How to Find the Right Bank

November 28, 2025 - Ralf Beyeler

The selection of private accounts and bank packages offered by Swiss banks is huge. This moneyland.ch guide tells you how to find the right bank for your specific needs.

Finding the right bank for your needs amid the forest of banks and individual offers can be daunting. This moneyland.ch guide provides useful tips to help you quickly and easily find the most suitable bank.

1. Determine which banking services you need

There is no single bank that can satisfy everybody’s banking needs. What is more, some Swiss banks specialize in specific services such as personal bank accounts, retirement planning, personal loans, credit cards, or stock brokerage.

Then there are universal banks that offer a whole palette of different banking services – from personal loans and mortgages to asset management, savings accounts, and retirement funds.

Think about which banking services you are likely to use, and choose a bank that does those things well. If there are other aspects that are also important to you – user-friendly online and mobile banking interfaces, for example – then you should look at those things as well. The moneyland.ch guide to choosing a private account tells you how to find the right private account for everyday banking transactions.

2. Compare the fees and charges

While security and friendly employees are important, taking time to look at the fees charged for banking services can end up saving you a lot of money.

Many consumers grossly underestimate the cost of banking. One reason for this is that the costs are often somewhat hidden. There is not a single bank that clearly lists all possible fees and charges.

Swiss banks charge many different kinds of fees, and understanding all of the possible costs can be very difficult. To help you get a clear overview, moneyland.ch offers comprehensive, unbiased interactive banking comparisons. The comparisons do all the complicated calculations for you so that you can quickly and easily compare different banks.

It is helpful to compare bank offers on a regular basis – once a year, for example – at least for the banking services that are important to you. Comparing regularly is particularly advisable if you use the following banking services:

3. Use free bank accounts and credit cards

In addition to credit cards with annual fees and those included in bank packages, Swiss card issuers also offer credit cards without any basic, annual card fees. You do not pay a basic fee to use these no-annual-fee credit cards. But you may still be charged high fees when you make purchases from foreign merchants, withdraw money, or pay your credit card bills late, among other things.

Many Swiss banks charge you monthly or annual fees for private accounts. But there are also banks with free private accounts that do not cost money to use unless you make certain kinds of transactions. Some of these free accounts also include debit cards without basic, annual card fees.

4. Consider using a neobank

In addition to conventional banks with branch offices, there are a number of Swiss banks that only offer their services online. These neobanks often have user-friendly mobile apps, and fees are typically lower than charged by most conventional banks.

While neobanks do not offer all of the services you can get from conventional banks, they are worth considering as an alternative for specific banking services. Currently, there are neobanks that offer private accounts with debit cards, pillar 3a investment solutions, and asset management.

Is your money safe?

Whether you use a conventional Swiss bank or a Swiss neobank, both your money and securities like stocks and bonds are held by a Swiss bank with a license from Swiss financial regulator Finma.

The balances of Swiss bank accounts are protected against bank failures by the Swiss depositor protection scheme up to a limit of 100,000 francs per customer and bank. Pillar 3a assets and vested benefits are not covered by this scheme, but they are designated as privileged assets, up to a limit of 100,000 francs per customer and bank.

Stocks, bonds, and other securities you own are segregated, meaning they are considered as your property and not the bank’s.

These regulations provide a relatively high level of security for customers of Swiss banks.

The situation is different when you use a foreign bank. In that case, you should look into possible bank depositor protection measures in the country where the bank is located. Be careful to avoid using foreign banks that do not have a solid reputation.

5. Pay attention to fees for cross-border transactions

Using Swiss debit cards or credit cards to pay or withdraw money outside of Switzerland can be very expensive.

Many Swiss banks use unfavorable currency exchange rates. Data collected by moneyland.ch shows that some banks only add a markup of around 0.1 percent to the interbank rate. Other Swiss banks add markups of 2 percent or more.

In addition to currency exchange markups, many banks also charge a foreign transaction fee every time you make a purchase from a foreign merchant. Depending on the bank, the foreign transaction fee may be a fixed amount in Swiss francs, or a percentage of the transaction’s value.

Avoid using credit cards to make cash withdrawals, as the cash-withdrawal fees are much higher than those of debit cards. When paying for purchases from foreign merchants, always choose to pay in the local currency of the country where the merchant is located.

You can find more information in the moneyland.ch guide to paying and getting money while traveling abroad.

6. Consider using several different banks

There are a few different approaches to banking. Some customers like to get all their banking services from the same bank. Others primarily use one bank, but make use of other, specialized banks for specific services. Still other consumers are happy to use different banks for each different banking service.

The advantage of getting everything from one bank is that you have a single point of contact. That is convenient, but it can also be expensive. Using specialized banks for specific services can lower your costs and enable you to use more comprehensive solutions. Having your cards and accounts at different banks also helps to minimize security risks.

There are specialized service providers for credit cards, debit cards, retirement saving (pillar 3a), and asset management, among other things.

7. Do not pay for services you do not need

Take time to think about which banking services you actually need. Many consumers pay for features and services that they never use.

Get informed about which services are offered by your prospective new bank. All Swiss banks and neobanks offer local bank transfers and QR-bill payments. But the availability and cost of other services differs between banks. For example, not all banks offer direct debit orders, eBills, instant payments, or open banking.

If having a nearby branch office or being able to withdraw money at ATMs is important to you, then check whether your prospective bank has branch offices and ATMs near you. Note that many Swiss banks charge fees when you withdraw money at ATMs operated by other banks.

8. Learn about the bank’s digital services

If you do a large part of their banking online, rather than visiting a branch office, it is very important that the digital user experience matches your needs.

While nearly all Swiss banks now offer online banking, the user-friendliness of mobile banking apps and online banking portals varies substantially between different banks. Processes for logging in and authenticating transactions also vary with regards to usability.

Because each person has their own personal preferences, it can be beneficial to test mobile banking apps in advance. Unfortunately, Swiss banks generally do not let you test their web-based and mobile banking services without opening a bank account. However, if the account in question does not have basic account and card fees, it can be worth opening an account just to test the user experience.

9. Put customer services to the test

Good customer support can save you a lot of frustration when things go wrong. While friendliness is always a plus, the most important thing is that bank employees can answer your questions and solve problems quickly and competently. The more complex the banking service in question is, the more important it is to have competent and accessible customer support and financial consultation. Good customer service is all the more important for banking services that you use intensely, such as private accounts or payment cards.

In some cases, it can be worth finding a balance between costs and customer support. For example, many smaller regional banks do not have the lowest fees, but offer solid customer care and personalized consultation.

Pay attention to interest rates

Currently, Swiss banks pay relatively little interest for savings account balances. But while rates are generally low, there are big differences between banks. Regularly comparing interest rates for savings accounts can help you optimize your yields. Savings accounts are useful for holding your emergency fund, for example.

If you want to earn a fixed amount of interest over a long term, it is worth looking at medium-term notes and fixed deposit accounts. The moneyland.ch comparisons make it easy to find the current interest rates offered by Swiss banks.

Investing in the stock market has historically delivered higher returns over long terms, compared to interest paid by banks. But the value of your investments fluctuates, and there is a risk of losing money.

More on this topic:
Tips for a smooth bank transition
Swiss bank account and payment card comparisons
Swiss investment and retirement planning comparisons
Swiss loan and mortgage comparisons