Youth Bank Accounts in Switzerland Compared

As an adolescent or young adult, you receive special benefits when you open accounts at Swiss banks. These perks normally include lower interest rates and more flexible conditions.

This applies to savings accounts, checking accounts, and the debit cards (from Mastercard or Visa) that come with them. Bundled banking services, prepaid payment cards and credit cards (from the age of 18) are also offered to young people at special rates.

Age limits for youth deals vary, and depending on the bank and offer, eligibility ends anywhere between the ages of 18 and 26. After hitting the age limit, students and young adults pursuing further education will often have the chance to continue receiving the same or even better banking conditions for several years.

Youth savings accounts compared

As a rule, savings accounts in Switzerland are free, and the same applies to youth savings accounts. The main differences between adult and youth accounts are found in the interest rates you get and the rules governing withdrawal limitations.

Savings accounts for adolescents and young adults usually offer a considerably higher interest rate than standard savings accounts for adults. On average, youth savings accounts offer dividends that are 0.5 percentage points higher than regular savings accounts.

Young savers can typically withdraw between 10,000 and 20'000 francs per month from their accounts. Anything above that limit requires advance notice of 3 months or even 6 months.

If you expect to save a lot, you should note that there is usually a limit on the amount of savings which are eligible for the special higher annual yield rates for youths. The cap is often relatively low, so you may only earn the high yields on up to 20,000 or 25,000 francs worth of savings. Some banks place even lower caps than that.

Tip: The savings account comparison from moneyland.ch automatically shows or hides youth offers, based on your year of birth. Account-specific caps on interest yields are also shown.

Youth checking accounts compared

Checking accounts, normally referred to as private accounts or giro accounts in Switzerland, differ from savings accounts in that they are designed for cash flow. As with saving accounts, Swiss banks also offer special youth privileges for checking accounts. Here again, its the interest rates that make the difference. Additionally, charges that normally apply to checking accounts and debit cards (a Mastercard, for example) are normally waived. Some banks have additional discounts for young clients, like free cash withdrawals at all Swiss ATMs.

Tip: The checking account comparison tool from moneyland.ch includes youth accounts that correspond to your year of birth. Other cost-influencing factors are accounted for individually.

Bank offers for young people

An increasing number of banks have begun to offer package deals on services. Most commonly, these are made up of checking accounts, savings accounts, debit cards, prepaid cards and credit cards.

Benefits for youth account holders may include preferred interest rates, and prepaid cards or credit cards (18 years on up) with no card fees. The annual yield rates for private retirement accounts (pillar 3a), on the other hand, remain unchanged regardless of the account holder’s age.

Tip: You can use the bank package comparison tool from moneyland.ch to find and compare bundled savings account, checking account, debit card and prepaid or credit card packages from Swiss banks.

More information:
Savings accounts compared
Checking accounts compared
Prepaid cards compared
Credit cards compared
Bank packages compared