Yapeal Questions and Answers

1. What is Yapeal?

Yapeal is a Swiss app-based bank which combines a private account with a Visa Debit card.

Yapeal is one of the first companies to have been granted a Swiss fintech license by financial supervisory authority FINMA.

2. What services does Yapeal provide?

Yapeal offers a Swiss bank account and a Visa Debit card.

Yapeal users can make online payments and pay bills. They can also receive incoming bank transfers and deposits to their accounts.

3. Is money on Yapeal secure?

Yapeal has a Swiss fintech license. That means the balances of Yapeal accounts are not covered by Swiss depositor protection.

Yapeal states that it does not hold assets. All account balances are held at the Swiss National Bank. The Swiss National Bank is considered secure.

4. Is Yapeal a Swiss bank?

Yapeal has a Swiss fintech license, but not a full bank license. The majority of requirement applicable to Swiss banks also apply to Yapeal.

Unlike Swiss banks, Yapeal does not manage customer assets and cannot pay interest on account balances. It is also not licensed to lend money.

5. What does Yapeal cost?

Yapeal has three different offers with different pricing:

• Loyalty. The Loyalty offer has no basic account fee. It includes a Visa Debit card which can be used with Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay. The private account has an account number, but you cannot make bank transfers.
• Private. The Private offer costs 4.90 Swiss francs per month. If you pay annually, the fee is 49 francs per year. You can use all available services, but you pay additional fees (particularly for cash withdrawals).
• Private +. The Private + offer costs 8.90 francs per month (or 89 francs per year). This package includes all available services. Cash withdrawals – both in Switzerland and abroad – are covered by the flat fee.

6. Which offer is right for me?

For most people, the Loyalty option does not make sense as a primary bank account. You can receive incoming deposits (your salary, for example) into your account, but you cannot make outgoing transfers. Loyalty can be used as an account from which to pay for purchases with the Visa Debit card. For example, it could work as a household shopping account, as household members can use the card with mobile payment solutions in addition to the debit card.

The Private offer works for users who want a full Swiss private account, but rarely use cash.

The Private+ offer is designed for users who use cash rather than or in addition to cards and mobile payments. Cash withdrawals are covered by the account’s flat fee.

7. Which cards does Yapeal offer?

Yapeal offers just one debit card – the Visa Debit. Both cash withdrawals and purchases charged to the card are debited directly from the linked account. The Visa Debit card can be used to pay for online purchases as well as at POS terminals.

8. What are Yapeal’s virtual instant issued cards?

Shortly after opening a Yapeal account, you receive a virtual instant issued card. Right from the start you can use this virtual card to pay online or in stores (using Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay or other mobile wallets), as long as you have an account balance.

Within around 7 days you should receive a physical debit card from Yapeal. The physical card is not optional.

9. Does Yapeal also offer a Debit Mastercard or Maestro card?

No, Yapeal does not offer Mastercard debit cards like the Maestro and Debit Mastercard cards. Yapeal users get a Visa Debit card. Unlike Maestro cards, Visa Debit cards can also be used to pay online.

10. Can I make international transfers?

The Private and Private+ accounts from Yapeal let you transfer money to foreign accounts in more than 80 different countries. Yapeal uses Wise (formerly TransferWise) for international transactions. You pay the Wise fees, plus a Yapeal convenience fee.  

International transfers from Yapeal have some advantages over conventional banks:

• Currencies are exchanged at favorable interbank rates, without markups.
• In many cases, transfers are much quicker. Money often gets to the recipient’s account faster than it would with a regular bank transfer. For example, transfers to Asia may be completed in a matter of minutes.

If you only use the Loyalty account from Yapeal, you cannot make international transfers at all.

11. Can I open a Yapeal account as a non-resident?

If you live in a country which borders Switzerland – namely Austria, France, Germany, Italy, or Liechtenstein – you can open a Yapeal account. Yapeal does not charge an additional non-resident account fee.

