WIR Bank Top Review 2024 – Pros & Cons
| Updated: |(Disclosure: Some of the links below may be affiliate links)
In 2024, the WIR bank introduced a new banking package, the WIR Bank Top package. This banking has some interesting conditions, such as using the interbank exchange rate for currency conversions abroad.
So, in this article, we will see what this Top banking package is all about. And we will see the advantages and disadvantages of this offer. Finally, we will also compare WIR Bank Top against other alternatives.
By the end of this review, you should know whether WIR Bank Top is a good banking package for you.
| Monthly fee | 0 CHF |
|---|---|
| Users | N/A |
| Card | Mastercard Debit |
| Currencies | CHF |
| Withdrawals in Switzerland | 24 free per year, then 2 CHF |
| Withdrawals abroad | 24 free per year, then 2 CHF |
| Languages | French, German, and Italian |
| Custody bank | WIR Bank |
| Depositor protection | 100’000 CHF |
| Established | 1934 |
| Headquarters | Basel, Switzerland |
WIR Bank
Before we delve into the new banking package, we can look at the WIR bank itself.
WIR Bank is a cooperative bank, founded in 1934 in Basel. The bank manages about 5 billion CHF in assets. They have nine offices and employ about 250 employees.
WIR Bank is unique in that it has its currency, the WIR Franc. This was introduced after the great depression to avoid some monetary issues of the time. This currency is backed by the bank and is officially on a price parity with the CHF (although it often sells for less). But you can use the WIR Bank without having to worry about the WIR Franc and focus only on the CHF.
I have not really discussed WIR before, except for mentioning that they are the custodian bank of the VIAC third pillar.
WIR Bank Top Features
Now that we have introduced the bank itself, we can introduce the WIR Bank Top banking package.
This digital banking package is available from the e-banking package from the WIR Bank and from the mobile application. It is good to note that this banking package is also accessible from a proper e-banking platform. Most digital banks are only available on smartphones.
Inside the banking package, you get:
- A private bank account, without any withdrawal limits.
- A Debit Mastercard.
From your account, you can pay your bills and transfer money around. You can, of course, manage your account as well. And you can use your card to pay worldwide. The e-banking platform has support for electronic bills.
There is no interest rate on the private account. It should really be as a payment account, not as a place to hold cash.
At this time, you cannot use TWINT with your account. But support for TWINT is planned for Autumn 2024. On the other hand, you can use your card with Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay.
The application is available in the three national languages, but not in English.
At this point, there is no support for joint accounts or even partner cards. But apparently, WIR Bank is planning to add joint accounts to this Top offer.
Onboarding can be done entirely online! This is great because most traditional banks are still very old-school and require snail mail or in person attendance to create an account.
Overall, this banking package has all the standard features of a banking package in Switzerland, but nothing more.
Fees
The fees are really where this banking package becomes interesting.
The WIR Top banking package itself is free. There are no monthly nor yearly fees for the account or the card. The card will also be delivered for free.
All usual operations like paying bills and transferring money are free, like for every bank.
With the card, you get 24 withdrawals for free per year, then you will pay 2 CHF per withdrawal. What is really exciting is that these 24 withdrawals are free in the world, not only in Switzerland. WIR Bank Top is the only card I know that offers free withdrawals abroad.
This card is also outstanding to use to pay abroad or in foreign currencies. Indeed, the card offers the interbank exchange rate without any surcharge. This is as good as it gets.
If you do a transfer in EUR in the SEPA region or in Switzerland, you will not pay any fee. However, if you do a transfer outside this region or in another currency, you will pay 5 CHF per transfer. In both cases, WIR will use its exchange rate. Currently, it looks like they have a surcharge of 1% on the interbank exchange rate for these transfers. This is already not too bad for a Swiss bank.
So, overall, the fees of the WIR Bank Top package are excellent!
