrawals in Switzerland | Free at Migros ATMs, 2 CHF at other |
| Withdrawals abroad | 5 CHF |
| Languages | French, German, and Italian |
| Custody bank | Migros Bank |
| Depositor protection | 100’000 CHF |
| Established | 1958 |
| Headquarters | Zürich, Switzerland |
Migros Bank
Migros Bank is the bank of the Migros group. It is an old bank. It was founded more than 60 years ago, in 1958. Since I am already a Migros customer, I feel confident about this bank.
Since they are an official bank, your assets will be insured for up to 100’000 CHF in case of bankruptcy. This is the case for all official banks in Switzerland. It is essential to know what would happen to your money in case of bank bankruptcy.
Migros Bank has an excellent reputation in Switzerland. They serve more than 800’000 customers in Switzerland. This high number of customers makes them one of the biggest banks in Switzerland per number of customers.
So, we will see in detail what Migros Bank is about.
This article has been updated for the new fees from April 2024.
Migros Bank Fees
My main reason for looking for a new bank was to look for a free bank. Since all bank accounts in Switzerland have a zero interest rate, it is essential to look at the fees.
The most significant advantage of Migros Bank is that it does not charge management fees. And there is no minimum for being free.
Another advantage of the bank is that the Debit Card is free. Migros Bank is among the few banks that offer free debit cards. Most debit cards in Switzerland cost 30 CHF per year. I do not plan to use the credit card from Migros since I already have the best credit card in Switzerland.
While the base account is free, some operations are not. You must pay 0.30 CHF for each SEPA transfer in Europe. You can probably negate this by using Revolut, Wise, or Neon.
The other fee is the withdrawal fee for ATMs other than Migros ATM:
- 2 CHF for each withdrawal in CHF in Switzerland
- 4 CHF for each withdrawal in EUR in Switzerland
- 5 CHF for each withdrawal abroad
However, this should not be a big issue for several reasons.
- You can withdraw money at each Migros Bank, Migros Shops, Migrolino, and Migrol stations. So, there are many withdrawal points all over Switzerland. If you count all these locations as ATMs, Migros Bank is probably the bank with the most ATMs in Switzerland. There should be more than enough to withdraw money when you need it.
- You do not often need cash. In most cases, you can pay with your credit or debit card. Using your credit card is free, and you will receive some cashback. Using a debit card in Switzerland is also free.
You will probably not have to worry about these fees. In three years, I have never paid to withdraw money with my Migros card.
There are other fees for payment abroad. But this is not an issue since I will also use my Neon or Revolut accounts.
Given all this, Migros Bank is among Switzerland’s cheapest Brick and Mortar banks.
Migros Bank Features
We can also look at the features offered by the standard accounts at Migros Bank.
Since June 2022, Migros Bank does not have a Maestro but a Visa Debit card. As far as features go, it is the same. However, there are still some places where Maestro cards are useful because that is all they accept. Fortunately, these places are disappearing.
Overall, the visa debit is quite convenient. And the card comes for free, which is also good.
With Migros Bank, you can do many operations in the Migros Bank offices. And you will also be able to do some operations in Migros shops.
But most people will use the banking of Migros Bank to do most operations. You can use the banking application from Migros Bank on Apple phones and tablets, Android phones and tablets, and on Mac and Windows.
This mobile application takes a different approach to security than most other applications. Indeed, you will need to install this application on at least two devices. You will often need a second device to validate transactions from your account.
The Migros Bank application is quite bad. It is slow, and I have had many issues. Moreover, it is a pain to have to install it on two devices. I would have preferred online e-banking like most banks. I do not want to install a banking application on my desktop computer. For me, the quality of applications is the biggest pain point with this bank account.
In addition, Migros Bank introduced a new application in 2023. However, the new application does not work better than the old one, has fewer features, and is less stable. They also did not manage to simplify the use of multiple devices.
However, the application has all the features you will need:
- Make money transfers
- Scan paper bills
- Pay ebills
- Pay with Google Pay
So, if you do not have to use it too often, the Migros application will do everything you need.
Since May 2021, Migros has had full support for TWINT. You can download the Twint Migros application next to the Migros application and start using Twint for your mobile payments.
Alternatives
We should also compare Migros Bank with some alternatives.
Migros Bank vs Neon
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- Pay abroad for free
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Neon is a great digital bank from Switzerland. They offer an attractive bank account.
The main difference between Neon and Migros Bank is that Neon is an entirely digital bank. On the other hand, Migros Bank has offices, and you can get help from people directly.
Used correctly, both bank accounts are entirely free. But Neon has some advantages that Migros Bank does not have:
- Purchases abroad with the Neon card are free.
- Thanks to their partnership with Wise, international money transfers are cheaper with Neon.
Both Neon and Migros have some stability issues with their apps. However, the Neon app is much better than the Migros Bank app.
Overall, Neon is better than Migros Bank. However, many people do not want to use an entirely digital bank, so Migros Bank will be great for them.
