Tom
Only if you don't give them 3 months notice.
I came across this site: https://kontofuehrungsgebuehren-fuer-auslandkunden.ch/ and the information seems accurate from my experience.
Basically, most banks are willing to open a account for a EU person, if you deposit more than 100K in Euro's. If you want a deposit in CHF the story changes as the banks pay negative interest rates to the SNB and therefor would make a loss on your account
Welcome to bizarro world '16.
Thought the thread might be worth a bump for this. Opened a bank account with PostFinance yesterday and was told their CHF 15/month charge would be rising to CHF 25/month from 1 January 2017. They didn't explain why. Es ist einfach so...
Any difference for a Swiss resident leaving Switzerland and back to his country? My specific case France... would I be allowed to keep my bank account?
Well, it's been several years since I first posted in this thread.
Lots of good info here.
Recently, something else has come up.
My father, born and raised in Switzerland, did his military service, etc., but now lives in Canada, has been having his pension deposited in his Swiss bank for many years. No problems.
However, recently he received a letter from the bank stating that they would like to close his account because they want to focus on customers with large deposits, $500k or more. He does not have anywhere near $500k in that account, but doesn't want the account closed. (Would his Swiss pension be sent to a Canadian bank even if he wanted it to?)
What is going on in Switzerland that they want to turn away business? Why is the bureaucracy EVERYWHERE getting so big and inflexible? I would think, in light of what's going on in the world right now, where we have seen previously light-handed governments turn so drastically and quickly to authoritarianism, that people need a variety of options.
I think this policy is totally wrong. Isn't anybody there going to say "NO!"?
Calm down, Switzerland is doing fine, local lawmakers would be happy to have money from all around the world.
The most probable cause is Canada government restricting the access to Swiss banks to Canadian residents, money laundering, tax evasion, the whole thing. Swiss citizenship does not overrules Canadian residence, therefore your dad is regarded as Canadian resident.
But enough of problems, let's move to possible solutions. A lot of Swiss citizens around the world have the same problem. The organization Swiss Abroad helps its members navigate the regulatory mess. There are some banks which are friendlier to having accounts of non-CH residents than others. https://www.swisscommunity.org/en/li...ns/swiss-banks
Other EFers have mentioned that the more customer friendly terms are given PostFinance, but better do the check yourself.
This happened to my mother over five years ago. I'm surprised the bank is just now getting round to your father. You can thank greedy bankers and FATCA for your Dad's financial situation. I know an elderly woman who gets her Swiss pension sent directly to her. It's not enough to raise eyebrows and she enjoys the additional income.
FATCA has nothing to do with non-US people.
Canada is not the US.
Tom
FATCA has nothing to do with it.
And the other side of the ‘greedy banker’ is the ‘entitled customer, who expects to gets services for free or next to nothing! The days of the free loaders is coming to an end all over Europe.
Banking has become an unconsolidated commodity industry, with even the digital banks reporting losses. The next step is consolidation and retrenchment and when the dust settles we will be paying a lot more for financial services.
Over in Ireland two of the main five banks have announced they are ceasing business because they can’t afford to continue loosing money. And what people are discovering is that they remaining three are being selective in whom they want to take on.... If you are only there for the free services then they are not willing to take you on.
It is certainly possible, at least at some banks, to keep a Swiss bank account while living abroad. However, over the past 5 (?) or so years, the fees for the same banking product have been raised significantly for anyone not domiciled in Switzerland.
Here's an article, in German, Franch, Spanish and Portuguese, dated 15. März 2021, setting out these fees, with some explanation of why they are higher than for Swiss residents. https://www.swissinfo.ch/ger/bankkon...reise/46422888
Sie verlangen von Auslandschweizern nur das Dreifache dessen, was Bewohnerinnen und Bewohner in der Schweiz bezahlen müssen. Bei der Zürcher Kantonalbank, um ein Extrembeispiel zu nennen, ist es das 31fache. They charge Swiss living abroad only three times what residents in Switzerland have to pay. At the Zürcher Kantonalbank, to cite an extreme example, it is 31 times.
I disagree. It was a trigger for new bank policies in general.
Yes, but the rules are different for US and non US.
Tom
Is there any update on this recently? The article above in swissinfo relates to Swiss living abroad - but how about absolute foreigners? I've been asked by a friend, who never lived in Switzerland, neither is planning to do so - can he still open an account in any of the Swiss banks, preferable remote/online?