Swiss banking has a reputation of being some of the safest banking in the world. The main banks you will find across Switzerland are UBS, Credit Suisse, Raiffeisen Bank, and the cantonal banks (Kantonalbank) which include ZKB (Zürcher Kantonalbank). PostFinance is operated by the post/mail service in Switzerland. UBS and Credit Suisse are English-language friendly, popular with first-time expats, and have wide-spread ATMs but also have high banking fees. The Kantonalbank have free ATMs and lower fees, being local government-owned. PostFinance also offers low fees and is popular with budget-conscious expats. Bank Coop and Migrosbank are run by the major Swiss supermarket chains.

If you need to deposit dollars, it is possible to open a US dollar account in Switzerland. There will however be account charges. You can also bank in pounds sterling or in euro, but again there will be fees. International banks operating in Switzerland offer specialist private banking services for (extremely) wealthy individuals and are not suited to normal current and savings accounts.

Banks in Switzerland will normally all be open on Monday-Friday between 9am and 12pm, and again from 2pm until 4pm. Individual bank groups have different lunch closing times at their branches, which will either be from 12:00pm until 13:30pm or from 12:30pm until 14:00pm. Additionally, some may stay open until 4:30pm or until 5pm. Banks are closed all day on Saturday and Sunday.

Resident individuals may open current accounts in which wages can be received or a savings account. Note that the bank may require you to be a current account holder before allowing you to open a savings account with them. Some banks will require a B residence permit to open an account for you, others will reportedly allow you to hold a basic account as long as you have an EU passport and a fixed address in Switzerland. Non-residents will not generally be eligible to open Swiss bank accounts unless maintaining a balance of several hundred CHF, although some accounts may be open to those resident in countries sharing borders with or in close geographic proximity to Switzerland.

Note that, for tax reasons, savings accounts are not promoted to US citizens and green card holders and banks may decline to deal with 'US Persons'. As of 2010, PostFinance was recommended as accepting US customers.

On opening a bank account, you should ensure you have your residence permit and passport with you and it may help to take your employment contract, if you have one. Expect to be asked for figures for your monthly/annual income. If making a large deposit (e.g. from a house sale), you may also be asked to prove the source of this income. For a student account, take proof of your student status. If you don't yet have your residence permit, you could be asked instead to produce your registration certificate. Note that you cannot open an account entirely online as the bank will need to verify your identity and your postal/mailing address. A B residence permit will be need to be shown to the bank in order to obtain a credit card.

Current accounts normally attract a monthly banking fee of CHF 3 to 10, according to the bank. PostFinance currently charge one of the lowest fees. If you are able to maintain a certain balance (depending on the bank this may be anywhere from CHF 10,000 to much higher figures) these charges are waived. Other charges apply for cashing cheques/checks in other currencies in your Swiss bank account.

A Maestro debit card is provided with a current account. This will allow you to use an ATM but will otherwise will be limited to purchases in shops, where it is however widely accepted. Online shopping is not yet available to holders of the Swiss Maestro card but may be rolled out in the near future.

Visa and Mastercards are available via banks on application, but not all applicants will be approved for a credit card and you may need to persist in reapplying. Note also that some banks will charge an additional annual fee for a credit card. The supermarket banks (Coop and Migrosbank) offer branded credit cards that are currently free of charge (2011). Another option is to obtain the SBB Visa card that is sold with a half fare (Halb Tax) card at the railway station. This is an initiative from the Swiss railway company that packages together the credit card with a travelcard that will entitle you to low cost train fares in Switzerland. The Visa card itself can be used abroad too. Although non-residents can buy a half fare card, only residents with a B or C permit will be allowed to buy the Visa card package. Holders of an L permit may be able to buy the half fare card with the pre-paid Visa card. The 2011 charge for this package (either full credit card or pre-paid) was CHF 135. Application forms are also available online. With any credit card, expect to pay fees for late or deferred payment of the monthly balance.

Some shops do not accept credit cards, including large stores and supermarkets. Visa and Mastercard are accepted more frequently than American Express. Many expats find it useful to have a Maestro card for shop purchases and either Visa or Mastercard for online purchases.

Pre-arranged overdrafts are not generally available to new bank customers. Personal loans are subject to approval by your bank and the amount loaned will depend on your income. Taking out a loan will therefore normally involve a personal appointment at the bank and a review of your salary details. A B residence permit is required for a loan, and there may be a further condition of having already been resident for 1 year. Obtaining a loan in Switzerland will be difficult for US citizens and green card holders. This situation applies only to the USA and there shouldn't be particular difficulties for Canadians or other non-European nationals from developed countries.

Useful Resources

UBS (website available in English)
http://www.ubs.com/1/e/schweiz.html
UBS AG, Bahnhofstr. 45, P.O. Box, CH-8098 Zurich
Tel: +41 (0)848 848 054
Email: Use contact form

Credit Suisse (website available in English)
https://www.credit-suisse.com/ch/
Credit Suisse, P.O. Box 100, CH 8070 Zurich
Tel: +41 (0)848 880 840 (advice and support)
Email: Use contact form

Zürcher Kantonalbank (website available in English)
http://www.zkb.ch/
Address according to branch, see website for branch finder.
Tel: +41 (0)844 843 823
Email: Use contact form

PostFinance (website available in English)
http://www.postfinance.ch/
Swiss Post, PostFinance, Nordring 8, 3030 Berne
Tel: +41 (0)848 888 710
Email: Use contact form

Bank Coop (website available in English)
http://www.bankcoop.ch/
Bank Coop, Headoffice, Aeschenplatz 3, 4002 Basel
Tel: +41 (0)61 286 21 21
Email: info@bankcoop.ch

MIGROSBANK (website NOT available in English)
http://www.migrosbank.ch/
Migros Bank AG, Dienstleistungszentrum, Postfach, 8010 Zürich-Mülligen
Tel: +41 (0)848 845 400
Email: Use contact form

Raffeisenbank (website NOT available in English)
http://www.raiffeisen.ch/
Raiffeisen Schweiz, Raiffeisenplatz, 9001 St. Gallen
Tel: +41 (0)71 225 88 88
Email: info@raiffeisen.ch

Visa Half-Fare Travelcard Helpdesk under the following telephone number 0848 44 11 22
http://www.sbb.ch/en/travelcards-and-tickets/railpasses/half-fare-travelcard/half-fare-travelcard-with-visa-card.html