Bank Accounts for Companies

Swiss Business Account Comparison 2024

Compare the costs and interest rates of Swiss business bank accounts and debit cards, and save hundreds of francs per year. Find the best business account now

The data are checked regularly. Interest rate data is updated every month. Last update of the interest data: December 4, 2024.

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Three simple steps: How to use the Swiss business account comparison.

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Select or create a banking profile for the comparison.

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Compare Swiss business accounts based on your specific needs using the unbiased comparison.

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In the third step, you can apply for the business account of your choice directly online.

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Business Account Questions and Answers

About the Swiss Business Account Comparison

Just use the interactive business account comparison on moneyland.ch to get a clear overview of Swiss business accounts and to find the best account for your company.

The interactive business account comparison on moneyland.ch is the most comprehensive of its kind. Comparisons not only account for interest, compounding interest, and different interest rates for different years or account balances, but they also account for all relevant costs.

You can find bank accounts for these company types using the business account comparison:

  • SMEs (AG/SA or Gmbh/Sàrl)
  • Large companies
  • Startups
  • Public sector entities
  • Associations
  • Non-Profit Organization
  • Self-employed individuals

The business account comparison accounts for debit cards linked to bank accounts, but it does not account for credit cards.

All banks which offer business accounts also offer business credit cards. In most cases you can choose between a standard credit card and a more expensive gold credit card which includes more cardholder benefits. You can find more information about available credit cards on the detailed information pages of offers listed in the business account comparison on moneyland.ch.

You can choose between getting a business credit card from your bank and getting it from an unbiased credit card issuer.

You can use the moneyland.ch business credit card comparison to find the best credit card for your business.

The annual account fees of Swiss business accounts range between 0 and more than 100 francs per year, depending on the account and bank. But incidental fees can be much more important, depending on the kind of banking transactions your company makes. The busines account comparison lets you compare total costs based on your business’s specific needs.

These cost-relevant factors are account for in the comparison:

  • Basic annual fees for maintaining your business account
  • Possible account-opening fees
  • Annual business account statement fees
  • Fees for local incoming and outgoing bank transfers, standing orders and direct debit orders (LSV+) in Switzerland which are ordered via online banking.
  • Costs for international SEPA (euro) and non-SEPA transfers which are ordered via online banking.
  • Debit card annual fees
  • Withdrawals with debit cards at out-of-network ATMs in Switzerland
  • Withdrawals with debit cards at ATMs outside of Switzerland
  • Possible costs for purchases from Swiss merchants using debit cards
  • Foreign transaction fees for purchases from foreign merchants using debit cards
  • Fees for capital payments
  • Account-closure fees

Hidden fees like markups on currency exchange rates are not accounted for.

You can find more information about the bases used for calculations here.

There are Swiss business accounts which do not have annual account fees. Incidental fees may apply depending on the kind of transactions your business makes.

You can find the most cost-efficient account for your company’s specific needs using the unbiased business account comparison.

If you make a lot of transactions, then reviewing transaction fees is important.

There are banks which even charge fees of up to 50 centimes for incoming transfers (including local transactions in Switzerland). Other banks do not charge any fees when money is transferred into your account.

There are also major differences in the fees charged for local transfers from your account within Switzerland in Swiss francs. Depending on the bank, outgoing transfers may be free or they may cost up to 50 centimes per transfer.

SEPA transfers in euros via online banking are also not always free of charge. Some banks charge up to 6 francs per SEPA transfer.

Non-SEPA international transfers are even more expensive. Costs vary depending on which country you transfer money to and which banks are involved.

Overdraft interest rates vary between banks, and typically range between 7.5% and 10%.

Banks may offer lines of credit with business current accounts.

If you need more information, refer to the detailed information pages. Conditions can vary depending on your business’s profile.

The debit cards you can get with your business account varies depending on the bank. For example, you may get a Maestro, Debit Mastercard or PostFinance Card debit card. Debit card annual fees typically range between 30 and 50 francs per year and card.

If you use debit cards to pay for purchases outside of Switzerland, you generally pay foreign transaction fees. These are commonly 1.50 francs per transaction. You also pay the cost of markups on currency exchanges.

Many banks charge 2 francs per withdrawal for cash withdrawals at out-of-network ATMs in Switzerland. Many banks charge 5 francs per withdrawal for withdrawals outside of Switzerland. Here too, markups on currency exchange rates are an additional cost.

One-time costs applicable to capital payment accounts required when founding a GmbH or AG are accounted for in calculations and are shown in cost breakdowns. Money deposited in a capital payment account is transferred to a regular business account after the company has been founded.

Swiss banks typically charge a minimum of 200 or 250 francs for capital payments, though there are some which charge lower fees in some cases. The maximum cost of a capital payment is typically limited to 2000 to 2500 francs.

You can find more information about capital payment accounts here.

Some Swiss banks offer business accounts denominated by currencies other than Swiss francs (CHF).

Euro (EUR) and US dollar (USD) business accounts are the most widely-offered foreign currency accounts. Some banks offer business accounts in other currencies like Australian dollars (AUD), Canadian dollars (CAD), Danish krone (DKK), Japanese yen (JPY), Norwegian krone (NOK) and Swedish krona (SEK).

Foreign currency accounts are useful if your business receives a lot of incoming payments and/or makes outgoing payments in specific foreign currencies.

You can choose between these user predefined profiles for business account comparisons: Average user; frequent user; frequent user Switzerland-only; infrequent user; infrequent user Switzerland-only. You can also select individual profile to create a custom profile based on your exact banking needs.

You can find more information about business account comparison profiles here.

Most business accounts do not have limitations on withdrawals. Some banks have notice periods for very large withdrawals (10 million francs, for example).

Most Swiss business accounts have 0% annual interest rates.

Many banks even apply negative interest rates to large balances.  Clear negative interest rates published by banks are automatically accounted for in business account comparisons on moneyland.ch.

Important: Some banks charge negative interest on the full balances of business accounts.

Some larger banks offer their own accounting software with business accounts. If your business uses specific accounting software, it is worth looking into whether a bank offers compatible databases or spreadsheets before settling on a business account.  

Before changing accounts, take the time to compare and find out whether another account provides the same services at a lower cost. Terminating your existing business account is not normally difficult in itself. Opening a new account can be more time consuming.

The administrative work involved in migrating to a new bank account is typically the most time-consuming part of changing accounts. This includes making sure all suppliers, customers and other stakeholders are informed of and use your new account details. You also have to migrate all your existing standing orders and direct debit orders. This is one reason why companies in Switzerland rarely change business accounts.

Maintaining your existing account for a time while you slowly migrate transactions, customers and suppliers to your new account can make the process easier and help to avoid incidents.

Companies which are not listed on a Swiss commercial register are normally required to provide their company statutes, articles of association or similar documents. Companies domiciled outside of Switzerland also have to follow applicable laws regulating international business transactions in their countries of domicile.

Typically, Swiss banks only accept companies which are domiciled in Switzerland.

The business account comparison includes the most widely-available or relevant accounts. These include business accounts from the following Swiss banks:

Aargauische KantonalbankAlternative Bank SchweizBank ClerBerner KantonalbankFreiburger KantonalbankMigros BankPostFinanceRaiffeisen SchweizUBSZuger KantonalbankZürcher Kantonalbank

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