Postchecks

Are the Postchecks from Postfinance regular checks? Or are they guaranteed checks? What are they normally used for?

Hi there,

The Postchecks offered by the Swiss postal bank Postfinance are bank checks which can only be cashed or deposited at Swiss post offices or Postfinance branch offices. They cannot be used outside of Switzerland.

A major difference between Postchecks and the bank checks offered by other Swiss banks is the fee schedule. Swiss banks typically charge a fee of 40-50 Swiss francs to issue a bank check.

Postfinance charges a fee of 11 francs for a Postcheck with a face value of up to 4000 francs and 13 francs for a face value of between 4000.01 and 10,000 francs. Each additional 10,000-franc increment costs an additional 13 francs. A flat fee of 420 francs is charged for the issuance of Postchecks with a value above 320,000 francs.

This makes Postchecks a more affordable option for transfering smaller amounts of money (up to 30,000 francs), while bank checks are generally more affordable for larger amounts (above 30,000 francs).

Postchecks can be voided at no extra charge. Other banks charge fees as high as 50 francs to void a check.

Postchecks provide an alternative to bank transfers for financial transactions in Switzerland which can make sense for specific types of transactions (as a secure alternative to large cash payments for immediate transactions, for example), although you do pay high fees. Compared to bank checks from other Swiss banks, postchecks have lower fees for smaller transactions, but they cannot be used for international transactions like regular bank checks and personal checks can.

Best regards from Moneyguru

More on this topic:
Guide to using checks in Switzerland
Swiss checking account comparison