Depending on how much money you keep in Swiss bank accounts the fees could add up to quite a lot. But what if you deal with online, rather than brick-and-mortar, institutions?
‘Swiss banks’ usually conjure up images of massive buildings with underground vaults where all the money is stashed.
But in fact, some banks are not located in physical buildings at all.
In the 21st century, ‘virtual’ financial institutions — also referred to as ‘neobanks’ basically online banks— which can be accessed via a mobile app or a website, are becoming increasingly more popular.
But what kind of fee structure do they have, and which ones are most reasonably priced?
The answer to this question comes from a new survey carried out by Moneyland consumer platform.
In order to find out which online bank is currently ahead in terms of fees, the platform compared those charged by Alpian, Kasparund, Neon, Radicant, Revolut, Wise, Yapeal, Yuh, and Zak.
Moneyland also compared private accounts from the conventional Swiss banks, such as Bank Cler, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise, Basler Kantonalbank, Luzerner Kantonalbank, Migros Bank, Postfinance, Raiffeisen, UBS, Valiant, Bank WIR, and the Zürcher Kantonalbank.
These are the findings:
Among online banks, Radicant tops the ranking: overall, its fees are less than 20 francs per year.
Next in line is Alpian, with fees of 49.50 francs, followed by Wise (50.55 francs).
Revolut, on the other hand, did less well.
“Its cheapest offering costs 92 francs,” Moneyland said.
One of the factors for this relatively high fee, according to the platform, is Revolut’s introduction of a ‘Fair Use’ clause, which imposes a 1-percent commission — the only bank to do so.
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But here’s a surprise…
Moneyland refined the analysis by adding the customer’s monthly income, bill payments, and a savings account.
Though online banks, which don’t have as many overhead costs as traditional institutions do, are overall quite a bit cheaper, a physical bank, WIR, is the biggest winner in this particular category: its fee is mere 5.80 francs.
(WIR also takes the top spot in the ranking of traditional banks, ahead of, in this order, Zürcher Kantonalbank and Valiant)
Among e-banks, Radicant is the cheapest in the cost category, with total fees of 18.80 francs
You can find the complete comparison here.
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Are online safe?
As safe as any other Swiss bank.
They must meet the legal requirements laid down by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).
This means that neobanks must “have sufficient capital and liquidity, be organised in such a way as to be able to manage risks, and offer the guarantee of irreproachable management”, according to FINMA spokesperson Vinzenz Mathys.
Whether or not you should open an online account depends on what you are looking for. If you hate conducting business through apps or online, and if you prefer a person-to-person contact, then neobanking is clearly not for you.
But if you are just the opposite, you may find this kind of banking more satisfying.
READ ALSO: Is it worth opening an online ‘neobank’ in Switzerland?
