1. Mastercard Global from UBS – which cards fall under this lineup?
UBS has launched three new cards: a prepaid card, a standard credit card and a premium credit card in the gold category.
These three cards are: the UBS Mastercard Global Prepaid Card; the UBS Mastercard Global Standard Credit Card; the UBS Mastercard Global Premium Credit Card.
2. What is the main advantage of the new Mastercard Global?
UBS markets the cards as having favorable conditions for purchases from merchants outside of Switzerland. That is actually the case. The new cards do use more favorable currency exchange rates than other UBS credit cards, and they do not have foreign transaction fees.
3. Why is UBS launching the Mastercard Global cards now?
Cards from neobanks have drastically gained in popularity in recent years. Revolut, in particular, has acquired hundreds of thousands of users in Switzerland in a very short period of time. But other financial services like TransferWise and the Swiss neobank Neon are also gaining popularity in Switzerland. The cards offered by neobanks are not conventional credit cards, but many consumers are not aware of the differences.
The primary selling points of neobanks are the low fees charged and the very favorable currency exchange rates. The competition is forcing more and more Swiss banks to change their strategies. UBS is one of the first major Swiss banks to respond to this competition.
4. What currency exchange rates do the UBS Mastercard Global cards use?
The new cards from UBS use the Mastercard currency exchange rates, plus a markup of 0.5%. Unlike other current Swiss credit cards and prepaid cards, the UBS Global Mastercard cards do not have foreign transaction fees.
5. Do the UBS Mastercard Global cards offer cheap cash withdrawals?
No. Like most Swiss credit cards, the UBS Mastercard Global cards have high cash advance fees, which makes cash withdrawals expensive. This applies to withdrawals both in Switzerland and outside of Switzerland. The cash advance fee applicable to all UBS Mastercard Global cards is 4% of the transaction’s value, with a minimum fee of 10 Swiss francs per withdrawal.
6. What interest rates and late payment charges apply?
If you carry a negative balance past the due date, UBS charges interest at the rate of 12% per annum – the highest legal credit card interest rate. The high interest rate means carrying balances is expensive and should be avoided.
If you fail to pay your credit card bill on time, you receive one payment reminder without a penalty fee. You pay a 30-franc penalty fee for the second reminder and a 60-franc penalty fee for the third reminder.
7. How high are the annual card fees?
Annual fees vary between UBS Mastercard Global cards:
- UBS Mastercard Global Prepaid Card: 50 francs for the first year and 100 francs per year after that. The fee for replacement cards is 20 francs.
- UBS Mastercard Global Standard Credit Card: 100 francs for the first year and 200 francs per year after that. The fee for replacement cards is 20 francs.
- UBS Mastercard Global Premium Credit Card: 150 francs for the first year and 300 francs per year after that. Complimentary replacement cards.
The cards are discounted for UBS bank package subscribers. The fee is added as a markup on the monthly package fee. For example, if you have a UBS banking package for individuals, you pay a markup of 6 francs per month (72 francs per year) on top of your package fee for the Mastercard Global Standard Credit Card. You pay a markup of 4 francs per month (48 francs per year) for the Mastercard Global Prepaid Card. UBS is waiving these markups for its bank package subscribers until the end of 2020.
UBS Platinum credit card holders get the UBS Global card free of charge to supplement their platinum credit cards.
8. Can I use the Mastercard Global cards for mobile payments?
Yes. The cards can be used with Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, among others.
9. What benefits come with the cards?
All three of the cards come with 24-hour customer service and the UBS KeyClub rewards program. The Global Standard Credit Card entitles cardholders to a 15% discount at Europcar and also includes travel accident insurance.
The Global Premium Credit Card includes more complimentary services. These include airport lounge access (Priority Pass), a rental car collision damage waiver and price protection.
10. How do the new UBS cards compare to other credit cards?
The UBS Mastercard Global cards do not have foreign transaction fees and you only pay a small markup on Mastercard currency exchange rates. This makes the UBS Mastercard Global cards much more affordable than average Swiss prepaid and credit cards for making purchases from merchants outside of Switzerland. However, there are card issuers which have more favorable currency exchange rates.
However, the annual card fees are relatively high. There are Swiss credit cards which have significantly lower annual fees, and even no-annual-fee credit cards. The annual fees of the UBS Global cards mean that many users will still pay more fees in total than they would if they used the cheapest Swiss credit cards.
11. How do the UBS cards compare to Revolut, TransferWise and Neon?
The cards from neobanks are still significantly cheaper because they generally have no annual card fees and charge lower fees for cash withdrawals. In many cases, the currency exchange rates from neobanks are more favorable than those used by the UBS Global cards.
12: What is the verdict?
The move by UBS to issue credit cards with more attractive conditions for foreign transactions is a welcome one. But the high annual fees mean that the UBS Global cards are unlikely to transform the Swiss credit card landscape. Cards from neobanks – and depending on user profiles even a number of Swiss credit cards – are still significantly cheaper.
“We can expect to see more Swiss banks and card issuers respond to the ongoing advance of neobanks,” says moneyland.ch CEO Benjamin Manz.
More on this topic:
Interactive Swiss credit card and prepaid card comparison
