postfinance accounts (one in CHF, one in EUR) keep more than CHF 7500/account = free, otherwise CHF3/month/account COOP and Migros Credit cards free, whatever I pay with those is automatically deducted from my Postfinance account every month in one chunk (thus have to keep track!) only use in Switzerland, never abroad, then it ́s 100% free! For Germany/France/Euroland: www.dkb.de Free account with free Visa-Debit card (=each transaction is immediately deducted from the account) You (currently) get 2,05% interest on EURs Transfers from Postfinance EUR-account to DKB-EUR-account are free Summary: This gives me all services I need, and it ́s 100% free
Rgds, Christian
Banks... everyone seems to really like Post. One thing I like about the Post ATM's is I can check my REKA balance there. I have UBS and a bit lazy to consider changing at any time soon.
btw, and I could be wrong... but I think with a POST account, they will also give you an ATM card that you can use to take out Euro's in other countries without good rates and no fees... as I say this... I know my colleague mentioned this all to me a few months back and to be honest, I wasn't listening very well. So, maybe you can ignore this paragraph, and part of the one above, but certainly not the first
No so helpful, sorry
The best CC I ever got to shop outside swiss is the SBB Half-Fare Visa or Visa Bonus Card . Both are "free"
I'm fully with you on PostFinance and Cumulus items but I guess you didn't mean that DKB accounts are possible for Swiss residents with no German connections?
I have had some experiencies with CC from Credit Suisse, GE Money Bank, Post, Viseca, Jemoli/Valartis, Cornercard, UBS and etc..over the past few years and I can assure you that SBB/Bonus Card CCs are the best choice out there, if you are planning to shop outside the swiss border
You might that a look at this
I am Belgian myself. My wife is Lebanese. A Lebanese friend of us (resident in CH) opened one, no problems. Two Swiss friends from here opened one, no problems. It ́s really "too good to be true", and after having used it for a while now I ́m still looking for the catch. Seems there isn ́t one!
They offer 2 ways to open the account: Either throug a thing called "Postident", and one through a witness (who has to be a lawyer or notary).
I recommend the "Postident" version, since it ́s totally standardised and free!
Postident Procedure:
the procedure is completely free fill out the >>account opening form<< print the application take your ID/passport and the application to any German postoffice the clerk identfies you, and sends everything to the bank ~2 weeks later you should have all documents in your letterbox, including telebanking PIN, and credit card. Watch out: The clerk only identifies you, he does not check if everything is complete, or if you signed everything. So double-check that everything is complete to avoid delays. Been there, done that, happily paying away in EURs without any fees
Additional nice-to-have: You can withdraw worldwide, without any fees. That is, really free. DKB applies the BankingFX-rate, without extra fees. Examples:
On 07 June 2012 I withdrew Francs in Zürich with my DKB-card. Applied rate: 1,200291 On 17 October 2012 I withdrew Thai Bath in Thailand. Applied rate (to the EUR) 42,07581 Now if that isn ́t good, what is? (I ́m just a happy customer, not working for DKB...)
EDIT: Adjusted rate (checked it in internetbanking) for withdrawal in Zürich. Nearly what I remembered by heart anyway.
1) The article you gave (very useful actually, thanks!) is 2 years old and not correct at the moment (Cumulus rate descreased from 2% to 1.5% while UBS increased from 1% to 1.75%).
2) Even in that article GE Money rate is second best only to Jelmoli/Bonus card.
If you consider the current commission rate of 1.75%, Cumulus would work out the cheapest (provided they keep the exchange rate itself reasonably low, too).
So in short, I still don't understand how come Bonus and SBB cards are cheaper for forex transations now??
This is incredibly interesting and useful! Did you yourself open it via the "Postident" route? And how long are you using it? You know, sometimes you need to pay the fees in the end of the billing period which might be yearly.
And the last thing. You mentioned they give a free Visa Debit which is amazing. I know it doesn't have a safety of Credit Cards but still I kind of miss it here in Switzerland (it's very popular in Ireland and the UK). So your Visa Debit is accepted online, did you try it? That's a major disadvantage of the local Maestro that it can be only used at cash points. Also, do they (DKB) also offer free credit cards?
