These are the Cheapest Neobanks in Switzerland

Bank accounts and related services which are only offered online are now common in Switzerland. Even established Swiss banks like Credit Suisse and Bank Cler operate neobanks in addition to their conventional banking offers. But exactly how affordable are neobanks, actually? To find out, moneyland.ch compared the costs of making purchases and withdrawing money in Switzerland and abroad (in euros, US dollars, and Thai Baht) using the CSX, Neon, Revolut, Wise, Yuh, and Zak neobanks. A separate analysis accounted for financial services like receiving money and paying bills.

Which neobank is cheapest for card transactions?

moneyland.ch calculated the costs of using cards from neobanks based on this customer profile: The card user spends 10,000 francs per year in Switzerland, and the equivalent of 2000 euros each in euros, US dollars, and Thai baht outside of Switzerland. The profile user also makes on cash withdrawal in Switzerland and a total of six withdrawals at foreign ATMs. The cards used in the comparison are primarily debit cards (Neon uses prepaid cards), which are usually much less expensive than credit cards. In addition to the official fees and charges, moneyland.ch also accounted for markups on interbank currency exchange rates based sampled across five different days.

The result: British neobanks Revolut and Wise are the cheapest, with both costing less than 60 francs per year for the user profile. In third place, Neon is the most affordable Swiss neobank at 74.90 francs per year. The most expensive offers include two from Credit Suisse neobank CSX, with costs of up to 268.65 francs per year. So the costs of the most expensive offer are almost five times higher than those of the cheapest offer.

Profile 1: Card transactions

* Foreign transaction fees and currency exchange markups over interbank rates as per multiple samplings.
** Officially, Neon charges a one-time fee of 10 francs for its card. This fee is waived when you open an account via moneyland.ch or other channels.

International transactions cost up to five times more

Differences in the costs of using cards outside of Switzerland – foreign transactions fees and currency exchange markups – are very large. The two cheapest neobanks in this regard have total yearly costs of 30.15 francs (Revolut) and 33.10 francs (Wise) for the profile used. The international transaction costs are 52.40 francs per year for Neon, 54.84 francs for Yapeal, and 61.85 francs for Yuh. The most expensive neobanks, in terms of foreign transactions, have massively higher costs, at 134.20 francs (Zak) and 152.40 francs (CSX).

Differences in services offered

All of the neobanks included in the comparison have offers with no basic account fees. Cash withdrawals at ATMs and card payments at physical and online shops are possible with all of these. But many neobanks also offer premium accounts in addition to their free accounts.

Together, neobanks offer a wide selection of paid accounts. Neon has a sustainable account which helps finance the planting of trees in your name (60-franc annual account fee). CSX, Yapeal, and Zak have paid accounts which include complimentary cash withdrawals at select ATMs or at all ATMs (account fees between 47.40 and 96 francs per year). Revolut and Neon offer accounts with metal payment cards (account fees between 180 and 191.90 francs). Yapeal does not include bank transfers in its basic account with no account fees, but has this service in its paid accounts.

In some cases, paid premium accounts can work out cheaper than offers with no basic account fees, when you consider total costs (see the tables). That is why it is important to account for costs as a whole.

Differences in cash withdrawal costs

With most offers, a customer matching the user profile would pay between 20 and nearly 35 francs per year for their seven cash withdrawals. Revolut is somewhat cheaper at 19 francs (standard account) or 6 francs (Premium account). Neon, Revolut, Yapeal, and Zak all offer accounts which do not have any cash withdrawal fees at all. But because offers with complimentary cash withdrawals have higher basic account fees, other accounts generally work out cheaper for users whose cash withdrawal habits match the profile used.

Neobanks with Swiss bank accounts

No all of the neobanks included in the comparison give you a bank account. Offers from British neobanks Revolut and Wise do not include a Swiss bank account, which may be necessary for receiving a Swiss salary, among other things. The Yapeal Loyalty account which has no basic account fees gives you a Swiss bank account number for receiving incoming transfers, but does not let you transfer money to other bank accounts (to pay bills, for example).  

Because of this limitation, moneyland.ch created another comparison. The exact same card transactions were used for the customer profile, but in addition to card transactions, the user also receives their salary and pays their bills using their neobank account. The person receives 20 incoming transfers and makes 50 outgoing transfers per year. They also set up a monthly standing order to pay the rent for their home. They keep an average of 5000 francs in their private account.

None of the offers which include a Swiss bank account with transfers charge you fees for transfers to and from other Swiss bank accounts. Currently, the only neobanks which pay interest on private account balances are Yuh (since September 1) and Zak (since October 1). But because the Swiss National Bank has raised its key interest rate, it can be assumed that other Swiss neobanks will soon pay interest as well.

Swiss neobank Yuh takes first place in this second comparison, with total costs of 66.25 francs per year. It is followed closely by Neon, at 74.90 francs. Yapeal comes in a distant third, with 128 francs of costs. A premium offer from CSX is the most expensive, with costs totaling 268.65 francs.

Table 2: Card and account transactions

*Foreign transaction fees and currency exchange markups over interbank rates as per multiple samplings.

How neobanks compare with conventional credit cards

A number of Swiss credit cards have cash back or other rewards, and using these credit cards for purchases in Switzerland is often the most favorable option. A card user matching the profile used in the above comparisons would get up to 100 francs per year in rewards, even with some credit cards which have no annual fees. While using cards from neobanks to make payments in Switzerland is free for you as the customer, you are not rewarded with cash back.

Things look very different when you use your card to pay at non-Swiss merchants. Most neobanks do not have foreign transaction fees, and currency exchange markups above the interbank rate are smaller than those used by credit card issuers. The samplings performed by moneyland.ch show that most neobanks have foreign transaction costs of under 1 percent for franc-to-euro exchanges (currency exchange markups plus foreign transaction fees). The only neobanks with higher currency exchange costs are Zak (1.13 percent) and CSX (1.75 percent). The total foreign transaction costs of most Swiss credit cards, on the other hand, equal between 3 and 5 percent of the transacted amount.

More information:
Guide to neobanks in Switzerland
Credit card comparison
Prepaid card comparison
Private account comparison