Conditions
If you want to use the WIR Bank Top banking package, you need to meet one of these conditions:
- Have a regular income of at least 1500 paid to your account each month.
- Have at least 20’000 CHF in retirement funds with WIR.
- Have a mortgage of at least 300’000 CHF with WIR.
- Buy a social share of WIR Bank. A share costs 200 CHF.
It should not be difficult to meet at least one of these conditions, especially the first or the last one. Nevertheless, if you do not meet any of these conditions, you will not be able to use this package.
User Reviews
It is important to look at what users think about the bank.
Unfortunately, there are very few online reviews of WIR Bank in general, and I could not find any that are specific to WIR Bank Top. There is only a single review of WIR Bank on Trustpilot.
There are only 15 reviews of the WIR Bank app on the Apple Store, with an average rating of 4.3 out of 5. Good reviews say that the app is easy to use. And there is one bad review pointing to technical difficulties.
There are only 14 reviews of the app on the Play Store, with 4.4 out of 5 ratings. But there are no written reviews.
Overall, we cannot draw any conclusions on the bank or the apps from these reviews. And this shows a disadvantage about WIR Bank: there are very few users. It does not mean the bank is bad, but it means that they may not able to scale, or that things may change quickly.
Alternatives
We should also compare WIR Bank Top against some alternatives, both digital and traditional banks.
WIR Bank Top vs 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 30 CHF in trading credits and your card for free!
- Pay abroad for free
- Invest with great fees
We can start by comparing WIR Bank Top package with Neon.
Neon is a fully digital bank, with only a mobile application. WIR Bank Top is accessible from both e-banking and mobile banking and in the offices as well.
Both accounts are entirely free. However, WIR Bank also offers some free withdrawals abroad, while Neon only offers free withdrawals in Switzerland. Furthermore, WIR Bank Top offers the interbank exchange rate for currency conversions while Neon uses the Mastercard exchange rate which is about 0.4% higher on average. Therefore, WIR Bank is cheaper than Neon.
Neon has some further features, likes spaces and instant transfers to other users. However, these features are only useful if you use them, so you should only consider these criteria if you are going to use this feature.
One advantage of Neon is that they are partnering with wise for sending money abroad. In this case, this will be significantly cheaper than WIR. But again, not everybody do transfer in foreign currencies.
Neon also has some limited support for TWINT while WIR Bank currently has zero support.
Overall, WIR Bank Top is a strong alternative to Neon. If you often use the card abroad, you will save a little money with WIR. On the other hand, Neon has a few extra features and is more polished at this point.
WIR Bank Top vs Migros Bank
Migros Bank used to be my main bank account. We can also compare WIR Bank Top against Migros Bank.
Both are traditional banks, so you can use it in offices, online and on the phone. One advantage of WIR Bank is that they have a true e-banking online while Migros has bad apps that are difficult to work with on the computer.
Both accounts are entirely free. With Migros Bank, you can withdraw money for free in many Migros places. With WIR Bank, you can withdraw 24 times for free per year. The advantage of WIR Bank is that you can also withdraw for free abroad, while it would be expensive with Migros.
A huge advantage of WIR Bank is that there is no surcharge nor fees while using the card abroad. Migros Bank would be expensive (around 5%) to use abroad.
One advantage of Migros Bank is that they support TWINT while WIR Bank does not yet. Furthermore, you can get joint accounts at Migros Bank, but not with the WIR Bank Top package.
Overall, the WIR Bank Top package is a better bank account than the Migros Bank account. They have the same features but WIR Bank Top is much better to use abroad.
WIR Bank Top FAQ
Who is WIR Bank Top good for?
The WIR Bank Top banking package is good for people who want a free bank account with great conditions to use the card abroad.
Who is WIR Bank Top not good for?
The WIR Bank Top banking package is not good if you want to use TWINT or if you want a joint account.
WIR Bank Top Summary
The WIR Bank Top banking package is a nice banking package by WIR Banka, with great support abroad.
