Thanks!
Hello! I have just moved to Switzerland and need to open an account at a Seiss bank. I know that La Poste is convenient, but do other bank options offer better rates or say... better credit card perks? Any good site to compare common awiss banks?
Unless you got a LOT of money makes very little difference.
As you are in Vaud, try BCV, it is 5 largest bank in Switzerland and only one of about 20 Worldwide with an AA+ rating.
I'm not a bank guru so don't expect deep words of wisdom.
Don't know of any sites for comparison. I made a list a few months ago when I was looking for a personal bank. But I'm a US citizen so my choices were limited to 3 (UBS, Post Finance, Credit Suisse). I felt like I was choosing the least awful of the options.
As I recall the main differences were monthly fees and some options. For example, being able to have an account in a foreign currency. Some of the banks waive the monthly fee if you keep a certain amount in the account. Excessive monthly fees irritate me even though I keep above the minimum balance, so I ended up going with Post Finance. Credit Suisse's website was light on information IMHO. My husband has both UBS and CS accounts and likes them equally. UBS offers some kind of family plan so I may open a second account there--something for you to look into if you're married.
It was kinda surprising how different the offerings were.
I don't use credit cards but the time I considered getting one as debit cards aren't really a thing here. Let me tell you, credit card rewards suck compared to American banks. It wasn't worth my time or money.
I'm sure someone with better info will be along.
Thanks!
Yeah, looking into it, from what I could see Credit Suisse offered free withdrawals from any atm, which sounded nice. But nothing substantially different on the surface level. I'll post back here when I do end up opening an account.
For now I've got a PostFinance account for salary purposes.
What you gain with one bank, you lose with another !
BCV is smaller so will tend to listen more to you, rather than just be another client at UBS/CS
Look at Kantonal Banks or Postbank.
Review the potential charges when using other banks' automats.
Credit Suisse, just dumped a friend of mines' mortgage as his change of address happened to be in Boston....
He has to find another bank or sell to cover the monies owed.
You can blame the American government/IRS for that.
UBS has been an excellent choice for me. I've been here for two years and the experiences at the branch, easy of accessing the online services and telephone banking have been superior to those of credit suisse, which my spouse uses.
I compared UBS, CS, ZKB (Zürich) and Postfinance.
UBS worked out cheapest for our requirements, but otherwise all pretty much the same for standard banking.
I don't care about personal touches, or if they listen, just efficiency and value for money. I am not HNWI tier...
Hi!
I would stick with a Cantonal Bank, since the scandals with UBS or CreditSuisse have lowered the common believe that they are good banks. LaPoste is also a good one as formerly it was a National Institution before the privatisation of the whole group. Raiffeisenbank is also a good one. Depending on what you are doing with your account, you need to separate two things: Retail or Wealth Management. Are you looking for big investments? Or is it just a saving account with less movement on it? Please let me know if you need more info, maybe I can help. Good luck!
Credit Suisse have the bonviva packages, the Bonviva Silver is already pretty all-in, probably meets most people's needs. The first year it's 50% discounted (15/month) which is a good deal in my view.
https://www.credit-suisse.com/ch/en/...n/bonviva.html
Zürcher Kantonalbank have the 'ZKB Inklusive' package, which comes down to about the same, probably slightly lower monthly fees (about 12/Month or so). Probably/perhaps the BCV have similar offers.
https://www.zkb.ch/de/pr/pk/zahlen-s...rwachsene.html
I moved from ZKB to Credit Suisse, after being with ZKB for about 10 years, the main reson was to consolidate/simplify my finances with one bank. CS are about to upgrade their ebanking next month, which is about time as it's not particularly user friendly.
A comparison site is comparis.ch.
What are those requirements? I'm having a really hard time imagining anything so that ubs would come out cheapest. Postfinance is free if you keep a little money in it. If you want a credit card from them, it'd cost some money, but less than ubs or cs packages and has better conditions, or you can just get a free one from coop/migros.
I second the advice to go with postfinance or a cantonal bank. Also, most cantonal banks are backed by unlimited cantonal guarantee, which is quite a bit better fact than the too-big-to-fail fairy tale you'd have to believe if you park over 100k with ubs or cs. Postfinance used to have unlimited federal government guarantee, but now that it's a Real Bank, that guarantee's gone.
The UBS family package and cards works out cheaper for us then CS. Also English language, rules out ZKB ans Raiffeisen
Can't remember why we did not choose PF
hey guys,
which bank can you recommend?
I'm looking for something simple in use for personal needs, mostly for savings with option of free/low withdrawals from any ATM, low/free online transfers, low account maintenance, no credit card -debit card preferably
Any thoughts?
CS and UBS will have credit cards included in their packages - of course you can get accounts as their own but it won't be cost efficient.
If you're only interested in a simple solution I would say PostFinance would be your best option. The added benefit is free withdrawals abroad as well.
See above suggestions. Debit card is a fact of life in Switzerland. Until fairly recently you either paid cash or by debit, credit cards were few and far between and rarely accepted anywhere.
As far as I know all ATMs are free in Switzerland. PostFinance is free if you keep more than 7,500 in the account at all times.
I'm with PF and considering leaving.
An increasing number of shops and restaurants (eg Dorint Hotel, near the Flughafen) won't accept the card which has been embarrassing. They also need a PF account and many appear not to be bothered.
Additionally, I had high expenditure last month, with paying a deposit and moving to a new apartment, and exceeded my (until then unknown) spending limits. My card was unilaterally stopped and I could only get out money at the PO. Very frustrating and, again, a little embarrassing.
Realistically, I think apathy will keep me with PF as it serves my other purposes and I cannot begin to imagine the aggro with changing banks...
I was with you at the first point... but any bank will block further transactions if you exceed your limits. That's why they're called, you know, limits.
Following up on this, I haven't yet gotten an account somewhere else but I'm most tempted to go with UBS. They have a free banking package for " For undergraduates and postgraduates aged 18 to 30. " So for students (undergraduate and graduate) it seems good. I know Credit Suisse has a similar package , also for ages 18-30.
My main motivation behind UBS is an acquaintance has an account there, and they've got a referral system where apparently you both get a credit of Key Club points (40 CHF for you, 25 CHF for the referrer). Here's a list of Key Club partners , which includes staple businesses like Coop, Migros, SBB CFF FFS, and even Ikea.
The Key Club points from UBS seem more practical (groceries, living expenses) than the Credit Suisse benefits (applies to movies, tickets to events, etc...).
So for anyone like me doing a degree in Switzerland, UBS seems good. And if you take advantage of the referral program, you can simultaneously get some credit which is a nice bonus.
So does postfinance and many other banks
Have you simply tried spending less?
Much bigger savings are possible in this way than whatever kickbacks your bank can afford to offer you on their 0.3% provision from merchants