Swiss Bank Fees for Customers Outside of Switzerland

August 5, 2026 - Ralf Beyeler

Most Swiss banks charge special non-resident fees to customers who live outside of Switzerland. Get informed about these fees and about affordable Swiss banks for non-residents in this guide.

Having a Swiss bank account after you leave Switzerland can be beneficial in some cases. Pensioners may want to use a Swiss bank account to receive their Swiss pensions. Many Swiss living abroad prefer to keep their retirement savings and investments at a Swiss bank, or need a Swiss bank because they own property in Switzerland.

But Swiss bank accounts are also popular among people who do not have any direct connection to Switzerland. For many reasons, there are many people in various countries who want to have an account at a Swiss bank.

But regardless of whether or not you have a Swiss connection, it can be very difficult to keep a Swiss bank account when you leave, or to open a new account as a non-resident.

If you are able to keep or open a Swiss bank account, you have to be prepared to pay high additional fees. Most Swiss banks have a supplementary fee for customers who live outside of Switzerland or Liechtenstein. You pay this non-resident fee on top of the regular fees for accounts, cards, and other services.

Can I open a Swiss bank account?

Which country you live in plays an important role. Residents of Austria, France, Germany, and Italy are more readily accepted at many Swiss banks. Residents of EU countries and the UK may also receive preferential treatment. Most banks do not have clear, publically available criteria for non-resident customers.

Your nationality is not usually important, but there are exceptions. One prominent exception applies to American citizens, as well as non-Americans who are subject to US taxes. Many Swiss banks do not accept people in this group.

In every case, Swiss banks are more likely to let you keep or open a bank account as a non-resident if you use additional banking services, such as asset management.

Most Swiss banks require non-residents to visit a branch office in person in order to open an account. But there are a few banks that let residents of Austria, France, Germany, or Italy open a Swiss bank account online.

Bank accounts for Swiss living abroad

Currently, around 840,000 Swiss live outside of Switzerland. Many of them want or need to have a Swiss bank account. And many are surprised to find out that opening a Swiss bank account is often difficult, even for Swiss citizens.

What also comes as a surprise to many Swiss abroad is that they too must pay the additional fees for non-residents.

How high are the additional fees for non-residents?

The non-resident fees of most Swiss banks range between 300 and 500 francs per year. That translates into between 25 and 42 francs per month. But there are banks with fees that are lower or higher than that.

Some banks waive non-resident fees when certain criteria are met. The exact criteria vary from bank to bank. Many Swiss banks waive non-resident fees in the following situations:

You only have retirement saving solutions (pillar 3a solutions or vested pension fund benefits solutions).
You are a child, young adult, or student.
Your total wealth held at the bank surpasses a certain threshold, or you use investment services like a stockbroker account, investment advisory, or asset management.

The comparison in the PDF gives you a detailed overview of the standard non-resident fees for private individuals living outside of Switzerland. It also shows the criteria for a waiver of non-resident fees.

Non-Resident Fees at Swiss Banks

Get a comprehensive overview of additional fees for non-resident customers here.

Do cross-border workers also have to pay non-resident fees?

Some Swiss banks waive non-resident fees for cross-border workers who live in a neighboring country but work in Switzerland on a G permit. Other banks do not waive the additional fees.

You can find more information in the guide to bank accounts for cross-border workers.

Why do Swiss banks charge non-resident fees?

Swiss banks justify their non-resident fees by citing the higher administrative costs of complying with regulations. According to banks, the compliance, monitoring, and documentation requirements add a substantial extra workload, compared to resident customers. The bank is also required to meet the legal and regulatory requirements of the country in which the customer resides, and these vary between countries.

The tax requirements of your country of residence play an important role. Swiss banks are also required to deliver comprehensive information about banking relationships with non-resident customers to the Swiss Federal Tax Administration, which then forwards this information to foreign tax authorities.

What will happen to my Swiss bank account when I leave Switzerland?

That depends on which country you move to. In many cases, the bank will terminate your account when you leave Switzerland.

If the bank allows you to keep your account, then the additional non-resident fees will normally apply.

Swiss tax-privileged retirement savings are a general exception to this rule. Many banks do not charge non-resident fees to customers who only use pillar 3a and vested benefits solutions. But that is only beneficial if you do not need a Swiss private account.

How can I find the cheapest Swiss bank accounts for non-residents?

For non-resident customers, the total cost of a Swiss bank account is made up of the standard account fees, plus the non-resident fees. To find out which bank account is cheapest, you must add up these two figures and compare the total cost.

Compare the standard account fees: The interactive Swiss private account comparison makes it easy to find the account with the lowest total standard costs.
Compare the non-resident fees: Use the non-resident fee comparison in the PDF available above to find the non-resident fees charged by a given bank. As a next step, contact the bank and find out if you are eligible to have an account as a non-resident.