Tech companies like Facebook, Amazon and Google are constantly trying to enter new markets. This should be a cause of concern for banks too, as the digital dominance of tech companies gives them certain advantages. But for the moment, Swiss banks are still well-positioned, as a representative survey by moneyland.ch shows. Residents of Switzerland can hardly imagine opening a bank account with companies outside of the financial services sector.
The 1500 survey participants rated their readiness to open bank accounts at different companies on a scale of 1 (not at all likely) to 10 (very likely). Only a minority would be willing to open a bank account at companies with a main focus other than finance. The non-bank companies which Swiss are most likely to open an account at are retail groups Migros (27 percent) and Coop (20 percent). In French-speaking Switzerland, the difference in readiness to open an account with Migros (23 percent) rather than Coop (22 percent) is lower than the Swiss average. Interest in banking with the two retail groups is highest among adults between the ages of 26 and 49. Swiss pension funds (19 percent) and insurance companies (18 percent) are the next most likely candidates for personal banking.
Online-only banks are gaining momentum
17 percent of residents can see themselves opening an account with a Swiss, online-only direct bank. For 60 percent of residents, online-only banks are not an option at all. Even financial service provider Revolut, which has offered its services in Switzerland for many years, is only considered a serious banking option by 15 percent of residents. However, interest is notably higher than in 2019, when moneyland.ch first conducted this survey. At that time, only 6 percent of residents would consider using Revolut.
“Neobanks are on the rise in Switzerland, but are still relatively unknown. The number of people who can see themselves banking with an online-only bank is steadily increasing,” says moneyland.ch CEO Benjamin Manz. “In the coming years, these service providers will become more known, at which point they will present serious competition for conventional banks.”
Both Swiss online-only banks and Revolut are most popular among men. The portions of male residents which can see themselves using these services are 23 and 20 percent respectively. On the other hand, only 10 percent of women would be ready to use these.
Little interest in banking with tech companies
Facebook, Uber and Amazon received exceptionally poor ratings. Around 80 percent of survey participants either can hardly see themselves banking with these companies, or have no interest at all. Banking with airlines is also not an option for most residents.
Readiness to open a bank account by company/sector
| What is the chance of your opening a bank account with these service providers? |
High to very high |
Low to very low |
| Migros |
27% |
48% |
| Coop |
20% |
55% |
| Swiss pension funds |
19% |
52% |
| Swiss insurance companies |
18% |
59% |
| Swiss online-only banks |
17% |
61% |
| Revolut |
15% |
57% |
| Swisscom |
14% |
68% |
| Apple |
12% |
74% |
| Ikea |
11% |
75% |
| Google |
10% |
77% |
| Samsung |
10% |
75% |
| Amazon |
9% |
79% |
| Zalando |
9% |
77% |
| Microsoft |
9% |
76% |
| Tesla |
9% |
75% |
| Swiss telecom companies |
9% |
75% |
| Facebook |
8% |
81% |
| Airline |
7% |
79% |
| Uber |
5% |
80% |
Interestingly, the figures for specific companies have changed very little over the past two years. The only major exception is Google. The number of residents who would consider using Google for banking has fallen by 5 percent. No major growth in banking solutions from tech companies is currently visible.
Readiness to open bank accounts with Swiss insurance companies and pension funds has also waned over the past two years. Less than 20 percent of residents can see themselves using an insurance company or pension fund for banking, compared to over 30 percent in 2019.
Young adults are exceptionally open to new options
A number of age-based differences are apparent. Adults between the ages of 49 and 74 are particularly unlikely to use non-conventional bank accounts. The overwhelming majority of residents in this age group would not likely or never consider banking with companies like Facebook (88 percent), Zalando (87 percent) and Amazon (87 percent).
Young people between the ages of 18 and 25, on the other hand, tend to be more open. In this age group, interest in every company or sector included in the survey is higher than the Swiss average – with the exception of retailers.
Compared to the average for all residents, Zalando and Apple score particularly highly with young adults. 22 percent can see themselves banking with Apple, and 19 percent would consider Zalando for their banking needs. Across all age groups, on the other hand, the figures are just 12 and 9 percent respectively.
Zalando and Ikea more popular in the Romandy
Interest in Zalando and Ikea is slightly higher in French-speaking Switzerland. But as a whole, residents of Romandy can hardly see themselves banking with these companies. Still, only 73 percent (Zalando) and 71 percent (Ikea) do not consider these an option. In German-speaking Switzerland, the figures are 79 and 77 percent respectively.
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