Best Private Bank

Banks, Insurances & Third Pillar
1

Hello everyone,

if the answer already exists in the forum, i couldn’t find it. Please refer to it.

I read about some deals some members made with their private bank so they can use it for free and even get a credit card for free on top.

At the moment I am at PostFinance with an «Ausbildungskonto». But this summer I finish my bachelor degree and don’t have the luxury of this account anymore.

I could use the PostFinance «Privatkonto» which costs 60.-/year. An option is to let 15.000 CHF on there to get it for free. But I think, that is money that doesn’t work for me and I don’t need that much cash at the moment. I saw the recommendation to always have some percentage in cash. Is this meant for emergencies?!

Isn’t it a better idea to just have the minimum in cash on the bank and pay the 60.-/year (in case of PostFinance)? The Freiburger Kantonalbank offers an account where you only have to pay 30.-/year for the Maestro card. That would even be better.

Sorry for rambling. I hope you get what I wanted to ask.

Thanks!

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2

according to


you only need 7’500 CHF on the account to have it for zero cost. therefore I regard them as (not neccessarily exclusively) as most mustachian bank solution for private swiss residents. by the way, i know this CHF 7500 also reflects optional EUR and USD accounts that you can set up for no additional charges (except currency exchange ripoff…). also you e-trading account value is considered, but everyone here agrees that postfinance is not your broker of choice.

I am with postbank and i am happy with it. they have everything i need: cost-free, e-banking, tons of cash machines all over switzerland, and direct e-billing for least hassle with paying bills. Postcard is accepted alsmost everywhere. thats it^^

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3

You mean PostFinance right?

Oh sorry my bad. Wrong number in my head.
But still, this money is just laying around there right? To save 60.-/year. Is it worth it?
I mean I can’t even use it, because when I use it, I’ve to pay the 5.-/month.

4

yes, postfinace :wink:

yes, but they are lying around there for an important purpose: this is part of my (hard) liquidity reserve. You are highly encouraged to have one, too :wink:

the traditional rule of thumb is 3 months of salary, I chose mine to be a bit smaller (no family or dependents, no financial obligations, secure work position). from this point of view, it perfectly fits for me.

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5

Hello @dalliard!

Good question. I also have PostFinance + cash emergency fund on it.

Regarding the credit card. I took one from PostFinance and it was non-mustachian decision (CHF40/year). Instead it’s better to get Migros or Coop credit card, which are for free. I actually today collected the application forms for these two. Tomorrow I’m planning to send them. :slight_smile:

Once I’ll get them and test online shopping and air tickets shopping (two most important credit card use cases for me), I’ll cancel my PostFinance card.

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Hi @dalliard, you need 7’500 CHF “assets” (not necessarily cash). It might also be Pillar 3a, mortgage, funds etc…
The same with “Private Plus” (25k assets needed).

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Yup, though I wouldn’t keep my 3a or funds at PostFinance - there are better options. I also wouldn’t take a mortgage at PostFinance to lower my monthly fee. :smiley:

I guess CHF7.5k in cash for a young person without dependents is a reasonable option. Similar CHF25k emergency fund for a family seems legit to me as well. Although, friend of mine, who’s finance professor, recommended to me once that I should stay “fully invested”, but to be frank, I’m not bold enough for that - and I’m not sure exactly what should be the equivalent of cash in my portfolio (bonds ETF?).

8

I would avoid bond ETFs and stay with cash now… better 0 than negative returns…:wink:
I have 3a with PF and find it not so bad (especially the “new” 75% stocks fund). Quite high TER (compared to ETFs) but relative good returns (for my personal situation better than 3a savings account).

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9

As mentioned above, you can have free credit cards without a bank account. Migros and Coop offer free credit cards.Postfinance needs 7’500 CHF on the account to have it for zero cost.

I would also recommend Raiffeisen, which offers zero cost account when you buy shares of the bank and use the account regularly.
The number of shares and the amount is different in each Raffeisen. It is between 200 and 1000.-. Shares have a yield between 1% and 6%.
Check this post:http://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/raiffeisen-shares-with-6-annual-return/

If you are a student, most of banks have zero cost.

I strongly advise having multiple banks and not all accounts/cards in the same bank in case of issue or to have the lowest cost for a specific service. Swiss banks know that customers are not willing to change and try sometimes to force you to take costly services.

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10

Hi Guys,

So, most of you are with Postfinance @ 0 cost by keeping at least 7.5k in cash.

We do have UBS (family plan) but costs us 15 p/m, that’s 180 CHF per year.
With that plan we have:

  • eBanking
  • eBills
  • 2 Credit cards (max 2,000 CHF each) credit cards provide cash back with utilization.
    3rd pillar account for free

On top of that, there is an extra fee of 180 CHF per year if you want to keep some UBS mutual funds.

So a total of 360 CHF for banking services!! That’s insane!

Has anyone tried Migros/Coop or other Cheap options?

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just for completness:

Postfinance:
zero cost if you have 7.5k in it (sum of cash in all currencies, securities depot)

  • CHF, USD & EUR account
  • eBanking
  • eBills
  • Credit card is CHF 50/y (clearly not recommended by mustachians) => migros/coop credit card
  • securities depot: CHF25 per trade / CHF90/y minimum (clearly not recommended by mustachians) => IB
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12

PostFinance: if you choose “Private account plus” (25k total assets) you also have some more benefits, i.e. free cash withdrawals in Switzerland and abroad with your PF card.
I also have Migros Bank (mortgage + some bonds/etfs); not bad compared to other banks but I would advice PF anyway.

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13

Thanks for the feedback

I’ll put together the information from different banks to compare pros/cons.
I’ll come back to share that file.

Cheers.

14

Postfinance eTrading costs are not great because of the cost of buying/selling stocks but the 90 CHF securities depot is not so bad as it is an advance credit. Once you have paid it you get 90 CHF in free credit for buying/selling stocks.
Basically it’s a way to make you pay a minimum guarantee and push you to trade more.

15

Well I am still using the Raiffeisen Account I got basically at birth. So far I have not noticed any costs ant the e-Banking is great. The credit cards however are quite overpriced. Also it supports the free BEN transactions to IB.

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I’d suggest all students here to check Credit Suisse. They have the best deal ever for them (1% on savings… < 25k CHF though).

For semi-liquidity I"d suggest to check coop itself, not its bank.
http://www.coop.ch/pb/site/common/node/52173/Lde/index.html (de/fr/it only, 20kchf per month withdrawal, 0.250% interests)

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17

Just anoter mini-summary of my experience:

Postfinance Plus:

  • Need more than 25k CHF to be free
  • You can withdraw anywhere for free (apart compulsory state only taxes (Thailand, Philippines) or scam (direct exchange ATMs

Raiffeisen Member:

  • Still have to pay the Maestro Card
  • Visa debit is free
  • You can use RB card anywhere in switzerland for free
  • 3a is better than with Postfinance

Credit Card Migros (Cembra)

  • Migros Free credit card is still the best for travel because of the free insurance
  • If you use it a lot abroad it might be a problem because of the 1.5% tax
  • Exchange rates are a big ?
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18

Thanks for the information.