And yes, the exchange rate you quoted seems very fair.
I ́ve been using it for ~2 years, friends of mine for ~5 years. There is no fee. Not monthly, not quarterly, not yearly. It is simply free.
Why should it be "less safe"? If a transaction is fraudulent, they advertise the transaction is reversed. (I never had that problem, so don ́t know the practical handling)
I always pay flights and amazon.de (online) orders with my DKB-Visa-debit-card. No problems whatsoever, accepted like a usual Visa Credit Card. The merchant will never know the difference. Looks the same, feels the same. Booking flights, even those leaving from Zürich, are usually cheaper to book online in Germany. So I book them in EURs, pay with my DKB-EUR card, no fees, saving ~50-100 CHF/flight.
Don ́t know since I don ́t need one. I never actually take credit, just using the card as a means to pay. I seem to remember they offer "real" credit cards, but never looked into that since I can already do everything I need to do...
Since 2009 am with Credit Suisse and could not be happier. The online banking is superb, there are no hidden fees outside the monthly fee + cash withdrawal using credit cards at ATM abroad.
From personal experience, I recommend Credit Suisse
I have to admit though: It ́s a bit tricky, as for each payment I have to remember which card to use. But it ́s not that hard, and I got used to it by now.
Result for me: No fees for anything, except the FX-rate of Postfinance changing my earned CHFs into EURs, which I then transfer to DKB...
What sort of mark up are we talking about here in terms of FX-rate?
This could be a big disadvantage and could eat away at any savings you make which renders the whole thing completely useless given all the effort involved.
Have you considered fees for withdrawing money from non Raiffeisen cash machines?
and ermmm free internet banking?? (no bank charges for this, so it goes without saying)
Good interest? Must be the joke of the century
Glad you found something you like anyway
This also involves some speculation. If you trust the SNB will stand firm on the 1.20 promise, then everyone should change CHF into EUR now, as surely the EUR can ́t lose value against the CHF, only raise. This, however, obviously depends on the SNB standing firm on the 1.20 promise in the long run.
But, agreed, that ́s actually a catch (although not one that DKB came up with...).
Actually you triggered an idea: I will ask DKB if they have a way to change CHFs to EURs, maybe they have a better rate.
Rgds,
Christian
I think you can easily open an account with them in swiss franks perhaps then they can do the conversion at your convenience, or send the monies in swiss franks and they convert it at a better ate hopefully, but yeh ask them and find out.
By the way 1.18 would mean that you are giving away 1.66% of your money to Post Finance everytime you transfer money, so let's say you transfer EUR3000 a month for argument's sake, that's equivalent to paying CHF60.- per month for the set up you got going on, which is higher than any bank could charge for it's services.
I never saw them offer CHF accounts. Just sent out the email, let ́s see what their reply is.
Strongly disagree, it ́s not that bad. After all, you would only use the EURs for foreign payment, where the Swiss bank would also charge you fees. In this case for CreditCard usage - where the fees are either the same or even higher.
But I do agree that this is a problem I never thought about!
reply:
If this is correct, the fees are finally close to ~0.
Well, Postfinance will charge CHF 2,00 per outgoing transfer.
Rgds,
Christian
For financial transactions outside CH I use the aforementioned DKB account with free VISA (which actually is a credit not debit card and gives you a good interest (2.05%) if you are positive on your credit card account - their current account still gives 0.5%).
For exchanging EUR-CHF and vice versa I use wechselstube.ch - I like that you see exactly what you get as you make the transaction.
I'm positive that DKB DOES charge a fee on top of that favourable exchange rate for crediting their account with a non-EUR currency - their overview of charges says that 'ueberweisungen mit konvertierung der waehrung bis 12.500 EUR' (transfers with change of currency up to 12.500 EUR) cost 12.50 EUR. With transfers they mean 'zahlungs ein- und ausgaenge' so transfers into and out of your account. This is written in paragraph 1.1.3 on page 6 of the 'preis- und leistuingsverzeichnis' you can download from their website.