Swiss Savings Account Comparison 2024

The easiest way to find the right savings account is to follow these steps:

• Use the free savings account comparison on moneyland.ch to see all relevant Swiss savings accounts.
• Swiss savings accounts typically do not have annual account fees, so the main point to compare is the interest which you earn.
• Note that some accounts pay bonus interest on new deposits, which makes some accounts more suitable for regular savings plans.
• Also note that some savings accounts are only available with private accounts from the same bank, or as part of a bank package.
• If you have a large amount of money (more than 100,000 francs) which you want to hold in savings accounts, consider dividing your money between several savings accounts at different banks. Doing this gives you better depositor protection.

Find the right savings account now and maximize your interest earnings.

The moneyland.ch savings account comparison is the most comprehensive Swiss savings account comparison.

The savings account interest comparison on moneyland.ch accounts for 300 different savings accounts, making it the most comprehensive Swiss savings account comparison.

The comparison calculates interest yields – including compounding interest and interest rates which differ by year from account opening. Calculations are based on account balance size in Swiss francs, US dollars or euros (accounting for different interest rates for different portions of account balances).

In addition to a possible initial deposit of capital upon account opening, you can also enter a possible additional annual deposit amount. Comparison results show the final capital you would have at the end of the selected term with each savings account, assuming you do not make any withdrawals. The final amount includes all deposits plus interest earned (including compounding interest).

Only savings accounts which are available to you based on your age, educational status, municipality or canton of residence, and country of residence appear in results.

Savings accounts are bank accounts which are designed for saving money rather than for transfers and spending. By depositing money into a savings account, you lend that money to the bank, making it available for the bank to invest over longer terms. Banks pay you interest on this loan.

Savings accounts typically yield higher interest than private accounts. This is because they typically have tighter restrictions on withdrawals and transfers which encourage you to leave the money in the bank over long terms.

moneyland.ch kontrolliert die Sparzinssätze mindestens einmal pro Monat – jeweils am Anfang jeden Monats.

In most cases, changes to interest rates are made at the beginning of a calendar month.

Although interest rates may change regularly, the banks which pay the highest interest generally remain among the most favorable over long periods of time.

Savings account interest rates are reviewed and updated as necessary at least once a month. Updates are primarily made at the beginning of each month.

moneyland.ch has a practical calculator which lets you simulate investments in savings accounts and compare performance with that of the Swiss stock market.

As the calculator shows, Swiss savings accounts have historically delivered much lower performance than Swiss stocks. However, savings accounts are advantageous in they provide a much lower risk of loss for short- to mid-term investments.

Use the historical savings account vs. stock market performance calculator now

Currently, there is no longer any negative interest for retail customers on savings accounts.

You can find out which Swiss banks charge negative interest on savings account balances here.

moneyland.ch offers useful calculators which let you calculate how much you can save accounting for interest and compounding interest.

Calculators which can help you create your savings plan include:

• Savings calculator: This calculator lets you calculate final savings, required regular deposits, required savings term or initial capital needed based on your saving goals.
• Compounding interest calculator: The compound interest calculator lets you calculate compounding interest.
• The daily interest calculator lets you calculate how much interest you earn or pay per day based on annual interest rates.
• The historical savings account vs. stock market performance calculator lets you simulate and compare Swiss savings account and Swiss stock market performance based on historical data.

You can find all savings and interest calculators here.

The long-term effects of interest compounding are often underestimated. You can find out what interest compounding is and how it works in this guide to compounding interest.

Some Swiss banks let you open savings accounts without a private account. Other banks only offer savings accounts to their private account or bank package holders.

Most private accounts have annual account fees, while savings accounts generally do not.

Many Swiss banks offer bank packages. In addition to private accounts, debit and credit cards, packages sometimes bundle savings accounts with special interest rates.

A possible disadvantage of getting savings accounts as part of bank packages is that you have to get have to get the whole package. Bank packages typically have annual fees, and while a package may offer a high-yield savings account, the private account and cards included may not be the best fit for your needs.

