Neobanks for Foreigners & Cross-Border Workers in Switzerland in November 2024

How to choose a bank as a cross-border worker from Switzerland?

If you are a cross-border worker in Switzerland and your current expenses take place in France, then it is best to have a bank account on each side of the border: an account in CHF in Switzerland to collect your wages and another account in EUR in France to pay your bills!

Each month, you must repatriate your salary to your French account, this involves a transfer of money and a conversion of Swiss francs into euros. And it’s usually not free.

As a French resident it is easy to open an account in France and – if you are a French resident – you certainly already have one, but how to get a free bank account in Switzerland with an IBAN CH?

The first reflex is often to go to traditional banks in Switzerland such as UBS, BCGE or CrΓ©dit Mutuel, but these banks charge very often additional fees to non-residents and are not very transparent about exchange fees.

To find out how much your bank account will cost you, you need to compare all the fees:

  • Account maintenance fees;
  • Fees applied to products (credit card, internet access, etc.);
  • Commission fees for transfers abroad;
  • The exchange rate commission;
  • Cash withdrawal fees
  • Additional costs related to your non-resident status.

By then simulating your banking operations over the whole year, you will have a more precise idea of the total cost.

Beyond the fees, it is important to have a Swiss bank account that works perfectly in the Swiss ecosystem: the TWINT and eBill options should be considered.

To sum up, the perfect bank for cross-border commuters Switzerland must meet the following conditions:

Bank account in CHFβœ…
IBAN CHβœ…
No account fees
βœ…
Free Internet or Mobile applicationβœ…
Free credit card
βœ…
Free withdrawals in CHFβœ…
Free EUR withdrawals abroadβœ…
No fees on deposits in CHFβœ…
0% exchange commissionβœ…
No fees on SEPA transfers in EUR
βœ…
No fees on international transfersβœ…
No additional charge for non-residentsβœ…
TWINTβœ…
eBillβœ…

You can consult the list of SEPA countries here.

Neobanks for cross-border commuters and non-residents

If you are not very familiar with neobanks, you can consult our article explaining in detail the advantages and disadvantages of neobanks.

Here is a reminder of the main advantages and disadvantages of neobanks:


PROS:

  • Easy registration, from your smartphone
  • Attractive rates: free account, free credit card
  • No proof of income required
  • No deposit required after account opening
  • Fully accessible from your smartphone
  • Notifications for each expense or money inflow

CONS:

  • No agency (for those who need it)
  • No dedicated advisor
  • A more limited banking offer
  • Seems less “secure” than the big banks


In our comparison of the best online banks in Switzerland we list 8 neobanks active in Switzerland:

RANKINGNEOBANKTOTAL
#1Yuh21 points
#2Neon Bank19 points
#3Alpian17 points
#4Radicant16 points
#5Zak Bank15 points
#6CSX13 points
#7Revolut13 points
#9N2612 points
#8Wise11 points
#10Yapeal11 points

Neon, Zakand CSX do not open accounts for cross-border commuters and non-residents, N26 offers an account only in EUR, Wise is an exchange platform without the services of a neobank.

We therefore have 3 neobanks left open to cross-border commuters and non-residents:

  • Revolut: a neobank based in London, with multi-currency account
  • Yapeal: a Swiss bank account that has a partnership with Wise and also open to cross-border commuters
  • Yuh: a multi-currency Swiss bank account open to cross-border commuters

Yapeal Promo CodeYapeal Promo Code: YAPS-311-WZ4WL

Yapeal: the alternative to Yuh for cross-border workers and non-residents!

Don't have a Yapeal account yet? Use our referral code to open your FREE Yapeal Bank account!

Use the promo code YAPS311WZ4WL by November 30, 2024 to receive 30 CHF for FREE πŸ™Œ

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Comparative table for 1’000 CHF in EUR

Revolut arrived 1st in our ranking of the best exchange rates in our article “How to Change your Swiss Francs to Euro at the Best Rate?” and Yuh was more expensive than Revolut by almost 1%:

CHFEURExchange RateExchange FeeNet Exchange RateDifference / best rate in EURDifference / best rate in %
Revolut1000924.120.9241-0.92412
Wise1000919.650.92404.76 CHF0.919654.470.48%
CurrencyFair1000919.400.9194-0.91944.720.51%
Neon avec Wise1000915.500.92358.74 CHF0.91558.620.93%
Yuh1000915.010.9150-0.915019.110.98%
b-sharpe1000914.350.91895 CHF0.914359.771.06%

Yuh vs Revolut vs Yapeal: Comparison

Revolut, Yuh and Yapeal all offer bank accounts in CHF, managed from a free mobile application and at no additional cost for non-residents.

