Swiss bank account for person in Germany

Dear ladies and gentlemen,

I live near Karlsruhe (Germany) and would like to open a Swiss bank account.

Is that possible?

Hi there,

It is possible to open a Swiss bank account as a non-resident, but some Swiss banks only allow this as an exception (for high-value customers, for example).

Most Swiss banks also charge high non-resident fees to customers who live outside of Switzerland. There are exceptions, which you can read about in the moneyland.ch guide to non-resident fees at Swiss banks.

Some Swiss securities brokers allow non-residents to open custody accounts and do not charge non-resident fees.

Best regards from Moneyguru

More on this topic:
Swiss private account comparison
Swiss online broker comparison
Swiss savings account comparison
Guide to opening a Swiss bank account

Hello. My wife and I want to open a custody account but not in Germany and not in euros. What are our options?

Ideally, the account should be in Switzerland, the U.S. or another country which is not part of the European Union. The account should be secure and preferably in U.S. dollars.

Do you have any advice or recommendations?

Hi there,

Swiss banks typically charge high non-resident fees to customers residing outside of Switzerland. You can find more information on these fees in the moneyland.ch guide to non-resident fees. You can also request a free PDF comparison at the foot of the guide. The high cost of non-resident fees makes holding a Swiss bank account as a non-resident expensive.

However, these fees do not necessarily apply to Swiss custody accounts for the safekeeping of shares and other securities. Many Swiss banks offer custody accounts denominated by U.S. dollars. A good first step is to compare the brokerage fees, transaction fees and custody fees of different Swiss custody accounts because the differences in custodial fees can be huge depending on the bank you use and the kinds of securities you hold.

You can compare the costs of custody accounts offered by Swiss online brokers using the interactive online broker comparison. Not all Swiss banks will open accounts for non-residents. Make sure to ask a bank specifically about possible non-resident fees before you open an account.

Best regards from Moneyguru