What happens when my Swiss bank cannot contact me?

I have a bank account in Switzerland but I spend much of my time traveling and move between countries often. Because of my lifestyle, there is always a risk that my bank will lose touch with me (if my email account becomes inaccessible, for example). What would happen to my money if the bank were unable to contact me for an extended period of time?

Greetings,

Assets held in Swiss banks are only tagged as dormant assets when your bank is unable to establish any form of communication with you at all for a full 10 years.This also applies to contents held in safe deposit boxes.

If you have a purely electronic banking relationship (an online-only account, for example), your assets are tagged as dormant after 3 years of no communication or activity between you and your Swiss bank.

Dormant assets belonging to missing persons are governed by strict rules regulating inheritance claims (more on this here).

Once assets have become dormant, the bank is required to make ongoing efforts to contact the legimate owner. When dormant assets exceed CHF 500 or when their value is unknown (as is the case with safe deposit boxes), they must be reported to the Banking Ombudsman. You can contact the Banking Ombudsman at any time to locate your assets.

As of 2015, assets which have remained dormant for 60 years are listed on a public website (you can find this website here). If assets are not claimed within 1 year of being published on the dormant asset website, they are transferred to the Swiss Federal Finance Administation. No claims can be made to assets after transfer to the Federal government occurs.

Best regards from Moneyguru

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