I previously looked at cler.ch but found they had fees. Then today in a Swiss newspapers, I saw an article on various new fintechs (including viac, revolut) and there were two banks i'd never heard of before apparently offering free swiss banking:

zak, run by cler: https://www.cler.ch/de/landing-pages/zak/

and neon:

https://www.neon-free.ch/

anyone with either of these?

i see on the zak website something about 50Fr. is this free cash?!

neon is also in english. bonus!

Don’t you know how to use the search function?

https://www.englishforum.ch/finance-...f-account.html

Hey guys

After reading the thread, I decided to try neon. Everything was fine until they specifically asked if I have connections to Russia. Which I certainly do, being russian with russian passport.

Long story short - forget about opening an account in neon if you have a russian passport. Funny, but the same happened with Raiffeisen last week.

Herzlich Willkommen to Switzerland.

Did you have better luck with Cler?

Russians aren't the only ones blacklisted. Try being an American in many countries for the last 10 years and counting. The banks' reasons to target these two nationalities may be different, but it sure sucks for all the small potatoes caught in the middle.

Exactly. Chinese guys can also understand us though. The lady in Raiffeisen explicitly mentioned that US, RU and CN citizens are not allowed.

tough life

I was fed up and went with UBS private package + Revolut. Hope it's gonna work well.

However my employer already mentioned that they don't want to send the salary to Revolut. I remember there was a discussion in another thread.


When I came from Russia to Germany 4 years ago, I was surprised how badly developed the banking system is in Germany. However, now coming to CH, I reached the new level of being surprised. It was bad and free in Germany, at least


I am not complaining, just super funny to notice such huge differences between European countries in 21st century.

Like in Russia it's pretty standard these days that you transfer money for free to any national bank from your bank app, knowing just a phone number of the recipient. And he gets the money on his account next second. That was super handy when one wants to split bills in the restaurant etc.

And the most funniest thing is that some of the banks exist both here and in Russia (life Raiffeisen) and they operate completely differently in terms of rules, technology, operations etc. So globalisation is a fake

Raiffeisen is 246 independent banks - so good luck getting consistency even within Switzerland lol

right, I opened an account in a city centre and moved to a suburb. I once had an issue with my phone(read no online banking as I did not have the Photo-TAN nowhere else installed) and went to the local branch of the said bank to process a payment slip. They refused to help me as I was not their client. Five kilometers distance, same brand, but nope, ain't their client.

LOL. This is ridiculous..

If anybody is willing to open a zak account, here a code to get 50chf for free (i will get 50chf too): IFGFZW
You have 30 days to redeem the code directly from the app since your account is open.

I closed my PostFinance account to simplify and decided to just keep the UBS account. It could be cheaper but in the scheme of things, not worth the time hassle to change. Costs now are low due to me having a mortgage with them. Will increase when I change mortgage providers, but interest savings would more than cover it.

How is your experience with Zak so far?

has anyone signed up for CSK from Credit Suisse yet?

(CSX not CSK)

Looks less good than Neon. The free version charges for cash withdrawals (neon is free). It's fx rate is also worse than Neons - the Headline is 0 fx, but the actual rate offered is very poor.

I guess if you want to deposit cash CSX may be a good option they let you do this in branch. If you don't need to do this I don't know why you'd look past neon.

My account is active since last friday... till now the only movement in my account is a bank transfer I received. Well, that was perfect, i had the Money available the same day the bank transfer has been done.

The app is very basic and easy to use.
The customer support is very good, they always answer quickly at the phone and can give you all the information you need.

The only negative point I see is that they don’t provide a physical credit card but only a virtual prepaid card (good thing that it is on VISA circuit but you need a phone that support Google pay)

Also relevant for lots of people here - English isn't supported. Unlike CSX and Neon

The trouble with these online banks is - they are online! I go to my local branch of Raifeisen, chat with the counter personnel, discuss mortgages etc. They also hold part of my share portfolio and if I'm stuck elsewhere in Switzerland, one call to my branch and whatever I need is arranged at the other branch. Transfers in and out, even to South Africa or the USA are done within a few hours of my giving the instruction.


I don't think any online bank (or for that matter some of the majors) offers that type of service?

If anyone is looking for a free account with physical bank.. there are still some 'free with conditions' accounts with physical cards:
BCV (ok branches only in Vaud but acocunt can be opened remotely) -> you need to have some money in account to get it for free


ca-nextbank - you need to have 25k in account to have account + card for free, they have website / app in English and branch in Geneva + Zurich (possible others too - didn't check)