Swiss bank accounts for non-residents

Banks, Insurances & Third Pillar
1

I’m considering leaving Switzerland in a few months (still resident here for now) and will need to keep a swiss bank account after I emigrate for some time, maybe several years. I will still have a local postal address with a friend, if that matters.

What would be a good bank to open account with, which allows non-residents and yet doesn’t charge a fortune to keep a banking relationship with them? It could be a brokerage account, as long as I can still send/receive CHF payments with it.

So far I’ve checked:

  • PostFinance: allows non-residents but will charge 25 Fr/month, that’s a bit too high
  • Neon: only open to swiss residents. Will they close the account after I move abroad?
  • Swissquote: seems to allow non-residents. Didn’t find info on non-resident fees, is it really free?

Anyone know other interesting deals?

2

Just keep the local postal address and make sure you don’t get any physical post. They won’t ever find out that way :stuck_out_tongue:

3

There’s a chance when they do eventually find out, that they would slap me with backdated fees.

4

Did you take a look into CA-Nextbank?

5

Thanks, it looks interesting and better than PostFinance! Although requires maintaining 20k minimum balance, else 15 CHF/month.

6

I also left Switzerland some years ago, when PostFinance figured it out (I made a stupid mistake), they didn’t slap me with backdated fees. PostFinance was CHF 15 and I couldn’t find anything cheaper. Now the account is closed.
Swissquote never figured it out, I still have my account.
Maybe you have a look at banque cantonale vaudoise, its CHF 20 / months under certain condition it’s waived:

This fee is waived for the following individuals:
• Swiss nationals with more than
CHF 50,000 in assets held at BCV
• Cross-border workers
• Individuals under the age of 18
• Individuals who hold only:

  • A Security Deposit account
  • An Epargne 3 account
  • A Vested Benefits account
  • Life insurance
    Exceptions may apply.
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7

What was your mistake with Post?

8

Yes, as long as you not emigrating to the US do as Cortana says. Remember to declare it nicely tax-wise at the new place.

1 Like
9

Hi kilyn I am in your same situation can i ask you which bank was your final choice? I left Switzerland one year ago but kept my money in UBS which has become extremely expensive… I need another bank who will allow me to open a non resident account to move my money there without extremely high fees… was it CA-NextBank? Rgds Carlos/Mexico

10

Why not open an account in your new country?

11

CA Nextbank is a good option if you have at least 20k with them (then free). They give more interest on their saving account than others as well, a whopping 0.3% :wink:

Their E-Banking solutions atm are limited, but serviceable, the rest is as good as with others, just for free, including for non-residents (and joint accounts, the reason why I have an account there).

12

Thought about YUH? They seem to not care if you are a resident or not.

13

They do have to and likely will (as much as any other app-based bank account).
After all, one of their maing selling points are the investment opportunities on offer.