Swiss savings accounts generally do not have basic annual or monthly account fees.

But there are exceptions. For example, there are banks which charge annual fees of 5, 10 or even 50 francs for a savings account.

Savings accounts typically charge penalty fees when you make more than a predetermined number of monthly or annual withdrawals. You also typically pay penalty fees when you make withdrawals which are bigger than the notice-free limit without giving notice first.

Some banks charge high transfer fees for transfers from savings accounts to accounts at third-party banks. In this case, these savings accounts are not suitable for regular transfers. But there are also banks which use their standard private account transfer fees for savings accounts as well.

Some banks charge account closure fees when you close their savings accounts.

Most Swiss banks do not charge you fees to close and cash out savings accounts. But there are banks which charge account closure fees of 10 or 20 francs, for example.

Some banks do not charge fees when you close individual savings accounts, but do charge fees if you terminate your entire banking relationship. Some banks charge you fees to transfer money from your account to a different bank. Banks which charge relationship termination or cashing out transfer fees charge between 10 and 50 francs, depending on the bank.

The comparison includes these kinds of savings accounts:

• Standard savings accounts
• Student savings accounts (educational savings accounts)
• Youth savings accounts
• Investment savings accounts
• Shareholder savings accounts
• Member savings accounts
• Sustainable savings accounts
• Providence savings accounts
• Interest growth savings accounts

Yes. Swiss banks offer special savings accounts for children and/or teenagers and young adults up to the ages of 20 or 25. These typically have much better interest rates than savings accounts for adults.

You can find more information about youth accounts here.

Yes. Many banks offer special student savings accounts. These are often available to students up to the age of 30. Interest rates are normally identical to those of youth accounts, so they are much more favorable than standard interest rates for adult savings accounts.

You can learn more about student accounts in this guide.

Many banks no longer offer senior savings accounts. But there are still some Swiss banks which do offer special accounts for seniors. Savings accounts which are only available to seniors are included in comparisons if you are eligible for them based on your year of birth.

Swiss savings accounts generally have more restrictions on withdrawals than Swiss private accounts. Savings accounts may have monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, or annual limitations on withdrawals. For example, you may only be able to withdraw 20,000 francs per month or 100,000 per year without either giving notice or paying penalty fees. You can withdraw larger amounts, but you have to give notice. Notice periods vary between banks.

Many banks offer several different savings accounts, each with its own conditions for withdrawals. As a general rule, the tighter the withdrawal limitations, the higher the interest rate is.

The savings account comparison on moneyland.ch clearly shows the exact withdrawal terms and conditions for each individual savings account.

If you want to withdraw more money than your savings account limits allow for, you have to give notice in advance.

Example: Say your savings account has a withdrawal limit of 20,000 francs per month and a 3 months’ notice period for larger withdrawals. If you want to withdraw 60,000 francs in one month, you will have to notify the bank three months before you make the withdrawal.

Notice periods vary between savings accounts. Many Swiss savings accounts have notice periods of 3 months, but notice periods can be as high as 12 months.

Important: You can make larger withdrawals than your savings account’s terms and conditions allow for. However, you may be charged penalty fees for failing to give notice. Early withdrawal penalty fees can be as high as 2% of the amount withdrawn without correct notice.

The moneyland.ch savings account comparison lets you compare savings accounts denominated by Swiss francs (CHF), euros (EUR) and US dollars (USD). Some Swiss banks offer savings accounts denominated by other currencies such as British pounds (GBP), Japanese yen (JPY) and Chinese yuan (CNY).

Swiss savings accounts are considered to be relatively secure. The Swiss depositor protection scheme guarantees account balances up to a maximum of 100,000 francs per customer and bank.

Most cantonal banks have an added layer of security in that balances are guaranteed by the state, without limitations.

You can find more information about depositor protection here.

Savings accounts which you can compare include accounts from these Swiss banks:

Aargauische Kantonalbank (AKB), Acrevis Bank, AEK Bank 1826, Alpha RHEINTAL Bank, Alternative Bank, Appenzeller Kantonalbank (APPKB), BancaStato, Bank BSU, Bank CIC, Bank Cler, Bank EEK, Bank EKI, Bank Gantrisch, Bank Thalwil, Bank Zimmerberg, Basellandschaftliche Kantonalbank (BLKB), Basler Kantonalbank (BKB), BBO Bank Brienz Oberhasli, Berner Kantonalbank (BEKB), Bezirks-Sparkasse Dielsdorf, Clientis Bank im Thal, Clientis Bank Küttigen-Erlinsbach, Clientis Bank Leerau, Clientis Bank Oberaargau, Clientis Bank Thur, Clientis Bank Toggenburg, Clientis Biene Bank im Rheintal, Clientis BS Bank Schaffhausen, Caisse d'Epargne D'Aubonne, Clientis Caisse d'Epargne CEC, Clientis EB Entlebucher Bank, Clientis Regiobank Männedorf, Clientis Spar- und Leihkasse Thayngen, Clientis Sparcassa 1816, Clientis Sparkasse Oftringen, Clientis Sparkasse Sense, Bank Avera, Credit Suisse, DC Bank Deposito-Cassa der Stadt Bern, Ersparniskasse Rüeggisberg (EKR), Ersparniskasse Schaffhausen, Banque Cantonale de Fribourg, Generali, Banque Cantonale de Genève (BCGE), Glarner Kantonalbank, Graubündner Kantonalbank (GKB), GRB Glarner Regionalbank, Hypothekarbank Lenzburg, Banque Cantonale du Jura (BCJ), Kontomat, Leihkasse Stammheim, LLB (Switzerland), Luzerner Kantonalbank (LUKB), Migros Bank, Banque Cantonale Neuchâteloise (BCN), Obwaldner Kantonalbank (OKB), PostFinance, Raiffeisen Schweiz, Regiobank Solothurn, Schaffhauser Kantonalbank (SHKB), Swissquote, Schwyzer Kantonalbank (SZKB), Sparhafen Bank, Spar + Leihkasse Gürbetal SLG, Spar- und Leihkasse Bucheggberg, Spar- und Leihkasse Frutigen, Sparkasse Schwyz, St. Galler Kantonalbank (SGKB), Thurgauer Kantonalbank (TKB), UBS, Urner Kantonalbank (URKB), Valiant Bank, Vorarlberger Landes- und Hypothekenbank, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise (BCV), Banque Cantonale du Valais (BCVS), WIR Bank, Yuh, Zuger Kantonalbank, Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB), Zürcher Landbank, Banca Popolare di Sondrio (Suisse), Spar- und Leihkasse Wynigen, Crédit Agricole next bank, Cembra Money Bank.

Most Swiss banks charge additional non-resident fees to account holders who reside outside of Switzerland. These fees also apply to Swiss citizens who move abroad.

The savings account comparison calculations assume that you reside in Switzerland, and do not account for non-resident fees.

There are some banks which only charge non-resident fees for private accounts and not for savings accounts. In some cases, these banks require you to hold a private account in order to hold savings accounts. But there are also banks which let you hold stand-alone savings accounts if you meet certain criteria (an income in Switzerland, for example) and do not charge non-resident fees for savings accounts. In this case, a savings account can provide an affordable alternative to private accounts for non-residents who need a Swiss bank account.

You can find a list of bank terms and conditions for non-residents here.

Changing savings accounts is normally much easier than changing private accounts, particularly if you do not send money to or receive money from your savings account. The vast majority of Swiss savings accounts do not have annual fees. You can open as many savings accounts at different banks as you want to (assuming you use banks at which private accounts are not a prerequisite).

Before you close a savings account, take the time to review withdrawal terms and conditions, and applicable notice periods.