RevolutYuhYapeal
CHF bank accountβœ…βœ…βœ…
Personal IBAN CHβŒβœ…βœ…
Free bank accountβœ…βœ…βŒ
Mobile applicationβœ…βœ…βœ…
Free debit cardβŒβœ…βŒ
Free withdrawals in CHFβœ…βœ…βŒ
Free withdrawals in EUR, overseasβœ…βŒβŒ
Free CHF depositsβœ…βœ…βœ…
0% exchange feeβœ…βŒβŒ
Free SEPA transfers in EUR
βœ…βœ…βŒ
Free international wire transfer❌❌❌
No extra fee for non-residentsβœ…βœ…βœ…
TWINTβŒβœ…βŒ
eBillβŒβœ…βœ…

Yuh is the only neobank to offer eBill and TWINT.

Yapeal Promo CodeYapeal Promo Code: YAPS-311-WZ4WL

Yapeal: the alternative to Yuh for cross-border workers and non-residents!

Don't have a Yapeal account yet? Use our referral code to open your FREE Yapeal Bank account!

Use the promo code YAPS311WZ4WL by November 30, 2024 to receive 30 CHF for FREE πŸ™Œ

Get 30 CHF with Yapeal ➑️

Yuh vs Revolut vs Yapeal: Fee differences

Now let’s compare the fee differences between Yuh, Revolut and Yapeal:

RevolutYuhYapeal
Personal CH IBAN❌ CH IBAN hosted by CrΓ©dit Suisse not in your name). French resident get an FR IBANβœ…βœ…
Free bank accountβœ…βœ…βŒ The paid plan at 4.90 CHF/m. is required to make transfers
Free debit card❌ 5.99 CHF delivery feeβœ…βŒ 7.00 CHF delivery fee
Free withdrawals in CHFβœ… 200 CHF/m., 5 max., then 2%βœ… 1 free per week, then 1.90 CHF each❌ 2.00 CHF each
Free withdrawals in EUR, overseasβœ… 200 CHF/m., 5 max., then 2%❌ 4.90 CHF each❌ 1.50%
0% exchange fee in EURβœ… 0% up tp 1000 CHF/m., monday to friday, then 0.50%❌ 0.95% fee❌ 0,75 – 1,65% fee
Free SEPA transfers in EUR
βœ…βœ…βŒ 0,75 – 1,65% fee
Free international wire transfer❌ 0% in SEPA zone, >0.30% outside SEPA❌ 4.00 CHF each❌ 0,75 – 1,65% fee

For Switzerland Revolut does not offer a personal CH IBAN and for France you will have a FR IBAN. Iwill need to use Revolut with Yuh or Yapeal for a complete solution.

Yuh vs Revolut vs Yapeal: Fee Simulation

Tests carried out with the exchange rates of September 2, 2022.

In this simulation we consider a salary of 5,000 CHF/month, converted and transferred each month to an account in EUR in France. We also add 1 withdrawal of 50 CHF per week for small expenses in Switzerland.

For the Yapeal+Revolut solution, the 5,000 CHF are converted into EUR and transferred to Revolut 1x/month, and finally transferred by SEPA transfer to an account in France. The transfer from Yapeal to Revolut is operated by Wise and includes all fees (exchange and transfer).

For the Yuh+Revolut solution, the 5,000 CHF are transferred to Revolut 1x/month, then converted into EUR at Revolut and finally transferred by SEPA transfer to an account in France. The transfer from Yuh to Revolut is an international transfer because Revolut’s IBAN is in France.

Annual feesYuhYapealYuh+RevolutYapeal+Revolut
Maintenance fee0.00 CHF58.80 CHF
(4.90 CHF/m.)
0.00 CHF58.80 CHF
(4.90 CHF/m.)
Debit card0.00 CHF7.00 CHF
(delivery 1x)
7+5.99 CHF
(delivery 1x)
7+5.99 CHF
(delivery 1x)
Cost for 5,000 CHF5,087.63 EUR5,099.50 EUR5,114.94 EUR5,114.94 EUR
Fee for 12 x 5,000 CHF in EUR12 x 46.57 CHF12 x 37.50 CHF12 x 19.26 CHF12 x 19.26 CHF
Transfer fee0.00 CHFN/A12 x 4.00 CHF0.00 CHF
1 withdrawal of 50 CHF/week0.00 CHF96.00 CHF0.00 CHF0.00 CHF
TOTAL558.84 CHF611.80 CHF292.11 CHF302.91 CHF

So we see that the Yuh+Revolut and Yapeal+Revolut solutions are the least expensive and can save you up to at 300 CHF/year.

Yuh + Revolut Premium: The cheapest solution!

From 2,500 CHF/month, it is recommended to combine a Yuh account with a Revolut Premium plan:

  • 7.99 EUR/month, i.e. 95.88 EUR/year
  • 0% exchange fee, instead of 0.50%
  • debit card free delivery
  • withdrawal limit of 400 EUR/month instead of 200 with Revolut
  • +1 CHF withdrawal per week, limited to 10,000 CHF/month with Yuh

Combined with Yuh, this will be the cheapest solution and your annual costs will be less than CHF 150/year.

Revolut promo codeFREE Revolut account

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