Swiss Postal Account

Swiss Postal account is opened with the banking arm of the Swiss postal service, a company founded in 1849 and fully owned by the Swiss government. With over 40,000 employees and more than 3000 offices across Switzerland, it has been offering financial services since 1906 and has more than 2 millions client accounts.

Swiss Post manages most of the Swiss domestic payment traffic. In Switzerland people pay most of their bills (such as rent, electricity, phone, etc...) using Swiss Post. Total of the balance sheet exceeds 30 billion Swiss francs.

In terms of security, Swiss Post is probably the most secure banking institution in Switzerland for several reasons such as its full ownership by the Swiss federal government and the fact that the bulk of their operations are to manage current accounts. No commercial loans, no risky investments.

Advantages

This Swiss bank account offers a powerful internet banking access, an international debit card enabling you to withdraw cash at ATMs anywhere in the world, no minimum deposits, a total safety of your funds (the bank's main shareholder is none other than the Swiss Confederation) and of course, Swiss bank secrecy. This is a great solution if you need a powerful current account and it is also an excellent entry-level Swiss bank account.

   1. Powerful internet banking access (in English, French,

       German and Italian)

   2. International debit card to withdraw funds at more than

      420,000 ATMs worldwide

   3. No minimum balance requirements

   4. Multiple currencies accounts available

   5. Offices everywhere in Switzerland

   6. Total security of your deposits

   7. Swiss bank secrecy

The set-up fee for this account is CHF 799 (USD 590 approx. currency converter). This amount is payable one time only and is fully refundable if we are unable to open your account.

You can pay us in any currency (Dollar, Euro, British Pound) and your account can be in Swiss francs.

Special Features of the Account

Minimum Balance : No minimum balance required.

Opening by mail : By mail or in person. When opening by mail we need a valid passport with an apostille as well as the usual documents about the economic origin of the funds. In person no apostille is necessary.

Internet banking : Excellent internet banking system in English, French, German and Italian. The system enables you to view your account statements online and to transfer money to any bank account in the world 24 hours a day. It uses 2 passwords and a scratch list with 128 bits encryption for optimal security. Such an account is used to receive payment from our clients and to pay our international suppliers.

Mail retaining : No mail retaining is available. If you do not want to receive your mail home, our advice is to have the mail sent to relatives abroad.

Credit cards : You can get an international debit card that enables you to withdraw cash at ATMs worldwide. The card works at more than 420,000 ATMs all over the world (using the Plus network), giving you instant access to your funds wherever you are.

The card has no annual maintenance costs. Each withdrawal costs a flat fee of CHF 3 and the daily withdrawal limit is CHF 1,000. A security deposit of CHF 2,000 is necessary to get this card. This security will be blocked on a special account for the time you keep the card.

You need to have a Swiss Franc account in order to get this card. If you want your account in another currency, we can open you a sub account in Swiss franc just for the card (we won't charge you extra). For example, you would have your main account in US dollars and a sub account in Swiss franc to get the debit card. You can then transfer money between accounts using the internet banking facility. Please specify the main currency only on your application and if you order a card we will automatically open the Swiss franc sub-account.

Investments : You have the choice between 5 investment funds in Swiss francs, each with a different risk profile. These investments are not available for people in the US and are only available with Swiss francs accounts. If needed, we can set up one account in a foreign currency and one account in Swiss francs at no extra cost.

Expenses : All accounts are free of maintenance charges except for Swiss francs accounts not managed through the internet, which cost CHF 36 - a year.

International bank transfers ordered via internet costs CHF 5 - per transfer. Domestic transfers (to another Swiss bank account) are free of charge.

Cashing international cheques cost CHF 5. Please note that the maximum amount per cheque or batch of cheques is CHF 25,000 or the equivalent in another currency

Account officer language : - French, English, German, Italian

Available currencies : Australian Dollar, British pound, Canadian Dollar, Danish Krone, Euro, Norwegian Krone, Swedish Krone, Swiss Franc, US Dollar, Yen.

Restricted countries : If you live in one of the following countries you cannot open this account: Colombia, Cook Islands, Dominica, Egypt, Grenada, Guatemala, Indonesia, Marshall Islands, Myanmar, Nauru, Nigeria, Niue, Russia, St. Vincent, The Philippines, Ukraine.

Restricted citizenships : If you are a citizen of one of the following countries you cannot open this account: Albania, Colombia, Nigeria.