My travel guide says "Currency can be exchanged over the counter at banks," but I'm not sure any Swiss bank would have any desire to get a large sum of CAD. I have a personal policy of avoiding ATM's because of the service charges and the increasing frequency of illegal scanners attached inconspicuously to legit machines.
I'm moving to Switzerland this Friday. Having never done a currency exchange before, I gave little thought to the process and didn't realize until too late that my bank would need about a week to get the cash. Now, I have to use an exchange centre with a much worse rate. So, I'm wondering how easy it is to buy francs in Switzerland, in the hopes that maybe I can just get a small amount here and the rest of what I need upon arrival. If I were to walk into a bank in CH, would it be possible to buy some francs at a reasonable rate with my credit card, debit, or some Canadian cash, if I brought some of that?
Just use your ATM card to draw cash at the airport. I don't get all this hassle of ordering and buying foreign currencies before travelling, especially to countries which have a working banking system.
If you use ATMs in Swiss banks they have secure lobbies that can only be accessed with a valid bank card.
Just stick your debit card into an ATM and enter your pin number and withdraw money. Your bank charges you a foreign transaction fee of 1 to 3 percent and possibly a convenience fee as well and you are done. You do get the best exchange rates this way. I have done the math and you don't get better rates for over the counter exchanges versus ATM transactions unless you are moving a large sum of cash. By which I mean 20 or 30 thousand or more.
Best if you ask your bank which banks in Switzerland they partner with so that you can keep your fees down.
If you are moving then the best way to deal with it is to transfer money by wire from your bank in Canada to your bank in Switzerland, cause you are supposed to declare any cash over 10 thousand dollars that you transport between countries.
You can also write your Swiss bank a personal check and wait the two or three weeks that it will take to complete the transaction. Your Swiss bank will charge you 20 to 30 francs plus a small percentage (maybe). It is best to ask them at the Branch Office.
Good Luck.
Very easy... Just PM with how much you need
PM means personal message, I'm guessing? Anyway, looks like I'm okay. With the reassurances about using ATM's, I looked up what kind of ATM's my bank is connected with, then searched for them in Zurich and Baden, and found tons. None in the airport, though, which is kinda weird.
You can use your ATM card at 99% of the machines here. CIBC charges me $5 for each transaction, so take out a couple hundred francs at a time.