Practical Information

Banking Services

In general banks are open from Monday to Friday from 08:30 to 16:30, and are closed at weekends and on public holidays.

E-banking via computer, telephone or mobile phone allows you to carry out banking and stock market transactions. Some banks also provide a machine called the Multimat. This scans your household bill and deducts the amount from your account. With some banks, e-banking is free, though for some there is a transaction fee.

The Swiss do not generally like using checks and arrange to pay their bills in another way, such as via direct debit from their bank account or online electronic bill paying.

Most Swiss banks will issue a debit or credit card with your account that you can use to make purchases, as well as withdrawals at ATMs around the world. Swiss banks will usually require that you make a security deposit that is 1 to 2 times your monthly credit limit depending on the type of account you have. The security deposit itself is held in a separate account and invested.

If you're in Switzerland, it is possible to walk into your bank and make a direct cash withdrawal from your account, leaving no record of the access, an attractive aspect to those who prefer transactions to remain highly confidential.

Buying travellers' checks is one way of using the money from your Swiss account and maintaining your secrecy. They're easy to use and widely accepted, but you will have to pay a 1 percent commission on the amount of the check.