If there’s one place in Switzerland where you can expect a warm welcome, it’s a Swiss bank. There are some 600 in Switzerland, so competition for your money is intense. You will probably not be surprised to hear that Switzerland has one of the most effective banking systems in the world. Financial operations are usually straight-forward and customer service is excellent. The world-famous secrecy in the banking industry covers all customer accounts. Foreigners are very welcome when it comes to parking their money in Switzerland.
The major Swiss banks are UBS and Crédit Suisse (Schweizerische Kreditanstalt). However, the biggest banks don’t always offer the best conditions to private customers. There are quite a few smaller cantonal banks that offer excellent service for private customers - so shop around.
Opening hours
Banks usually open Monday to Friday from 8am to 4.30pm. Many banks open late one day a week, in major cities some branches also open on Saturday. Outside of cities, some smaller banks close for lunch.
In larger cities, you can also find 24 hour “automatic†service centers where you can change currencies, do transfers, withdraw money, buy travelers checks etc. Most banks offer internet banking as a standard service.
If you plan to stay in Switzerland for a while, one of your first things to do is open a Swiss bank account. You will need it for many transactions, including rent and salary payments.
Opening an account is a straightforward process, just go to a bank of your choice and tell them that you would like an account. Different types of accounts include the following:
* Current accounts - useful for day-to-day management of your money, but pay little interest.
* Salary accounts (Lohnkonto - compte salaire) pay a little more interest than current accounts, but you don’t get a chequebook and/or some other services.
* Saving accounts (Sparkonto – compte de livret) offer higher interest, but are not very useful for many transactions.
You can open a foreign currency account in Switzerland, however, these don’t usually pay interest. The Swiss franc is one of the most stable currencies in the world (and unique among major currencies in that it is still backed by gold), so the risk of holding the currency is lower than in many other instances.
Many banks also have special types of accounts that don’t fall into a specific category – bear in mind that fees can vary considerably between them. The best thing to do is to ask several banks for full information and compare different offers.
Student accounts
For students and young people, there are usually special accounts available with few or no account fees. Shop around and ask for special offers.
Bank statements are usually issued monthly. With a salary account you often only receive quarterly statements. At the end of the year, you will probably receive a listing of all bank charges, interests paid and taxes withheld. All information from Swiss banks can be requested in English, German, French and Italian.
Account cards
With most accounts, you will receive a free account card (Bankkarte - carte bancaire). This card can be used for cash withdrawals from ATMs and other transactions on your bank’s electronic terminals.
