Which Swiss account? Which Swiss bank?

Good day,

I, a resident of Germany, am looking for a new CHF savings account on behalf of my widowed, elderly aunt from Austria (born in 1939). She needs this account to deposit around CHF 500,000 which she inherited (fully legally) from her spouse. The money is currently in a CHF bank account, but my aunt is not happy with her current bank. Another factor is that I must have access to the account. 

Which conditions, formalities and costs should we count on? We would be happy to come to Switzerland to open the account.

Which account would you recommend for my aunt? It must be an account in CHF which will act as a reserve.

Hi there.

In Switzerland, savings accounts generally do not have an annual fee, so the main difference between accounts is the interest they deliver. You can find a comparison of savings account interest rates (in CHF, USD or EUR) here. There are some savings accounts which only come as part of a banking package deal (most of these are only available to residents of Switzerland) or for which a minimum deposit amount is required.

It is also worth noting that at many Swiss banks, savings accounts can only be opened in combination with (fee-bearing) private accounts (checking accounts).

A crucial factor in choosing an account as a non-resident is the fact that most Swiss banks charge high additional fees to customers living outside of Switzerland, and these can easily negate the interest you earn. On average, non-resident fees come to 300 Swiss francs per year and banking relationship, but you may pay a lot more than this at certain banks. The non-resident fees may be waived in some cases (for "good" customers with mortgages or assets under management at the same bank). You can find more information about choosing a Swiss bank as a non-resident here.

Moving to a new savings account normally is not difficult. Just pay attention to notice periods when transferring large amounts of money out of an account.

Best regards from Moneyguru

More information:
How to Invest in Times of Low Interest Rates?
How to Close Your Bank Account
Comparison of Swiss savings accounts
Swiss Bank Fees For Non-Resident Customers