I am due to move over to CH in September to start a job there. I have been following the threads re what bank/credit cards etc and I am really surprised at the costs. In the UK I bank with A&L (part of Santander) and I do all my banking over the internet, have a debit card for cash and credit card from Capital One and AMEX at no charge (infact they give cash back). My question is, how come in CH all the banks seem to charge for almost everything, unless high amounts kept in account, and has there never been some sort of push against this?
It seems anything to do with money i.e. banking and insurance is costly and savings give a poor return.
Are there any accounts, like the ones we have in the UK, and is Comparis the only money saving comparison site available or are there others?
Sorry for the long post, I am just surprised at what I have found and I just expected banking within Europe (and I count CH in that for this discussion) to be similar.
One thing banks have in common the world over - they are out to make money. Swiss banks are just better at it.
Take into account that with the ZKB I can phone my adviser directly (his name and number appears on my monthly statements) - not a call centre in India or Newcastle.
Charges and interest??. Prior to the current economic crisis my bank gave savers around 1.5% interest. I could get 7% in the UK. But who wants £s?? I came here 20 years ago and there were CHF3.60 to the pound.
Having had to deal with LloydsTSB in the UK and the ZKB (Zürcher Kantonalbank) I know which one I prefer...
You know in 70's ZIM$1=£1 or South African R1=£1 but those days are gone. Have to accept the new world order, new country = different banking fees. When in Rome do as the Romans do!
There you go - got that all ready for when you discover the costs for rent, food, internet access and absolutely anything you buy in any shop.
I know what you mean, though - no doubt like you, I grew up with free personal banking as a given. It's hard to remember that it's only been like that in the UK for a short time (early 1980s, perhaps? couldn't find a date).
I believe Swiss Post's Post Finance banking division is a very cheap and efficient way to bank, with excellent online services. I use UBS, out of sheer apathy because they gave us an account before we'd even moved over simply on the back of a job offer letter, and they were very helpful about organising an appartment deposit account and so on in the days when we were clueless and still in the UK. There's some sort of monthly charge - about 7 chfs, I think - but everything else seems to be free so far.
And the big plus is that it's like 1950s UK - we had an initial meeting for an hour or so, where we met the bank manager personally and were generally pampered with coffee, snacks and colouring packs for the kids. He asked us about our hobbies and interests, how we were liking Switzerland, etc whilst we all sipped coffee, before delicately starting on the topic of money and what our requirements were. And now we have a real person on the end of a real phone, who helps out if we need it, and doesn't try and sell us anything at any time because their bank is already being paid for its services so they're not all on commission to survive.
Personal customer service - even allowing for 7 chfs a month, it's very refreshing. (And, over a year down the line since moving here, I've completely recalibrated my sense of what amount seems 'reasonable' anyway! As soon as you stop translating it back to sterling, the problem goes away.)