The offer primarily targets Swiss living abroad and cross-border workers. 

12. Which currency exchange rates does Yapeal use?

Yapeal uses Visa’s currency exchange rates, which are relatively cheap compared to those used by many banks and card issuers.

13. How high are Yapeal’s foreign transaction fees?

Yapeal does not charge a foreign transaction fee when you pay for purchases from foreign merchants with the Visa Debit card.

14. Can I make cash withdrawals from a Yapeal account?

Yes. You can make cash withdrawals at ATMs using the Yapeal Visa Debit card.

However, Yapeal Loyalty and Yapeal Private users pay these cash withdrawal fees:

• Swiss franc withdrawal at a Swiss ATM: 2 francs
• Euro withdrawal at a Swiss ATM: 5 francs
• Withdrawals at foreign ATMs: 1.5%

Private + users are not charged additional cash withdrawal fees by Yapeal. This applies to withdrawals at ATMs in Switzerland and abroad.

15. Can Yapeal users make mobile payments?

Yes. The Yapeal Visa Debit card can be linked to Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay.

16. How much does the Yapeal debit card cost?

Depending on the Yapeal model you use, you may pay a fee for the Visa Debit card. Loyalty users pay 7 francs for the card. Loyalty and Private users pay 20 francs for replacement cards.

Private + users do not pay fees for either the original card or replacement cards.

17. Does Yapeal have limits on transactions?

Yes. By default, Yapeal limits cash withdrawals at ATMs to 1000 francs per day and 3000 francs per month. However, customers can contact customer support to arrange higher limits.

Purchases with the Yapeal Visa Debit card are limited to 10,000 francs per month. In every case, you can only make purchases if your account balance is sufficient to cover the charge.

18. Does Yapeal let me set up standing orders?

Yes. Yapeal lets you set up standing orders. Standing orders are practical for paying your rent and other recurring, identical payments.

19. Can I get eBills and set up direct debits?

Yapeal supports eBills. These appear directly in the Yapeal app where you can decide whether or not to pay them directly.

Yapeal does not provide direct debit orders.

20. Does Yapeal charge negative interest rates?

No. Yapeal has not charged negative interest since September, 2022.

21. Does Yapeal offer savings accounts and pillar 3a accounts?

Yapeal offers a private account with a debit card. There is also a 3a offer Y3A in collaboration with Vontobel. Savings accounts are not yet offered.

22. Does Yapeal give me a Swiss bank account number?

Yes. Yapeal even lets you personalize your account number. For example, you can create an IBAN with your name, part of your name, or a nickname in it.

The account numbers of Yapeal accounts are Swiss IBANs.

Currently not all foreign banks can transfer money from abroad to Yapeal accounts. The reason for this is that not all banks support the IBAN version used by Yapeal. This can also be a problem for payments to and from companies like employers, health insurance providers and tax offices whose software does not support the new IBANs.

23. Can I overdraw a Yapeal account?

No. Yapeal accounts do not have an overdraft option and it is not possible to overdraw your account.

24. What are the advantages of Yapeal?

Yapeal offers a cheap Swiss private account and Visa Debit card. The Visa Debit card can be used to make online purchases – which is an advantage over the Maestro debit cards still used by many banks.

Another advantage is that Yapeal has favorable currency exchange rates for card payments.

The customizable IBAN function is an interesting feature.

An advantage for Swiss living abroad and cross-border workers: If you live in a country which borders Switzerland, you can use a Yapeal account without any extra non-resident fees.

25. What are the disadvantages of Yapeal?

Unlike some other neobanks, Yapeal charges basic account fees – at least for accounts which can be used to make bank transfers.

Yapeal does not have any brick-and-mortar branches where you can get help when needed. This is not a big problem if you are used to doing things online.

The biggest disadvantage is that the services offered are still very limited. For example, you cannot make international bank transfers or set up direct debit orders.

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