Dear all
I have opened a Zak account (thanks @_MP for the great tutorial) and I would like to move some euro from abroad in it.
I have found this thread in the forum and I was wondering if Revolut is still the best option here.
Does anyone can kindly give me an advice?
Thanks to everyone in advance!
Best
Don
I have no firsthand experience but would think of TransferWise and maybe https://exchangemarket.ch/.
Also, there’s an article on the blog of The Poor Swiss:
Thank you @Neville.
I looked into and yes TransferWise looks good however I am also wondering which fees Zak applies here, I probably miss this piece of information, do you know it?
Cheers
Don
Not yet. 
I’ve only just started looking into this question. I haven’t even gotten around to reading the blog post above. Actually, thanks for opening this thread, let’s see if others in the forum know more.
Depends on time and amount. If under the free limit of revolut (1250 CHF) and during the week, this will be the best you can get.
Zak will apply usual fees (i.e. none) for an incoming Swiss domestic transfer, since that is what Transferwise will use to pay out the converted funds to your account.
true, on low amounts, Revolut is impossible to beat.
Apologies, I have not make myself clear. I meant transfer EUR directly into Zak from abroad (via SEPA).
I would like to understand fees/rate applied.
I made a comparison recently, including all fees and exchange rates for transfering from CHF -> EUR. I assume it’s about the same in reverse. I did effectively transfer the money and compared the conversion rates with XE at the respective date and time. So this took into account the fees and calculated the percentage after.
In first place came in Revolut. In second place was Transferwise and in third my regular bank account.
ok thank you @genti. I assume it still depends on how much you transfer, for getting Revolut first.
Still, is your regular bank account Zak?
Thank you
Don
I think for any amounts that can’t be converted for free anymore IBKR will be the cheapest. If I read that correctly, it should be about 2 magnitudes below Transferwise.
Having an account with them is only free if you park over 100’000 USD there (as shares of your favorite ETF for example). I don’t have an account with them, though.
@DonDraper You will find that they have a very high standing in this community. Exactly because they are about the cheapest it gets, for everything.
@Helix very true, but the topic here is to convert EUR to CHF, are you suggesting to open an account with IB for this?
Thank you.
Don
I don’t quite understand exactly what you want, eur-chf conversion or eur transfer to zak euro account?
EUR transfer via Sepa should be free, but to/from Swiss accounts someone along the way may charge something like EUR 5, nothing huge, nothing as a percentage of the amount.
If you want to transfer & exchange eur at the same time, i recommend transferwise.
If anything, it’s the other way round.
SEPA prohibits “someone along the way” charging intermediary and/or third-party fees (unlike SWIFT transfers), but it does not have to be free at either end. I.e., payer’s and payee’s bank may charge fees for SEPA transfers.
On personal accounts though, many banks in the EUR have decided to offer free SEPA transfers to consumers, at least when initiated through online and other self-service channels.
I think I’ve covered it in a post of mine a while ago - but I’m unable to find it.
Sender’s bank in EU/EEA: Usual fees for outgoing SEPA transfers. Which means free on many personal accounts. AFAIK they’d be allowed to charge other (higher) fees sending to Switzerland than to other EU countries - but few if any do so, to my knowledge.
Intermediary fees: None
Bank Cler as receiving bank will convert to CHF at their foreign currency rates. I couldn’t find it easily on their web site, but will probably be 1% surcharge or something. Considerably more than TransferWise, I’d be willing to bet.
Notice that Revolut pricing is changing in August: https://www.reddit.com/r/Revolut/comments/h0ct5n/new_fees_starting_from_august_12_2020/
Depending on your use case it may mean that Transferwise or CurrencyFair will be cheaper.
It think the only other option I am aware of that has not been mentioned on this thread is OFX. I have no personal experience with them and every time I looked it seemed more expensive than CurrencyFair.
Yeah with the new revolut limits it depends on the monthly amount. (Assuming no conversion on the weekend)
2600chf: revolut with premium (premium is 8.99 chf, so if transferwise fee is more, then revolut premium is worth it)
This is only in case you don’t already have an interactivebrokers account, as this would be even cheaper (but only works if you have 100k in assets with them)
Transfer from an EUR account via SEPA to Zak CHF account. Hope this clarifies.
Thank you
