Fee for withdrawing euros from a Swiss euro account

I recently opened a euro account at a Swiss bank in order to deposit and withdraw euros without exchange fees. I was very surprised when I withdrew euros from my euro account and was charged nearly 20 francs for the withdrawal! What in the world would I pay a fee for? Do all Swiss banks charge fees to withdraw euros from a euro account?

Hi there,

Most major Swiss banks charge a fee for euro withdrawals from their own euro accounts. Many banks even charge you a fee when you deposit euros into your euro account.

UBS, for example, charges a fee equal to 2% of the euro deposits or withdrawals at the till for amounts below the equivalent of CHF 1000 and 1% above that amount. A 1% fee is charged for withdrawing euros from your UBS euro account at a UBS ATM.

The Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB) charges a fee equal to 0.75% of euro deposits into or withdrawals out of a ZKB euro account, making it somewhat more affordable. The Aargauische Kantonalbank does not charge a fee when you deposit euros into its euro account, but it does charge a fee equal to 1% of euro withdrawals from your account.

These fees partially negate the benefit of using a euro account at a Swiss bank. However, this type of account still works out cheaper if you handle a large amount of transactions in euros. That is because in euros the fees for depositing or withdrawing euros from a euro account are still lower than the combined costs (foreign transaction fee plus exchange spread) of depositing euros into and withdrawing them from a regular Swiss franc account.

Best regards from Moneyguru

More on this topic:
Private account comparison
Guide to exchanging foreign currency
Using Swiss credit cards abroad