The interest rates of Swiss savings accounts continue to trend downwards. While most Swiss banks still pay a small amount of interest for money placed in their savings accounts, there are some savings accounts that currently yield no interest at all.
Of the Swiss banks included in a new evaluation by independent online comparison service moneyland.ch shows that in early September 2025, nine banks currently do not pay interest on savings in certain savings accounts. These include major players like Postfinance, Yuh, and the Zürcher Kantonalbank.
The nine Swiss banks that currently do not pay interest on savings are:
- Banque Cantonale du Jura
- Banque Cantonale du Valais (savings account and Plus savings account)
- Bank Avera
- Bernerland Bank
- Hypo Vorarlberg Bank
- Liechtensteinische Landesbank
- Postfinance
- Yuh
- Zürcher Kantonalbank (Umweltsparkonto only. Regular savings accounts still yield interest)
A glance back in time to January 2021 reveals that at that time, there were numerous Swiss savings accounts that did not yield interest. That was the case with savings accounts from UBS, the Banque Cantonale Vaudoise, the Zuger Kantonalbank, and the Zürcher Kantonalbank.
We now see history repeating itself, with the first banks lowering their interest rates to 0.00 percent again.
Lower thresholds for zero interest
The thresholds for the portion of an account balance above which banks do not pay interest have fallen. Some savings accounts now only yield interest for 25,000 or 50,000 francs, with zero interest for the part of the account balance above that threshold.
The overview below shows banks that only pay interest up to a relatively low limit.
Things looked different during the last low-interest period. In January 2021, the thresholds for savings accounts of banks that did pay interest were at least 100,000 francs. “Today, banks pay interest on a much smaller portion of your savings than they did just a few years ago,” observes Ralf Beyeler from moneyland.ch.
Many Swiss banks now pay interest of just 0.01 percent per annum, as was common in the last low-interest phase. What that means is that if you were to leave 10,000 francs in one of these savings accounts for a whole year, you would earn just one franc of interest. But while that interest rate is meager, it is not the same as zero interest. For many customers, getting paid something for the use of their capital is completely different to getting paid no interest at all.
Will negative interest rates make a comeback?
Negative interest rates were a constant point of discussion during the last low-interest period. Instead of being paid interest for the use of capital in savings accounts, customers had to pay fees to their banks.
There were only a few Swiss banks that charged negative interest on small savings account balances. But depending on the bank, negative interest was already charged on the part of balances exceeding around 50,000 francs. Banks sometimes referred to this negative interest as account balance fees.
According to the Swiss weekly newspaper NZZ am Sonntag, larger companies and pension funds are once again being confronted with negative interest rates. However, no banks currently charge negative interest to private individuals – at least not officially.
Comparing savings accounts pays off
Whether or not savers earn interest on their savings is largely up to them. There are many Swiss savings accounts that yield higher interest. The Swiss savings account comparison on moneyland.ch makes it easy to see which banks currently pay the most interest. Even if you do not want to migrate away from your main bank, you can always open a separate savings account at a different bank that has a better interest rate.
Savings accounts are secure, but unprofitable
A savings account is still a suitable solution for holding an emergency fund – money that can be accessed at any time. Savings accounts are considered secure, and the numerical value of your assets does not fluctuate. The tradeoff for this stability is that you earn a very low return.
Broadly-diversified investments in stocks and other securities have historically yielded higher returns than savings accounts. But securities investments have a disadvantage in that the numerical value of your assets can fluctuate heavily, especially over short terms. There is a risk of the value dropping just when you need to access your money. In the worst case, you may be forced to sell your investments at a loss.
It is also worth noting that many people have a difficult time dealing with fluctuations in a calm way. Instead of leaving their investments alone until they recover their value, some people panic and sell their assets. Before investing in securities, it is important to evaluate your ability to deal with your own emotional capabilities. “If a drop in the value of your assets would keep you up at night, then you are better off avoiding stock market investments and sticking with savings accounts,” advises Ralf Beyeler.
Conclusion by moneyland.ch banking expert Ralf Beyeler
It is a shame that some banks have stopped paying interest on savings. The lowering of thresholds for interest-yielding account balances is another factor that will hit small savers hard. The trend towards zero interest is not completely surprising following the Swiss National Bank’s decision to move its key interest rate to zero percent. For the moment, though, negative interest rates for private savers are not yet an issue.
Für Kundinnen und Kunden ergibt ein Zins von 0 Prozent auf dem Sparkonto keinen Sinn. Sparkonten haben Einschränkungen, insbesondere bei den Rückzugsbestimmungen. Daher ist es oft besser, das Geld direkt auf dem Privatkonto zu belassen. Wer mehr Zins erhalten möchte, sollte prüfen, ob sich zusätzliche Sparkonten bei anderen Banken lohnen.
As a general rule, keeping money invested in a savings account that does not yield any return at all simply does not make sense. Savings accounts have limitations, particularly with regard to withdrawals and your ability to access your money. Because of these restrictions, even holding your money in your private account is preferable to leaving it in a zero-yield savings account.
More on this topic:
Compare Swiss savings accounts now
Tips for choosing the right savings account
Which Swiss banks pay the most interest?
Methodology
The moneyland.ch analysis accounted for around 150 different savings account offers from 86 Swiss banks. The interest rates were evaluated at the start of September 2025. The analysis only included standard savings accounts for adults. Offers limited to teenagers and young adults, retirement accounts, and tiered savings accounts were not accounted for. The analysis included accounts from all major Swiss banks, and numerous smaller banks and regional banks.
The list names all of the banks included in the analysis that have savings accounts with an interest rate of zero percent per annum. Table 1 lists all analyzed banks that only pay interest on the part of an account balance that falls below a low threshold. The list accounts for savings accounts with a threshold of less than 100,000 francs.
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