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International corporate law
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Opening an account abroad Opening a bank account in Switzerland

Mykola Sirenko

Lawyer

E-mail

sirenko@prikhodko.com.ua

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Expert in corporate and international corporate law. Has extensive experience in supporting the acquisition of financial licenses in Ukraine, as well as business incorporation in the EU, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the UAE, and key Asian jurisdictions.

Opening a bank account in Switzerland

Switzerland is still associated with financial privacy, although that association has been outdated for at least a decade. Automatic exchange of tax information has been operating since 2017, and the country has long been selling not secrecy but stability: a strong currency, reliable institutions and high-quality wealth management. Let us examine what a non-resident can realistically expect and why preparation matters more here than the choice of bank.

Get advice on an account in Switzerland

How can a non-resident open an account in Switzerland?

There are no formal prohibitions: Swiss banks serve clients from abroad. However, non-resident status itself triggers enhanced due diligence, and the central issue becomes the origin of the capital. The bank assesses not the amount itself, but the client’s ability to explain and document where it came from.

A realistic timeframe is from four to twelve weeks. What shortens this period is not persistence, but submitting a complete file from the outset.

an international passport and proof of residential address;
a documented history of the origin of capital: sale of a business or asset, dividends, inheritance, savings from employment income;
tax returns or certificates for the previous two to three years;
tax residence self-certification under the CRS standard;
a description of planned transactions, counterparties and sources of future incoming funds.

Can an account be opened online in Switzerland?

Partially. Digital banks and brokerage platforms accept non-residents using remote identification — application, document upload and video verification. This is the most accessible entry point into the Swiss financial system, although the range of services is narrower.

Private banks usually insist on at least one in-person meeting: for them, opening an account is the beginning of a relationship rather than a transaction. Cantonal banks and some retail neobanks mainly serve Swiss residents, so non-residents should generally not rely on them.

Which bank is best for opening an account in Switzerland?

The market is segmented by capital size, and this is what determines which doors are open.

Segment and banks	Approximate entry threshold	Suitable for
Swissquote, Dukascopy, Alpian, Yuh	From zero to several thousand Swiss francs	Multi-currency account, investments, liquidity holding
UBS, PostFinance, cantonal banks (ZKB, BCV)	From tens of thousands of Swiss francs, selectively for non-residents	Day-to-day banking, lending, mortgages
Julius Baer, Pictet, Lombard Odier, Vontobel	Generally from CHF 500,000 and above	Wealth management, structuring, succession planning

The thresholds are indicative: for clients from higher-risk countries, the actual entry level may be higher than the publicly stated one. Also note that Credit Suisse no longer exists as a separate bank — its structures have been fully absorbed by UBS.

Account in Switzerland for an individual

A private account is opened mainly for currency diversification and capital preservation, and less often for everyday payments. The following should be considered:

a non-resident surcharge — a separate monthly fee that residents do not pay;
deposit protection applies up to CHF 100,000 per client with one bank;
interest income is subject to 35% withholding tax, which may be partially refunded under an applicable double taxation convention;
account information is reported to the client’s country of tax residence under CRS;
the absence of any connection with Switzerland increases the deposit requirements.

For clients who require not only transactional banking but also management of substantial capital, a suitable premium or private banking account can be selected separately.

It will also be useful: Company Registration in Switzerland

Select a Swiss bank

Account in Switzerland for a business or company

A corporate account is needed even before the company itself formally comes into existence: the capital of an AG or GmbH is deposited into a special blocked capital account, and only the bank’s confirmation allows the registration to be completed. The minimum capital is CHF 20,000 for a GmbH and CHF 100,000 for an AG, with at least half of the latter paid up. An additional condition that is often overlooked is that at least one person with signing authority must reside in Switzerland.

A foreign company without a local presence faces the strictest review. The bank analyses:

whether there is genuine operating activity rather than mere registration;
the residence of the director and persons with signing authority;
the geography of counterparties and settlement currencies;
the ownership structure down to the ultimate beneficial owner, with documents for each level;
the relationship between expected turnover and the company’s capital and resources.

Foreign currency account in Switzerland

Multi-currency functionality is one of the strengths of Swiss banks: Swiss francs, euros, US dollars and pounds sterling are usually available under one banking relationship number, with transparent currency conversion. For clients holding capital in several currencies, this is the main practical advantage over banks in neighbouring jurisdictions.

At the same time, the Swiss franc can be an expensive currency to hold. Its historically strong exchange rate means that yields in francs are lower, while large balances may be subject to custody or balance fees. The currency structure of the account should be planned around future expenses rather than the desire to “hold funds in the safest currency”.

Experience of Prikhodko & Partners in supporting account opening in Switzerland

A Swiss refusal almost never sounds like a refusal. The application simply stops moving: the bank does not request documents, does not provide timeframes and gradually stops responding. The reason is usually the same — compliance did not see a coherent story behind the client’s capital.

The Prikhodko & Partners practice in international corporate law is focused on ensuring that this story is built before the application is submitted. Our lawyers develop a documented chain explaining the source of funds, assess the client profile against Swiss compliance criteria, select an institution in the appropriate segment and support correspondence with the bank, including additional requests.

A separate workstream concerns corporate projects: registration of an AG or GmbH in Switzerland, a capital contribution account, coordination with the notary and the register. Here the sequence of steps is strict, and an error at the beginning can delay the company launch by months.

Do you need to open a personal, corporate or private banking account in Switzerland? The lawyers at Prikhodko & Partners will help assess your financial profile, select a bank in the appropriate segment, build a documented history of the origin of capital, prepare POF/SOW and support communication with the Swiss bank.

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1 question

Are you currently in Ukraine?

Yes

2 question

Are you currently in Switzerland?

Yes

3 question

Do you need advice on opening an account for an individual?

Yes

4 question

Do you need advice on opening an account for a company?

Yes

Frequently asked questions for the topic:

Does Swiss banking secrecy still apply to foreign clients today?

With regard to the tax authorities in your country of tax residence — effectively, no. Switzerland participates in the automatic exchange of information, so account data is reported annually. Banking secrecy still applies in relation to third parties, but not to the state where you are tax resident.

How long does it take to review a non-resident application?

From four to twelve weeks, depending on the bank segment and the complexity of the profile. The source of wealth review usually takes the longest, especially where the capital was accumulated from several different sources over a long period.

Can an account be opened under a power of attorney without travelling to the country?

The possibilities are limited. Remote identification is mainly available through digital institutions, while private banks usually insist on a personal meeting with the beneficial owner. A power of attorney can address the signing of documents, but it does not replace identification of the client themselves.

Successful cases on the topic: