you could use Postfinance if you only use it for storage. As far as I know, only 90 CHF deposit fees (which are also trading credits). Buy on IB, and then transfer to postfinance.
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Personally I use Swissquote as a third broker and just suck it up with the costs. It’s a Swiss company with Swiss salaries, and so on, so even I don’t like the high costs it is somehow justified. Extra security or less risk comes at a cost.
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Swissquote is known for low salaries and a large proportion of cross-border workers.
If I need to suck it up, I’d rather go for a reputable, quality-oriented institution like VZ.
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So what you’re saying is: It’s an efficiently run broker whose support is not only local but (being foreign and coming from a cross-border background themselves) can also emphatise with the many foreigners that frequent this forum?
What’s not to like about that?
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O had a different experience. I called PF yesterday. They acknowlwdged PF= SwissQuote, but they said they are not a QI, and they cannot do W8BEN.
Does anyone have PF? Were you able to get the whole 30% witholding tax back? Were you abld to fill the w8-ben?
I actually filed a W-8-BEN with PF just a week ago for the first time ever (account since 10years) but I do not have any US stocks there. Maybe worth trying out if you could claim back the withhold tax. However, I always thought that this can only be claimed with a foreign broker???
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One thing I learned in my career is that if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys 
Employing incompetent people and/or accepting a high turnover is not an efficient way to do business. Competent foreigners/newcomers can accept a low salary for a short time only – then they leave to greener pastures.
If I must pay a certain amount to enjoy access to a Swiss bank, I’d rather give that money to an institution that provides me with the Swiss quality – rather than something that is Swiss in name only. Thankfully we have a free market and we are all free to put our money where we see fit 
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About Swiss quality, I opted for IB after trying a Swiss ‘quality’ bank that due to many stupid ‘errors’ cost me some thousands CHF (errors in declaring taxis, ‘errors’ in calculating fees - those I got back but after spending days checking % and no one paid me for that and BTW errors always casually favouring them…). With IB since 2019 and so happy about it!
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Where could you file the W8BEN?
Out of the blue PF has provided me with a paper W8BEN after having shares and ETF’s with them since more then 10 years and never even mentioned W8BEN before. I’m not an expert at all but I always thought that W8BEN is only applicable if your broker is not a swiss one???
In any case, I’m not sure if I will get any benefit out of it as I do not have US domiciled shres/ETF in PF but in IB.
W8-BEN is a U.S. tax form which nonresidents may complete to certify their nonresident status and thus benefit from the double taxation treaty (lower withholding).
It has nothing to do with whether your broker is based in Switzerland or abroad. Dutch, German or Swiss brokers - they all provide it (well, not every one maybe, but in all those countries).
Would PF otherwise withhold 45%? (30% + 15% CH?)
So that means W8-BEN doesn’t matter, since you’ll get reimbursed on 30% withholding anyway with DA–1 marked as “Depot Schweiz”?
No, without W8-BEN you get 30% US WHT deducted and 0% R-US (zusätzlicher Steuerrückbehalt). The difference to 15%+15% is visible in broker statements and you need to declare it accordingly. Therefore, the tax authorities will not refund any R-US and you still only get a maximum tax credit of 15% for US WHT.
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I‘m wondering, just in principle, if you could apply for a refund of the other 15% from the U.S. After all, it‘s tax withheld and the DTA would still apply, wouldn’t it?
But even if you could, you‘d have to provide the same information to the IRS as on form W-8BEN - and more additional paperwork to prove that this tax was withheld. So totally pointless, if you can easily reduce it through your broker by providing W-8BEN.
This might well be possible but, as you mention, more paperwork. And if successful, you’d likely end up with a US check, for which you may have to pay a fee to deposit in Switzerland.
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It doesn’t. 15% is Uncle Sam’s final dues as per the treaty.
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We’re talking about the other 15% (when no W-8BEN) is filed.
I misunderstood that. Then the answer is yes in theory but not realistic in practice. That’s the whole point of the Qualified Intermediary regime the US implemented in 2001, which the EU is now slowly trying to implement in its own fashion.