Opening a Swiss bank account as an expat: documents, fees and timing

Invoices come as a QR-bill, the Swiss payment slip with a QR code that a banking app scans, or as an eBill that lands in your e-banking for approval. PostFinance’s basic package includes eBill and TWINT (the Swiss payment app) (PostFinance, checked 21 Oct 2026); Raiffeisen’s packages include TWINT too (Raiffeisen, checked 21 Oct 2026).

Registration comes first: see registering at your commune. How a rental deposit is held and returned is in rental deposits in Switzerland, and the other deadlines of a move in your first 90 days in Switzerland.

• Identity: checked from a document of evidentiary value when the relationship starts (GwG Art. 3) (GwG, checked 21 Oct 2026).
• Beneficial owner: a declaration is needed if the money is not yours or there is any doubt (Art. 4) (GwG, checked 21 Oct 2026).
• Records: kept for at least ten years after the relationship ends (Art. 7) (GwG, checked 21 Oct 2026).

The method is set out in the Swiss Bankers Association’s code of conduct on due diligence (CDB 20), in force since 1 January 2020. Opening an account always triggers identification, and the bank records your name, date of birth, nationality and actual home address, plus the document used (CDB 20, checked 21 Oct 2026).

UBS opens accounts in its app around the clock with a biometric passport or ID, otherwise by video call on weekdays from 8:00 to 20:00 (UBS, checked 21 Oct 2026). Raiffeisen’s app reads a biometric passport’s chip; without one, an existing Swiss bank account is needed to activate the new account (Raiffeisen, checked 21 Oct 2026).

FINMA’s revised Circular 2016/7 applies from 1 November 2026. It lets banks use the federal e-ID for online onboarding, treats ID documents with a QR code, such as the Swiss driving licence, like those with a machine-readable zone, and adds liveness detection to online identification (FINMA, checked 21 Oct 2026).

Under the code of conduct, missing documents must arrive within 30 days of opening; otherwise the bank blocks all deposits and withdrawals, and it ends the relationship if they never come (CDB 20, checked 21 Oct 2026). The provider rules below come from their own pages (UBS, checked 21 Oct 2026) (Yuh FAQ, checked 21 Oct 2026) (neon price list, checked 21 Oct 2026) (Raiffeisen, checked 21 Oct 2026). PostFinance says customers living abroad can open a package with a limited range of products, for CHF 25 a month extra per payment account (PostFinance, checked 21 Oct 2026).

FATCA, the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, makes foreign banks disclose US accounts. Switzerland’s agreement has applied since 2 June 2014 under Model 2: banks disclose account details directly to the US tax authority with the client’s consent; without it, the US must use administrative assistance. A Model 1 agreement with automatic, reciprocal exchange was signed on 27 June 2024; its earliest entry into force is 1 January 2029 (SIF, checked 21 Oct 2026).

Yuh excludes US persons, meaning US citizens and permanent residents (Yuh FAQ, checked 21 Oct 2026); neon requires a tax domicile exclusively in Switzerland (neon price list, checked 21 Oct 2026). Where a page states no rule, the bank can say which forms it needs. More on the move: moving to Switzerland from the USA.

Art. 32 of the Postal Services Act requires Swiss Post to ensure a nationwide universal service in payment transactions, meaning deposits, withdrawals and transfers (PG Art. 32, checked 21 Oct 2026). The Postal Ordinance gives the duty to PostFinance and sets the minimum offer (Art. 2 and 43). Under Art. 45, PostFinance may exclude customers if financial-market, anti-money-laundering or embargo rules conflict, if compliance would cost disproportionately, or if serious legal and reputational damage threatens (VPG, checked 21 Oct 2026). Other banks set their own conditions.

UBS Easy opens only in the UBS app; UBS Classic costs CHF 8 a month with CHF 10,000 in assets or a UBS mortgage, otherwise CHF 13, and new clients get the first six months free (UBS price list, checked 21 Oct 2026). PostFinance charges CHF 5 a month more for paper statements (PostFinance, checked 21 Oct 2026). Raiffeisen refers to its app or the local bank for prices (Raiffeisen, checked 21 Oct 2026).

neon and Yuh are apps, not banks. neon’s account and card come from Hypothekarbank Lenzburg AG, and cash deposits are not possible (neon price list, checked 21 Oct 2026). Yuh’s banking services come from Swissquote Bank (Yuh FAQ, checked 21 Oct 2026); its account and card are free, with one free cash withdrawal a week in Switzerland (Yuh pricing, checked 21 Oct 2026).

Figures for BCGE (BCGE fees, checked 21 Oct 2026), BCV (BCV, checked 21 Oct 2026), Migros Bank (Migros Bank price list, checked 21 Oct 2026), Zak by Bank Cler (Zak factsheet, checked 21 Oct 2026), Zuger Kantonalbank (Zuger Kantonalbank, checked 21 Oct 2026) and Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB, checked 21 Oct 2026) (ZKB Visa Debit, checked 21 Oct 2026) come from their own price lists and product pages, with conditions shown in the table, such as BCV’s CHF 10,000 asset threshold and the age limit for BCGE Privé.

• If cash matters, compare cash-machine charges and whether cash deposits are possible.
• If you may leave within a few years, compare the terms for customers abroad.

The Banking Act gives deposits in your name priority in a bank’s bankruptcy up to CHF 100,000 per creditor, but not deposits at firms working as banks without a FINMA licence (Art. 37a) (BankG, checked 21 Oct 2026). esisuisse, which runs the scheme, adds accounts at the same bank together, treats a joint account as a separate client and protects clients living abroad. A payout can take several weeks; from 1 January 2028 the aim is seven working days (esisuisse, checked 21 Oct 2026).

For Yuh, the limit covers Yuh and Swissquote accounts together (Yuh FAQ, checked 21 Oct 2026). Clients with only a virtual IBAN at a Swiss bank, such as Revolut’s, have no contract with that bank and so no Swiss protection (esisuisse, checked 21 Oct 2026).

PostFinance offers customers abroad a limited range of products (PostFinance, checked 21 Oct 2026), and neon’s account must be settled once your domicile or tax residence moves abroad (neon price list, checked 21 Oct 2026). Closing a UBS account is generally free, with extra costs possible in some circumstances (UBS price list, checked 21 Oct 2026).

An account left behind can become dormant. A bank may transfer dormant assets to another bank without consent and liquidates them after 50 years if no one responds to a public notice, or without notice for amounts up to CHF 500; the proceeds go to the Confederation (Banking Act Art. 37l and 37m) (BankG, checked 21 Oct 2026).