Just save yourself all the hassle - and give the contents to your favourite charity- they'll be very happy to do the counting and sorting for you.

In Basel there are special ATMs from the Post where you can make cash deposits to your own account. It's a marvel as you only have to introduce your card, drop all those CHF coins and let it do the work. Check if there's one in your area.

the major_major_major_major reference was pretty cool...
as majorx4 is no longer relevant for my Literature skills...

Awesome. I have used one of those marvels of technology and civilization in The Netherlands. You can put all kind of metallic garbage inside and it will be shaken out. Where exactly in Basel is this (never been there)? Is Basel worth visiting besides for using the coinomat?

I've used two: One in Freiestrasse and the other in Claraplatz. Basel is well worth a visit. I'd say Basel is Switzerland's best kept secret.

I had a similar experience with them as well.

I had to wire some money back to an account in the States. So I walk in wearing a pair of jeans and a t shirt. I met the concierge at the counter and told her my story. As I have never wired money before, and it was very important to do it right. I asked for help. She looked me up and down and said "do you have an account here?" I wanted to say "no you dumb b*tch I am hiding from my ex-wife, she's stalking me" but I said yes. She directed me to a line. I waited my turn and when I got to the counter the teller basically forced me to use the "multimat? After 3 tries I bailed and got back in line. My concierge lady twice directed me to a different branch. It's like I should not have been seen there unless I had on a $2000.00 suit. So I left. Went to a different branch and let them do it. A week later I got notice the money never arrived. They didn't even know how to do it. Do these people even know what customer service is?

You're in Switzerland, the land where laws protect businesses not customers. So, no.

Since the topic of getting rid of excess coins comes up repeatedly I thought that this post: Yes, Coins Too might be of interest.

The author had previously written that, with the increased use of plastic, the US government was printing substantially fewer bills. Readers asked whether the same decline had occurred with coins, and the answer was: Yes, but...

The answer, from a UBS customer advisor:

"Unfortunately we do not offer a self service for such a thing. However you can bring your coins to any branch. Amounts under CHF 100 will be paid into your account free of charge. Amounts above CHF 100 will be charged with 1% plus VST min. CHF 5."

Pretty much any any branch will give you the coin rolls. What we do is once a year or so we empty out the piggy banks onto the dining room and make it a family affair to separate them out, then count out enough for each roll. It can take some time, but it is a good way to spend a few rainy hours. The kids really enjoy it, and the bank accepts the completed rolls without question. Plus, you don't have to pay the service fee for using the machine.

I think the implication of the message from the customer advisor is that I don't have to use coin rolls, nor pay a fee, for amounts under CHF100.

Honestly, folks… for your personal banking, go to a bank that specializes in that.

UBS and CS are huge commercial banks, and their fee structures are designed around people with LOTS and LOTS of money.

For the average joe, you are MUCH better off going to PostFinance or the Kantonalbank.

PostFinance is the very cheapest, and omnipresent, but IIRC you can only withdraw at their ATMs. Kantonalbank costs a hair more, but gives you a Maestro card you can use for free at all Kantonalbanks and for a fee at any Maestro ATM. Raiffeisen (Switzerland's only credit union — of sorts) is also good, as is Migros Bank.

This is exactly parallel to the US, where the big commercial banks (BofA, Citi, etc) charge you a fortune, while the small local banks and credit unions offer better service at lower cost.

P.S. Many branches of the Zürcher Kantonalbank have free self-service coin counting machines, just as described in an earlier post.

P.P.S. And NEVER get a credit card from UBS/CS. Get either the SBB Halbtax Visa, or the Migros Cumulus MasterCard. (I have both.)

Other ATM's no problem but small fee, I have used in France as well without issue.

Yesterday the lady at my local Die Post told me that the Post Office near Bahnhof Oerlikon - near the Migros City also has a machine that will count the coins for you for a small fee. Yet to go there myself though.
Also, any ZKB branch in Zurich that has the coin counting machine? Dietikon is a bit far, and in a different zone.

Er . . . UBS have said they'll change my measly coins without any charge. Where's the beef?