neon-free = free CHF account?
 

Any experience with www.neon-free.ch ?


They claim to offer a free current account without attached strings.


Any known catches?

Re: neon-free = free CHF account?
 

Seems legit.
On the about page the gang of four presents themselves: https://www.neon-free.ch/de/about-us/


In the small print its written that the account is actually at the bank of Lenzburg. So assume its insured.


Other then that one gets 0% interest and there's no fees in the beta phase til the end of 2018.


So what's so special about it? Is beyond me!

Re: neon-free = free CHF account?
 

Agree. Seems legit, and although maintenance is free, and 2 withdrawals from any Bancomat are free, it all seems to be valid until end of the year. Who knows after that?

Re: neon-free = free CHF account?
 

I understand that the "free until end 2018" concerns the free withdrawals: unlimited withdrawals until end 2018, after that only 2 withdrawals/month.


Everything else seems to remain free. I.e. a free account which, accompanied by Coop &Migros Credit Card, would allow for an entirely free payment solution within Switzerland.

Re: neon-free = free CHF account?
 

Until it shuts down and your salary doesn't get paid anymore :msngrin:
I see it's still in Beta. I would wait a bit before getting rid of my old bank account.

Re: neon-free = free CHF account?
 

Why does this scepticism oddly remind me of when I started the >>Revolut<< thread in 2015?


Anyway, these neon-dudes are linked to and using the services of "Hypothekarbank Lenzburg", a well established bank within Switzerland's deposit protection scheme.


So I guess, yes, this neon-experiment might well go belly up, but in this case customer's wouldn't lose a dime (unless parking more than 100k Chuffs).


It might as well get just as successful as Revolut is now.


I´ll give them a go and check them out.

Re: neon-free = free CHF account?
 

I didn't have a "neon-code", but found one now:

beta50G


With this it's possible to register, I just went through the process, so far, unbelievably easy.

Re: neon-free = free CHF account?
 

Wow. I applied today around noon, just received an email that the account is now up and running.


So far I have to say: It looks and feels a bit like Revolut.


I also got a referral code, won't post it here to avoid trouble ;)

Re: neon-free = free CHF account?
 

That I want to check out, being linked to is not the same as being part of that scheme?

Re: neon-free = free CHF account?
 

It looks like neon doesn't need to be closely associated with Hypo Lenzburg because their platform is open. At any rate they're a known and welcome counterpart. Searching for "neon hypo lenzburg" yields numerous hits so this isn't happening in the dark at all.

The big question to me would be if the account you open is with Hypo Lenzburg. If it isn't it must be with neon, in which case your money is probably at risk (at the least blocked for a week or two) if neon were to go belly up, so limiting your exposure sounds like sound advice - it's a startup after all.

Re: neon-free = free CHF account?
 

It is not a matter of being skeptic or powered by optimism my friend, but rather look at reality :). Also, I have never said they won't become as successful as Revolut is. I simply stated the obvious, i.e., that I won't be trusting a beta system with all my money.

In IT terms "beta" means not a final version. Banks with a proper system (read: systems that have been around for some time) fail from time to time, e.g., I remember a few posts about PF e-banking being down, the debit card being swallowed by the ATM, etc.
What makes you think that their "beta" system will be more reliable?

Re: neon-free = free CHF account?
 

Hoping to do just that.I would never do that, even if we'd be talking about "established" institutions (like Lehman?).I guess it won't be "more" reliable, but maybe it will be "just as" reliable. If Neon's current account is a working alternative, free of charge, that'd be quite a change in the Swiss banking landscape?


After all I posted this, trying to find feedback and a ghist for their reliability.

Re: neon-free = free CHF account?
 

Not willing to do that mean keeping another bank account open => you will still pay some fees => no point to try some beta stuff.
This is just my humble opinion though - so feel free go ahead and please share your experience ;)

Re: neon-free = free CHF account?
 

They had a glitch yesterday morning which prevented me from logging in but that was sorted by 10am. Their app is really bare bones at the moment. I can see the incoming/outgoing transactions (none so far), I can send money to another bank account, and I can scan payment slips to send money. That's it. I expect other "normal" banking features such as e-invoices and payment templates to come but there seems to be no time scale for that so far.

Re: neon-free = free CHF account?
 

Timeline:

• 05.11 around noon: Applied via app, ID-call happened instantly
• 05.11 evening: received confirmation and all codes to log into the app, saw my account#
• 07.11 received PIN for card
• 08.11 received card (today)

pretty smooth experience so far.

Re: neon-free = free CHF account?
 

I sent pretty detailed feedback to them, I didn't really expect a reply.


Reply received, in great(!) detail, after only 4 hours. They have some smart folks at work there.


Apparently direct debit is already possible!


Account statements and e-bills are planned for Q1 2019, but they don't give a guarantee for this timeline.


They are on to something. I hope they're here to stay!

Re: neon-free = free CHF account?
 

+30 CHF is small but nice gesture.

Re: neon-free = free CHF account?
 

So far I'm impressed.


The best banking app I've seen so far. Super easy to effect transfers, no silly device needs to be carried.


Direct Debit, transfers and withdrawals are possible.



What I'm missing is standing orders, some kind of web access and pdf-statementa.


I guess it's not a 100% replacement yet, but they're on to something!

Re: neon-free = free CHF account?
 

Just thinking about signing up for this and would appreciate any updates on how you are getting on with the service?

Thanks!

Re: neon-free = free CHF account?
 

I think one sees if a company is good, when a mistake happens. Constant smooth operations are also good, but I like to see that problems are speedily fixed.



"Luckily" that's exactly what happened in my first days: After an app update, I couldn't effect transfers anymore. My transaction PIN was rejected, although I entered it correctly. Being some kind of half-technical guy myself, I assumed that I must've messed it up, but that wasn't the case.


1) I contated support and they investigated.
2) They told me that it seems it's a technical glitch, as it affected quite a lot of customers.
3) they fixed the problem WITHIN 4 (four) HOURS and provided a new update in the AppStore.


Outside of this occurrence, everything just always went smoothly.


Their unbelievably great responsiveness gave me enough trust to now (before end of January) close my 10yr old PostFinance account in favour of these guys.


Only thing which annoys me is that there are no e-Rechnungen. They should "come soon", so let's see what that means.


see also here:
https://steemit.com/banking/@cafunke...to-switzerland