Swiss Prepaid Card Comparison 2024

Unlike credit cards, prepaid cards do not let you spend money on credit. You can only spend the money which you preload onto your account. The term prepaid credit card is often used to avoid confusion with prepaid telecom cards.

You can easily find the best prepaid card for your needs using the unbiased prepaid card comparison on moneyland.ch. Just select the profile that best matches your card use. Take a moment to consider how often you will use the prepaid card. You can then choose the most affordable card which matches your criteria. Compare prepaid cards now

Many Swiss financial services providers offer prepaid cards. These are accounted for in the comparison. Some of these service providers are also card issuers. The comparison includes offers from these prepaid card providers, among others: Bonuscard; Cornèrcard; ok.- (Valora); PostFinance; Swiss Bankers; Swissquote; TopCard (UBS); Viseca.

Many Swiss prepaid cards have annual fees ranging between 35 and 50 francs per year. Other fees may apply in addition to annual fees, including fees for transactions in foreign currencies and fees for cash withdrawals. Foreign transaction fees are typically equal to between 1.2% and 1.75% of the amount transacted, depending on the card. This fee is typically clearly shown in card documentation. Currency exchange costs are less transparent, but are just as important in terms of what they cost you. Different card issuers use different rates, so the moneyland.ch accounts for the franc-to-euro exchange rate based on regular sampling.

Making cash withdrawals with most prepaid cards is expensive, as many have very high cash withdrawal fees. Typically, card issuers charge a fee equal to between 3.5% and 4% of the amount you withdraw, with a minimum fee of between 6 and 10 francs for each cash withdrawal – including very small withdrawals.

Another important cost to look at is the loading fee. You pay this fee every time you add money to your prepaid card account. For example, you may be charged 2 francs per loading, or 1% of the amount loaded with a minimum fee of 5 francs per loading. 

moneyland.ch accounts for all the different card fees and lists them clearly in the cost breakdowns of comparison results.      

Some Swiss prepaid cards do not have annual card fees. So you will not be charged fees unless you use your card for transactions.

There are also prepaid cards which do not have any loading fees and use favorable currency exchange rates.

In every case, you may incur costs depending on how you use your prepaid card. For example, you may be charged fees for cash withdrawals or purchases in foreign countries.

Yes. Many Swiss prepaid cards can be used with popular mobile payment services like Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Google Pay, Swatch Pay, Garmin Pay and Fitbit Pay. You can easily find prepaid cards that are compatible with your preferred mobile payment solution using the filters on the comparison page.

moneyland.ch regularly conducts customer satisfaction surveys of prepaid card users in Switzerland. These survey gauge overall satisfaction, and satisfaction with the friendliness of employees, the clarity of information provided, and customer support when problems occur. On the whole, prepaid card users are satisfied with the services they receive. But there are differences between prepaid cards. You can find customer satisfaction ratings on the detailed information pages of each card included in the comparison.

Swiss credit cards and debit cards are both alternatives to prepaid cards.

You can compare Swiss credit cards using the separate credit card comparison. Debit cards are accounted for in the Swiss bank account comparison.

There are also a number of neobanks which offer payment cards. These are typically debit cards. You can find an overview of offers from neobanks in Switzerland here.

A major advantage of prepaid cards is that they are available to people who are not eligible to get credit cards. For example, a person with poor creditworthiness resulting from debts may not be granted a credit card, but can still obtain a prepaid card. Using a prepaid card also provides teenagers for a way to make payments which would otherwise require a credit card.

Another possible advantage of prepaid cards is that they can help you control spending. You can only ever spend the money which you load to the card in advance.

Costs can be a major disadvantage. Many prepaid cards have very high fees and charges. But there are also very affordable options, which you can see in the moneyland.ch comparison.

Another disadvantage is that prepaid cards are not as widely accepted as credit cards. For example, many hotels and car rental services require a credit card for bookings, and will not accept prepaid cards.