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Do you live in Germany, Austria or perhaps even in neighbouring Alsace, but work in Switzerland? Then you are one of the approximately 75,000 cross-border commuters in German-speaking Switzerland who cross the border every day.
As you receive your salary in a currency other than the one you use for your expenses, you may have wondered which account is best for cross-border commuters like you, right?
You can find the answer to this question in this comparison of the best bank account for cross-border commuters in Switzerland.
In contrast to an account in your local currency, you have to pay attention to certain things with a cross-border commuter account so that no unnecessary costs are incurred.
In our experience, a Swiss account always bestif certain conditions are met. This means that you can pay expenses in Switzerland, such as health insurance premiums or a public transport season ticket, without incurring additional fees.
But bewareNot all banks allow cross-border commuters to open an account at all. We'll come to that in a moment with our favourites.
Firstly, however, there are some general factors to consider.
The most important point to consider when choosing a bank account for cross-border commuters is the fees. After all, your salary I CHF will have to be converted into EUR at some point so that you can shop and pay your rent in your home country.
As a general rule, you should Choice of bank account always make sure that the Account management and the Payment transactions only Low or no fees accrue.
Even more important for a cross-border commuter account, however, are the Fees for payment transactions abroad.
Because if you have an account in Switzerland and then have to pay your rent in Germany or Austria, for example, the currency has to be exchanged. Different exchange rates apply depending on the bank. You should therefore look out for particularly favourable conditions here.
Neon, for example, has integrated Wise for international transfers and thus offers extremely inexpensive transactions in a wide range of currencies.
Credit cards - or debit cards - are now part of everyday life. That's why you should also pay attention to whether you have an account in Switzerland. without Swiss residence at all Credit card can receive.
You will probably want to use your credit card to pay for goods and services in euros on a regular basis. You should therefore also make sure that the credit card is offered on favourable terms, especially with regard to the exchange rate.
By the way: Personal loans are unfortunately almost never available without Swiss residency. You are probably better off with a bank in your country of residence.
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In addition to the factors just mentioned that you should consider when choosing an account, there is another important point: Not all Swiss banks accept customers from abroad.
So that you don't have to struggle through the jungle of hundreds of banks, we have summarised the 3 best offers here.
The Yuh App is a NeoBank that is not only easy and inexpensive to use, but also offers accounts in various currencies.
To be able to open an account, you need a Residence in Germany, Italy, France, Liechtenstein or Austria (or Switzerland, of course). A good basis for Swiss cross-border commuters.
There are no account management or transaction fees, not even for transfers in euros within Europe. However, for every Currency exchange fee of 0.95% due.
With a Yuh account you also get a Free Mastercard debit card is made available. You can use this free of charge and it is directly linked to a multi-currency account, whereby the currency exchange fee mentioned above also applies.
Another good option for cross-border commuters is Revolute. This is another easy-to-use app that is also ideal if you need several accounts in different currencies.
While the fees are no longer quite as low as they were a few years ago, they are still characterised by their unbeatable exchange fees from. This means you can change money on weekdays without additional fees. This applies to the standard subscription up to a monthly allowance of EUR 1,000. Above the exemption limit, exchange fees of 0.5% apply.
However, it is important to know that Revolut is a prepaid card solution. This means that although you receive a free account and a free debit card, you have to pay for each transaction. Charging 1.5% pay. And also with the Cash withdrawals incur 2% fees an.
If you prefer a larger, more traditional bank, UBS also offers an account for cross-border commuters. However, you will have to be prepared for slightly higher fees.
As a cross-border commuter, you pay a fixed monthly fee here. Account management fee of CHF 10. In return you will receive a Free debit card and can be used in Switzerland and the EU. Free transfers in EUR to do so. Otherwise, however, the fees are unfortunately not very transparent. Here you will find a PDF in which the prices are summarised on 26 pages.
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We have compiled our top selection for you from all our tests and experience reports:
Overall, the Yuh app our clear favourite and currently offers what is probably the best bank account for cross-border commuters. You can open a CHF and a EUR account there free of charge and only pay an exchange fee.
If you want to reduce these even further, you can also use Yuh in combination with Revolut. Revolut alone is attractive due to the extremely low exchange fees, but is only partially suitable as a single account for cross-border commuters due to the other fees.
Our favourite is the Yuh app, possibly in combination with Revolut.
Yes, some German banks also offer an account in Swiss francs. One example is Volksbank Hochrhein.
That depends on the bank. Certain German banks, such as Consorsbank, allow account management even if you are not resident in Germany. It's best to ask your bank directly.
The situation here is similar to moving from Germany to Switzerland. For most banks, it is not the nationality that matters, but the place of residence. So if you are Swiss and live in Germany, you should be able to open a German account without any problems. If you live in Switzerland, you need to choose a bank that allows you to open an account even if you don't live in Germany.