Opening a non-resident account in Switzerland

Given the international reputation of Swiss banks, it has always been popular to have a Swiss account. However, with the increasing administrative burdens placed upon them by anti-terrorist legislation many Swiss banks have pulled out of this market, notably SwissPost which was one of the most popular banks with expats but which now does not offer accounts outside Switzerland (despite numerous websites selling you information that still recommends them).

The largest banks, Credit Swiss and UBS do still offer accounts outside Switzerland but you'll find that there is a charge of around SF 75 ($70/£35) per year if you are not Swiss resident and have a low balance (under SF 25,000 or so). This applies to all their accounts.

However, there is a much more attractive option that has recently become available. This is SwissQuote which offers you a multicurrency account (SF, US$, EUR) and you can get a secured credit card to go along with the account.

In terms of terminology a Swiss 'Private Account' is what is called a current or checking account elsewhere. A 'Numbered Account' is an account where only a few bank officials know the identity of the account holder (you still need to prove your identity to open one: there are no true numbered accounts in Switzerland).

That's just saved you between $5 and $250 which is about the going rate to buy the relevant information as above.

Don't forget though that the first question you should ask yourself is: why do I need a Swiss bank account? You'll find that Swiss banks aren't really as up to date with banking as their UK counterparts are and they're usually pretty expensive for what they offer.