EUR account/card for normal use

Banks, Insurances & Third Pillar
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Anyone has a good suggestion for a simple way of holding/using EUR? I think I might get a EUR postfinance card since I already have a postfinance plus account, but I’m not sure how to put EUR in it.
I’ve read here that someone is using InteractiveBroker to exchange chf into eur, but I think it’s not really usable for me since they charge a minimum of 2chf or 0.002%, but I wanted to change less than 1000 eur at a time, so it’s a bit too much.
Transferwire is now too expensive if i recall. Also I’m not sure if it works with two swiss accounts.

Ideas? Right now I use two “brick and mortar” places.

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I use IB for converting CHF into EUR, then I transfer it to my PostFinance account. Then some of it I withdraw from PostFinance ATMs with the yellow card and another part I transfer to Revolut credit card and this way I can pay all over the world in different currencies using inter-bank exchange rates.

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IB->Postfinance->Revolut? I thought Revolut is in the UK so it costs you to do it.

How much do you move usually? more than 1000eur?

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You can transfer EURs via SEPA:

I’ve just started with 200 EUR, but I’ll top up more next month.

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But then 2chf commission is ~1%. Isn’t then better to move more money?

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It’s 1% comission for using the card. As far as I know the bank transfer are free for SEPA transfers:

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I meant the exchange rate fee of IB.

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Yup, you’re right. On IB it’s better to exchange bigger amount.

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Somewhat related - I just starting using a UBS Euro Visacard. I have not gotten my first bill yet so don’t know how much UBS is going to take when converting my CHF to pay the bill. Maybe i should open a Euro account with them too. If anybody has experience it would be good to hear. Living 1km from the border means we do a lot of shopping in DE. thanks

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I used to be a UBS client and everything they offered me was far from optimal. PostFinance has pretty similar products but half cheaper.

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Oh, trusting a big bank not to rip you off? You’re in for a surprise… My guess 3-5%. 1.75% shopping abroad fee and 2-3% in spread

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It is not so much trusting a bank (did i say that?) than not knowing what my options are for purchases assuming paying in cash is not always an option.

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Anyone has a good suggestion for a simple way of holding/using EUR? I think I might get a EUR postfinance card since I already have a postfinance plus account, but I’m not sure how to put EUR in it.

By chance I never closed my EUR account at free Online bank Boursorama when I left France , and they still provide me with a free EUR visa card. To make conversion from my CHF swiss account to EUR, I will surely use IB (I did not have the need so far).

So I have a free usage and minimal conversion costs!

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Cash (in country’s native currency) is legal tender. If you’re physically in a shop and being asked to pay for your groceries or services etc, they can’t refuse to take it.

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Makes sense. I forgot that I still have a PLN/EUR/CHF accounts with MasterCard debit cards in Polish mBank and it costs me peanuts. I’m planning to close the EUR and CHF though, as PostFinance accounts are good enough.

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Sorry if my English is not so good. When i said ‘cash is not an option’ - that meant they don’t take cash as with Amazon or any other online retailers. My original query/comment was about the best way to make credit card payments in the Eurozone. I had read on this forum or another one that getting a Euro based credit card would be the best option. I assume there will be bank fees but not as much as using a CHF currency card in the Eurozone. If anybody has any advice (not sarcastic or condescending in nature please) i would appreciate it. thanks!

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When transferring the EUR from IB: Does it have to be the same Swiss bank account you use for transfer of the CHF to IB? Can one transfer EUR to another account at another (foreign) bank?

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In addition to my Portuguese Visa card, I’ve recently started using Revolut (a prepaid Mastercard which doesn’t charge you anything for currency conversion, no matter where in the world you use it - instead they live off the 1% charge from the merchants). You also get a companion app where you can see charges instantly, and even block the card/change PIN. As you can probably tell, I’m pretty happy with it (and I think others here use it too). I’ve added a link with a referral code, in case you decide to give them a try.

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Have you also done any analysis on the ForEx rates you’re getting? I have done an extensive analysis on using various methods to pay in Euros (while ultimately holding CHF) if anybody is interested. It looks at paying via Euro account, CHF account, Euro credit card, CHF credit card, TransferWise, etc.

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The topic is broadly discussed on englishforum and Revolut forum…
At the moment it seems there’s no optimal solution if you have CHF (perhaps transferring them to IB, then change CHF->EUR and then transfer IB to Revolut… if possible, and would be free only once per month ?). Quite a lot of hassle… :slight_smile:
I follow…

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