Added a new one which is, again, a new number one 
I guess thatās the one he refers to:
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I wonder how depositorās protection looks like in case of a Liechtenstein - based bank.
Indeed - I am wondering the same. The offer looks tempting and they are part of Liechtensteinische Landesbank (LLB).
According to their FAQ:
āAre instant access savings accounts in Liectenstein covered by a deposit guarantee?ā
- Yes, the Liechtenstein Bankers Association guarantees deposits up to CHF 100,000. Your assets are 100% protected up to this cap. This figure applies per client, per bank. You can find details here: www.bankenverband.li/bankkunden/einlagensicherung.
Anybody had any experience with a Liechtenstein-based bank?
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Very interesting: where is the catch ?
LLB offer sounds interesting for holding the cash buffer.
Does anybody know if there is some type of withholding tax in LI on interest payments? I was not able to find any such information.
It would be indeed interesting to get info on experiences.
Yes, and there seems to be 11 banks in Liechtenstein (https://thebanks.eu/banks-by-country/Liechtenstein). My understanding is that the 100K guarantee would be carried by those (funding the Lichtenstein Bankers Association). Thatās not many.
The stocks of credit suisse had being delisted less than one month ago. If UBS wouldnāt be forced to buy it, CS would probably fail and nobody knows what and, also important, when things would happen with deposits above the insured amount. So, no thanks, I am not putting money in a bank if I donāt know how the deposit protection should work.
I might be some kind of stocks maximalist, but the reverse side of this coin for me is ātake risk on equity sideā only.
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I would assume there is a good chunk of foreign wealth in the banks of Liechtenstein (just as in Switzerland, to be fair) so Iām not sure number of banks/residents is the right metric.
When it comes to insurances, I favor bigger pools to lesser amount of beneficiaries. Afterall, the least amount of beneficiaries possible is 1, myself, and I am taking insurance against risks that would be a hurdle to cover myself (or that I couldnāt).
Iām not saying people shouldnāt put their money in those banks, Iām just saying that choosing the right bank for our assets requires some amount of due diligence.
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Iām testing it actually too!
So, would you guys recommend WiLLBe based on your testing?
Well I transfered some money and now its sitting there. What can I say. So far itās doing what its supposed to do. However I still have some concerns about it given I never heard of them before and not sure how reliable they are. I guess their business case is to lure people on to their investments platform. If too few people will use their services they mighr recu the interest rate I suppose
Its an amazing savings account. I would probably stick to 50k max - just to be on the save side.
To me, the killer feature is the FX conversion rates offered. Was very much surprised as my FX was settled at spot FX (from yahoo/google) plus ~0.13%. This is remarkable, especially as I understand there was technically no cap.
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Hi all, quick question, is the willbe account completely free or does it have some hidden fees?
Yes.
Some further info and first experiences with wiLLBe:
On-boarding via App OK.
App seems kept nice and simple/functional.
Deposits arrived as they should.
Fees:
āNo costs and fees are incurred for overnight and fixed deposit monies. The fees for asset management are determined separately in the corresponding contract. Additional costs arising from foreign currency transactions are possible if
ā the currency of deposits differs from the currency of the wiLLBe account
ā amounts are transferred between accounts with different currencies or
ā investments are made; e.g. in fixed deposits in different currenciesā
āService prices and fees
The Bank does not charge fees for instant access cash account services. Fees may be payable for additional services. Such additional costs may arise from:
ā Country-specific taxes and charges, particularly those that arise from netting the instant access cash account
ā Foreign exchange costs incurred when closing an account in one currency and opening an account in another currencyā
Other info:
Even though one gets a personal IBAN** (LIxx xxxx xxxx xxxx) one has to declare the incoming deposits in advance, in the app, in a way similar to when one does a transfer to IBKR. ( = pre-announce in the app, where from (account number, account holder), amount and date)
** edit - Iām not sure itās a āpersonal IBANā, actually. Itās called an āIBAN for depositsā, so may be a general IBAN.
In addition - āFor security reasons, the Bank can invest only money that comes from a reference account that is in the Clientās name and of which they are also the beneficial owner. This reference account must be held at a bank based in Switzerland or the EU / EEA.ā
and
āwiLLBw only accept deposits from accounts validated within the wiLLBe app.ā
ā Not a problem to do this though, just a bit uncommon.
Furthermore it says āThe Client can change their reference account at any time.ā and then āFor security reasons, repayments may be made only to the reference account from which the original payment came.ā
ā a bit of a contradiction
Protection
āDeposits in Liechtensteinische Landesbank AG are protected by: Deposit Guarantee and Investor Compensation Foundation PCC (EAS Liechtenstein)
Limit of protection: CHF 100ā000 per depositor per bankā
Not so nice (BĆ¼nzli-Alert)
In the contract, text like āā¦clause 7.4. of this contract, whereby clause 10.2ā¦ā - but these clauses donāt exist in the contract.
Many chapters have double heading numbers, ā10. 10.Email communicationā¦ā.
This is a bit weak for a serious financial institution. FFS Just use a clean formatted Document and get someone who understands the formatting of headings and the āinsert Referenceā function, and have a second person proof-read the document (I know, I know, Iām a bit strict.)
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I opened a willbe account for my cash reserves as well. Seems to be the best overall deal at the moment, full availability of the money, not a time-limited offer and with 1.55% interest a good offer for interest rates at the moment. They promise to adapt the interest rate if the SNB rate changes, which at the moment could point to higher rates.
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That sounds very interesting!
Can you please share more about the FX experience with WillBe? Did you transfer EUR to CHF saving account or other currency/account (they seem to offer CHF and EUR ones)? Is the return transfer with FX also expected to be similarly priced?
Is it documented in some price list document?
Yes, the user experience is annoying. I created a CHF andan EUR Account with them. When I want to convert, I send from my Non-WillBeCHF account (in CHF) to my EUR Account. It then converts upon receiving the funds. Strange user experience but the 0.1% are top.