4
WIR Bank Top Pros
Let's summarize the main advantages of WIR Bank Top:
- Interbank exchange rate with the card
- No monthly fees
- Support of ebills
WIR Bank Top Cons
Let's summarize the main disadvantages of WIR Bank Top:
- No support for TWINT
- No support for joint accounts
Conclusion
Overall, the new WIR Bank Top banking package is very interesting! The fact that they offer the interbank exchange out of a free bank account is excellent.
Until recently, it was often ideal to use two bank accounts, one for paying bills and one for paying abroad. But now, we have great options to use as a main bank account, with both good support in Switzerland and abroad.
This package has a few disadvantages:
- No support for TWINT
- No joint accounts
- The bank package is very new
You may also be wondering how WIR Bank is going to make money with this bank account. Like most banks, they will not make much money on the bank account itself, but on the other products. Like all banks, WIR Bank also has many other services like 3a, investments and mortgages. And these services are where they make money.
Currently, it looks like this is among the best banking packages available. I do not intend to change our bank account, since we would only save a little on foreign transactions. And I also want to see how it plays out in the longer term, but this banking package sure is great!
What about you? What do you think about this banking package?
Recommended reading
- More articles about Best banks
- More articles about Save
- Wise vs Revolut: Which Is Best in 2024?
- wiLLBe Review 2024 – Pros & Cons
- Alternative Bank Switzerland Review 2024: Pros & Cons
Learn easy ways to optimize your finances and save thousands in Switzerland with our exclusive e-book. Learn about the most cost-effective financial services tailored for savvy residents and expats!
Get Your FREE Swiss Money-Saving Guide
Hi Baptise,
As always, thank you for your great articles.
You have mentioned that an advantage of Neon is that they will be signficantly cheaper than WIR for money transfers abroad because of their partnerships with Wise. However, using Wise through Neon comes with a surcharge, which I understand that WIR does not have, except for transfers to non-EUR countries.
Would my thinking be correct that for EUR countries, WIR is in fact cheaper than Neon/Wise, whereas for non-EUR countries this will depend on whether the surcharge of Neon/Wise will exceed the 5 EUR that WIR charges, which I would assume will often be the case unless the transfer amount is relatively small.
Thanks in advance for your perspective!
Hi William
As far as I know, WIR does have a surchage on transfers. They do not have a surcharge on payments by card, but I do not think they offer the interbank exchange for bank transfers.
Did you read otherwise?
Thanks for your prompt reply, Baptiste!
“If you do a transfer in EUR in the SEPA region or in Switzerland, you will not pay any fee. However, if you do a transfer outside this region or in another currency, you will pay 5 CHF per transfer.”‘
I understood this as you do not pay any fee (including currency conversion commissions) at all, except for 5 CHF for non-EUR transfers, which indeed would almost be too good to be true ;)
For now, it seems like the only player that provides you close to an interbank rate is Revolut, but I would never trust them with my funds. Too bad no banks have been inspired by them yet!
Alright, this phrase is not clear, my bad!
There are no direct fees, but there is an exchange rate surcharge (the one from the WIR Bank). From what I have seen, this is about a 1% surcharge.
For me, the best solution for foreign transfers is Wise (I would not trust Revolut either with much money).
Hello Baptiste,
Sorry if my next question has been already answered, but I couldn’t find it:
I wonder how I never heard about this bank before when they started in 1936, since I read your reviews since 2 years ago. They are offering this account package recently? Were they providing different services before?
And my last question, I understand this is not a neobank, correct?
Thanks for your great reviews
Hi Dani,
There are a few factors that explain why this bank is not so well-known:
* As far as I understand, it was only open to public in 2000. Before, it was only used by companies who wanted to rely on the WIR franc.
* They also are a relatively small bank with “only” 9 offices, so this may explain why you did not know of it.
* And the Top package is only here since this year.
Personally, I only heard of the WIR bank when they started VIAC in 2017.
