Options for cash Dollars and Euro

Does anybody know a bank account without fees on an account with foreign currency or at low fee?

I have physically some dollars and euros and I want to keep them for a long run. Cash deposits

Yuh.

So do you want to keep foreign currency physically or in a bank account?

I wanted to do it in a bank account, but currently I have them physically.
Mainly leftovers from trips, that I am missing always to take them and just accumulated.

Next time you go outside of eurozone, take your USD and exchange on site. I don’t think there are many mustachian options to deposit cash USD to a bank account.

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maybe that’s not a bad idea.

I know raiffeisen has the foreign account the “cheap” rate of 5 chf per account per month
Post 5 chf per month (not sure about USD account) unless you do not invest with them

any other possibility?

Many Swiss banks offer savings accounts denominated by EUR. These generally have no account fees and pay some amount of interest. However, you do normally pay one-time fees when you deposit and withdraw euros in cash (agio and disagio). If you will be depositing or withdrawing larger amounts, then make sure to compare these fees when choosing an account.

The BCGE offers savings accounts in CHF, CNY, USD, and GBP, all with no account fees.

For US dollars in cash, you have less options. You may have to either pay the fee for a USD private account (checking account). Alternatively, you can deposit the money into your CHF account, transfer it to Wise, Revolut, Swissquote, etc. and then exchange it back into a dollar account balance.

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Hi all,

I have approximately €3000 in cash and need to convert it into CHF. I have a Postfinance account and IBKR. I just opened an EUR account at PF. So I was thinking to pay in the cash at the post office (is this possible?) and transfer the Euro to IBKR and convert it into CHF and then send it back to Postfinance.

Is that a good way or are there any hidden fees or even cheaper options about which I dont know? Thank you!

Probably.
I doubt it’s going to be free (though I’m not a PostFinance customer).

Personally, I’ve often exchanged small amounts of cash with friends and colleagues at a fair rate.

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Yes, it is free to make a euro deposit onto your euro account at the counter. Beware! Withdrawals are only free at the ATM.

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To my view, the most mustachian thing to do is find a friend or acquaitance who will be travelling and needs some euros. Then you can exchange at spot rates. That’s what I always do.

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There used to be a startup which ran a platform that let you connect with people near you to exchange any currency in cash directly, peer to peer. Unfortunately it didn’t last. I suppose there was no way for the startup to get a cut, so no business model. But I imagine there must be forums or facebook groups which let you connect with people near you who want the currency you have. It seems kind of ridiculous that in this connected world, you would still have to spend money on currency exchange.

unless you do not have a Eur Card you need to do it in the post office.
I did what you mention some time ago and not fees except the IBRK regular ones

I didn’t use it but I have done it with a friend and we stooped because unless you do not change large amounts >1000 you need to be almost exact to the cent otherwise is not worth for one of the sides

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Check with post finance what the fees are in total for opening and using the account. I’d expect SEPA transfers to be included. Converting and sensing chf from ibkr is just like a regular transfer with my bank, no extra fees.

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Expanding on what I have already said: for EUR no fees if you’re no longer paying fees. Same fees you’re paying right now if you are. You can open as many accounts as you want, the price is per customer and not per account. You can deposit it for free at the counter and withdraw for free at the ATM with your EUR card (only 50 euro bills). No SEPA fees, but UK is out of scope as of Brexit (hello Revolut!).

I regularly send EUR from Yuh to Revolut, no fees.

United Kingdom continues to be a SEPA country, just like Switzerland.

SEPA payments to/from the UK aren’t regulated by EU/EEA regulation anymore, so banks/payment service providers on either can charge what they want (as in: more than for intra-EEA payments between other members states). Again, the same as with Switzerland.

As a side note, Liechtenstein on the other hand is covered by EU regulation because it is an EEA member state (and therefore its national currency, the Swiss Franc, an EEA currency).

A EUR SEPA account may suffice for payments between your own accounts or friends and family. If you’re making or receiving payments for purchases or services in/from the EU/EEA though, I‘d recommend using an EUR SEPA account with a bank in one of the (EEA) members states. (Only) this way can you be sure that a payer doesn‘t pay „hidden“ (in fine print) fees for transferring money to you, and that a payee will receive the payment amount in full.

Thanks for the explanation of what I meant by “out of scope”!

True. I guess I’ve mostly change cash against bank transfers with friends and family, so that wasn’t a huge issue. I just transferred or received the exact amount.

Not sure if now is a great time to change euros into francs though: