Yuh: The Neobank From Swissquote and PostFinance

Neobanks are the current trend. The success of foreign neobanks like Revolut and Wise has created a movement in the Swiss banking landscape. Swiss neobanks now include CSX (from Credit Suisse), Zak (from Bank Cler), and independent neobanks Neon and Yapeal.

Now Swiss banking heavyweights Swissquote and PostFinance have collaborated to create a neobank as a joint venture. Independent Swiss online comparison service moneyland.ch studied the terms and conditions of the new Yuh neobank and compared them with those of competing offers.

The results: For adults, the costs of using the Yuh private account and debit card are low compared to conventional Swiss bank accounts, and are comparable to those of other Swiss neobanks like Neon and CSX. “Investing with Yuh is primarily affordable for small investment transactions, and is largely designed for consumers who are new to investing,” observes moneyland.ch CEO Benjamin Manz.

This means that there is little risk of Yuh cannibalizing Swissquote’s existing market. “The risk of cannibalization is much greater for PostFinance, especially now that it has just raised its account fees,” believes Benjamin Manz.

What the new Neobank offers

Yuh includes both a private account and debit card, and also lets you invest in stocks, ETFs and cryptocurrencies. Yuh makes use of Swissquote’s bank license. Opening a Yuh account is even quicker and simpler for PostFinance and Swissquote customers.

A neobank which includes brokerage account functions in addition to a private account is a first in Switzerland. Foreign neobanks like Revolut have already offered some investment options in certain countries for some time.

Yuh also includes a loyalty program called Swissqoins. Users are rewarded with Swissqoins when they make certain kinds of transactions with Yuh. Initially, each Swissqoin has a value of 1 centime, but the value of Swissqoins is meant to increase over time.

Yuh has no basic account fee and there is no annual fee for the Debit Mastercard. But it is important to note that from 2022, Yuh will offer three different packages, two of which will be paid packages. Yuh will continue to offer a free Flirt package, while also offering the paid Kiss package for 4.90 francs per month and the Love package for 7.90 francs per month. Further details about the packages are not yet known.

Yuh does not yet offer standing orders, direct debit orders or non-SEPA transfers. The annual interest rate is 0%, meaning you do not earn interest on your account balance.

Cash withdrawals at Swiss ATMs are relatively cheap. You get one free cash withdrawal per week at Swiss ATMs free of charge. Each additional withdrawal costs 1.90 francs. This also applies to withdrawals at PostFinance ATMs. Cash withdrawals outside of Switzerland cost 4.90 francs per withdrawal. It is worth noting that the SmartPlus bank package from PostFinance includes unlimited withdrawals outside Switzerland with no fee per withdrawal, but you pay the package fee. Yuh has a 0.95% currency exchange fee.

Costs of cash-free banking compared

moneyland.ch evaluated the costs of a private account and debit card for adult accountholders who do not make cash withdrawals, and compared Yuh to competing offers. The evaluation assumes that the customer maintains an average account balance of 10,000 francs, uses online or mobile banking for transfers, pays for purchases with the debit card, and does not make any cash withdrawals. The interactive private account comparison on moneyland.ch served as the basis for evaluations.

The results show that Yuh is one of the most affordable banking solutions for adults in Switzerland. Without accounting for currency exchange rates, an account holder matching the cash-free banking profile would not have pay any fees at all for private account services. That makes Yuh as affordable as the basic CSX offer (Basic White Debit Card) and Neon (assuming the 10-franc Neon card issuing is waived with an introductory offer). But when currency exchange rates are accounted for, Neon may be more affordable in many cases due to its favorable exchange rates.

Private accounts and debit cards from other conventional banks are notably more expensive for users matching the cash-free banking profile. This type of user would have annual costs of 110 francs at Credit Suisse, 146 francs at UBS, 162 francs at the Zürcher Kantonalbank, and 166 francs at Raiffeisen. Even PostFinance has relatively high costs compared to its Yuh joint venture, at 155 francs per year with the PostFinance Smart package.

1: From 2022, Yuh will have account fees for some user profiles. 2: The CHF 10 Neon card issuing fee is often waived as part of promotions (when you apply for Neon via moneyland.ch, for example). Neon has exceptionally favorable exchange rates. 3: The Zak costs shown apply to the Zak Maestro debit card, the Zak prepaid card, and (from Q3 2021) the Zak Visa Debit card. 2: Raiffeisen fees vary between individual Raiffeisen banks.

Interestingly, some conventional banks have offers for teenagers and students which are even more affordable than Yuh. Examples include the youth account from the Banque cantonale de Fribourg and Credit Suisse Viva Young, which also pay out relatively high interest.

Yuh investment services compared

Yuh users who want to invest can choose from 100 popular stocks (like Apple, Nike, Tesla) and ETFs, 13 cryptocurrencies, and so-called trending themes. You pay a fee equal to 0.5% of the transaction (1-franc minimum fee) every time you buy or sell stocks. A 1% fee applies every time you buy or sell crypto currencies. There are no custodial fees.

For small investments, the brokerage fees charged by Yuh are cheap compared to full-fledged Swiss online trading platforms and conventional Swiss banks. Even Swissquote and PostFinance charge higher brokerage fees for small transactions than Yuh does. For large trades the exact opposite applies, with Yuh being more expensive than Swissquote or PostFinance.

Example: Buying 10,000 francs worth of shares in a Swiss stock costs 18 to 20 francs with Cornèrtrader, 30.85 francs with Swissquote, 35 francs with PostFinance, and 50 francs with Yuh.

On the flip side, Yuh is often the cheapest option for smaller investments of several hundred to several thousand francs. Example: Buying 500 francs worth of shares in a Swiss stock costs just 2.50 francs with Yuh, compared to 9.85 francs with Swissquote and 15 francs with PostFinance.

“The biggest disadvantage of Yuh in terms of trading is the limited number of investment vehicles available,” observes Benjamin Manz. “The trading options are currently too limited for serious traders, which also means that there is little risk of Yuh cannibalizing the customer base of its co-parent Swissquote.”

Impact on the Swiss consumer banking market

The launch of a low-cost neobank by Swiss retail banking heavyweights Swissquote and PostFinance is, from the perspective of consumers and moneyland.ch, a welcome move, says Manz. The move by a major Swiss bank to follow Credit Suisse in launching a neobank will drive further digitization in the Swiss retail banking space.

The combination of private account and debit card services with a brokerage account in one neobank is a first for the Swiss banking landscape. But that may not be enough to make Yuh a self-propelling success. In terms of neobanks, there are other offers in Switzerland which are also very affordable. Startups like Neon and Yapeal may also be more agile in their ability to adapt to market changes.

More on this topic
Compare Swiss private accounts and debit cards now
Compare Swiss online trading platforms now
Guide to using neobanks in Switzerland