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Banking, accounts and fees

This dossier shows no rates: they change monthly and no official register publishes them. It does say where to look, because the real cost of an account is never on the front page.

The real cost of an account

An account’s headline price is rarely its cost. The items that weigh are out-of-network withdrawals, the exchange mark-up on foreign-currency payments, card fees, and closing or securities-transfer fees — the last of which you discover on your way out.

The right method is to take your last twelve statements and add up, line by line, what you actually paid. It takes longer than comparing brochures, and it is the only figure that concerns you.

Savings and deposit protection

A headline savings rate usually comes with a condition: a ceiling above which it drops, a monthly withdrawal limit, or an account reserved for new customers in the first year. The condition matters more than the rate.

Deposits with a bank in Switzerland are protected up to an amount per client and per institution, under the legal deposit-protection framework. Spreading substantial assets across several institutions follows that limit, not a preference.

What drives the price

  • Account maintenance fees, sometimes waived on assets or age conditions.
  • The cost of out-of-network withdrawals and foreign-currency payments.
  • Card fees, and the exchange mark-up applied to purchases abroad.
  • The conditions for actually receiving the advertised savings rate.

We show no tariffs on this page. Unlike LAMal premiums, no public register publishes prices for this branch: they depend on your profile and are calculated case by case. Quoting a figure here would be an invention.

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