Thank you Baptiste.
It’s a pity that WIR Bank requires so many apps for my taste.
· E-Banking App
· 2FA App for logins from computer (Probably even for confirming bank transfers)
· 3-D Secure App ( Online payments )
And I assume there will be another one for Twint, when available.
Simply terrible.
Unfortunately, that seems to be the case for many banks these days. For instance, Migros if you use it on the computer, you still need the mobile app for confirmation and you need the One app if you want to do 2FA on the credit card.
This is really terrible, I agree.
Hello Baptiste,
The main upside of this bank is its unparalleled saving accounts, with a whooping 1,50% interest until Feb 25, and 1,30% after that.
I use that to store the money I need to pay my taxes + my safety net.
The only other “easy-to-use-with-no-fees” bank was Zak, with 1% on saving account.
Neon is shit when it comes to savings : 0,5% up to 25kCHF.
Honestly, i don’t care if the main account does not offer interest rate as long as a saving account comes along with it and offers a nice % with lots of flexibility + high treshold.
That’s what I have found with Wir.
Actually, it’s even 1.8% interest until Feb 2025 ;-)
I also have that and store my emergency fund there. Taxes are a good idea, too for the coming year, since I’m about to pay them next month, not much point there.
To be fair, Neon has only recently become shit for savings, when they reduced the interest from 0.9% I think to 0.75 and then 0.5% within a few months.
Yes, you are fully correct.
1.8% is nice :)
Regarding Neon, yes I know it is a recent love but it is still a shitty move when compared to Eak or Wir or Radicant even…
There is just too much praised for Neon. To me, a main account has always to be considered to saving counterpart (unless it has a nice % itself).
That safety net/tax savings have to be somewhat a bit protected Vs. Inflation…
Thanks for sharing. I don’t really hold cash, so I don’t particularly care about interest rate, but it’s true that in some cases, having a good short term container is a good idea.
Let’s set the record straight.
If one looks at their T&Cs, they will see that customers only get 1.8% if they transferred their funds while the promotion was running. It’s not available any more for new accounts. And the max withdrawal amount is 20k a year…
The current rate is 0.6%, which is pretty average, and has a withdrawal limit of 30k per quarter, which is more generous, but still not great.
Thanks Baptiste, this is very helpful! I never even considered WIR. The only thing missing in my banking / card strategy is free atm withdrawal abroad. I currently use Revolut for this but it’s limited to Fr.200/month. I will get WIR for my travels.
PS their website says they will support Twint from fall 2024. Perhaps you’ll be able to update the article in a few months.
Hi Eli
Thanks for sharing. Having 24 free withdrawals worldwide is really good indeed. As you said, Revolut is free but really limited and others are quickly expensive.
I will update the article once I hear about their TWINT app.
Not a bad one indeed, but don’t see much reason to go with it if one has Radicant or Neon I guess. Especially as you get no interest rates. This is why I really like Radicant.
I agree that the advantages are not huge, but you can still save a little money with the foreign exchange rate if you use it abroad a lot. But if that forces you to have two accounts, you may have to weigh the pros and cons properly.
Thank you, Baptiste!
WIR bank didn’t ask me for any conditions last week.
E-banking and the app are really quite unpolished.
Hi Max
Thanks for sharing your experience.
How would you rate their apps?
Unfortunately, I lack the experience in rating.
It looks that WIR started with the e-banking and added the mobile version as an add-on. For example, it is not possible to make a transfer entirely from the app, it must be confirmed in the e-banking. One also needs to input a password for the mobile app login (as opposed to a PIN for Neon).
Also the e-banking UI is not really intuitive.
I guess the idea is that a customer uses the card and eBill and maybe checks the account balance from time to time through the mobile app.
Thanks for sharing, this is already quite useful.
Not being able to do a transfer from the app is a pain indeed. Migros used to do that with their apps, where you had to confirm payments on another app, it was a nightware.