One advantage of Migros Bank is that it has significantly higher limits than Neon. So, it could be better for your main account if you have to do some more substantial transactions.
If you want more details, I have an entire review of Neon.
Migros Bank vs PostFinance
PostFinance was my previous bank before I changed to Migros Bank.
The main issue with PostFinance is that you have to pay 5 CHF in management fees every month. They only waive this fee if you invest more than 25’000 CHF in their products. However PostFinance investment products are bad, so using their products is not a great way to waive the fee.
So, Migros Bank’s main advantage over PostFinance is that the account is free.
Other than that, both banks have about the same features and fees. There is nothing exceptional about any of these two banks. They are standard banks. PostFinance has one advantage: its applications are significantly better than those from Migros.
Overall, Migros is significantly better than PostFinance since they have the same features but are significantly cheaper. If you want more information, I have done an extensive review of PostFinance.
FAQ
What is the minimum for a Migros Bank account?
There is no minimum.
How much do I need for my Migros Bank account to be free?
There is no minium, a Migros Bank account is free, since April 2024.
Who is Migros Bank for?
Migros Bank is good for people that want an affordable traditional (non-digital) bank.
Who is Migros Bank for?
Migros Bank is not good for people that want a digital bank. And it is also not good for people that want good mobile apps. Finally, there may be some cheaper traditional bank alternatives with some cantonal banks.
Migros Bank Summary
Migros Bank offers traditional bank accounts at a relatively fair price.
Product Brand: Migros
3.5
Migros Bank Pros
Let's summarize the main advantages of Migros Bank:
- Free management of your account
- Good customer service
- Offers a free Visa debit card
- Can withdraw cash for free in many places
- Support for Google Pay
- Support for eBills
- Support for TWINT
Migros Bank Cons
Let's summarize the main disadvantages of Migros Bank:
- Terrible banking applications
- No Maestro card
- Support is not free if you have issues with the apps
Conclusion
When my previous bank (PostFinance) raised fees from 0 to 60 CHF per year, I needed to change bank. I did not want to pay more for no new advantages. Therefore, I had to research the cheapest bank in Switzerland.
After some research, I discovered that Migros Bank is now among the cheapest traditional banks in Switzerland.
The account itself is free. And there will only be fees for operations you can generally avoid.
I have now been using Migros Bank for about three years. Overall, I am relatively happy with their services. They offer good service at a reasonable price. The only thing I dislike about them is their applications. All their applications and the way they are linked together are pretty bad.
You can get a free digital bank account if you prefer digital banks. For instance, you could go with Neon. This bank account is entirely free!
If you want to learn how to change bank accounts, I have a guide on switching to a new bank.
What do you think about the new fees? Which bank do you use? Do you plan to leave PostFinance because of this?
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Hi Baptiste. Thanks so much for all your regular content which is really helpful and much appreciated.
However, i have to disagree with your conclusions about Migros Bank. I moved there from UBS about 18 months ago and have had a lot of seemingly unnecessary pain, mostly with struggling to contact them, usually about IT, especially their mobile app.
Usually i start off trying to contact them via their Windows software (which is ok) and often it errors or i get no answer for weeks or when i do get an answer it has completely missed the point. Please note that i have many years experience in IT support.
Instead about 6 months ago, i tried switching to calling them. Twice the phone queue timed out at 20 mins (during which i was never told an expected time left to wait or place in the queue) and i was offered a callback instead, at the time of their choosing. When called back days later, i asked to speak English and was then just transferred back to that queue, which i gave up after 11mins. I do actually speak enough German, and would have tried without English, but the callback person just transferred me to the queue without awaiting a response. Gosh, there are so many other things that i’ve really had enough of them, eg problems with their Twint connection at vital moments, app so slow that it’ll wait 30 seconds to catch up with movement of the camera when trying to QR a bill (ie unusable), etc
Is this something that has changed since your review in 2022? Or can you recommend a bank that just works please? I am not used to such bad banking as in Switzerland, and have never come across such bad IT as Migros Bank’s. It a shame cos they are ruining Migros’ well deserved brand.
Cheers, Jon.
Hi Jon,
Unfortunately, their apps are really bad and getting better. Ever since they have introduced the new app in 2023, everything has gotten worse. I have both apps (my personal account was upgraded but not my business account). And both versions are now much worse than before.
If you look at my review, I have mentioned that under features where they get a 2.5 rating (they used to do better before 2023).
If you are open to digital bank, Neon and Yuh have much better apps. As for traditional banks, I don’t have a better recommendation, although cantonal banks are often good but limited geographically.
Thanks Baptiste. I hear some concerns about Neon too unfortunately. I’ve finally had a couple of ok callbacks from Migros Bank and will stick it out for a bit, otherwise look at Kantonal Banks maybe, or even Post Finance. I may just go back to not using QR codes to pay bills, not expecting customer support really, not using Twint (which is suprisingly handy with a kid in Switzerland, eg for parking), …
Neon only has one issue (that I know of), they do not scale particularly well on salary day (25th of the month usually). This has gotten much better, but you can still expect a slower app on this day.