Comparison of business accounts: Amnis, ZKB, UBS, Raiffeisen, PostFinance, Migros, Revolut, Wise

The choice of business account plays an important role for founders in Switzerland.

Regardless of the legal form chosen, there is no obligation to keep a separate business account, but we strongly recommend that every founder does so. Firstly, there are now free business accounts that do not charge any fees (see Amnis or Revolut Business in particular) and secondly, it makes it much easier to separate private and business expenses.

First of all, we can fully recommend Amnis if you want a free bank account with CHF IBAN. It offers all the functions you need and the opening process takes a maximum of one week and is completely digital.

Revolut Business on the other hand also offers everything your heart desires (apart from a CHF IBAN) and you can open an account within a few minutes.

In this article, we compare the conditions and services of traditional banks (ZKB, UBS, Raiffeisen, PostFinance, Migros) with the modern offerings of neobanks (Revolut, Wise and Amnis Treasury). We consider criteria such as account management costs, multi-currency accounts, local account connections and exchange rates.

Amnis Treasury

• Account typeNeobank
• Company typeSMEs, start-ups, self-employed, international companies
• Currency20+ currencies
• Requirements: Companies worldwide
• Interest rateInterest cashback on credit balances, amount depending on currency (e.g. 1.33% on EUR and 1.78% on USD)
• Debit interest rate and loansNone
• WithdrawalsNo restrictions
• Credit cards: Free virtual cards, physical cards on request
• Capital contributionNot available
• Account management costsDepending on the plan (free of charge up to CHF 199/month)
• Payment transaction costsNo to low costs, depending on the currency
• Costs for purchasesDebit card free of charge, no foreign currency fees
• Cash withdrawal costsFree of charge
• Special servicesMulti-currency management, expense management, budget planning, currency exchange self-service
• SoftwareWeb platform, mobile app
• Exchange rate: Average exchange rate with 0.1-0.4% margin
• Local bank accountsYes (CHF, EUR, USD, GBP, CAD)

We use Amnis ourselves on a daily basis for our transactions and are completely satisfied. Read our detaileddetailed review here and get a bonus of 200 CHF with our code "b94e39" after your first currency exchange ! The Amnis account is 100% free.

Revolut Business

• Account typeNeobank
• Company typeSMEs, Startups, Self-employed
• Currency30+ currencies
• Requirements: Companies worldwide
• Interest rate0% p.a.
• Debit interest rate and loansNone
• Withdrawals: No withdrawal restrictions
• Credit cards: Free virtual cards, physical cards depending on the plan
• Capital contributionNot available
• Account management costsDepending on the plan (free of charge up to CHF 79/month)
• Payment transaction costsFree of charge up to a limit, fees thereafter
• Costs for purchasesFree payments in Switzerland, no foreign currency fee
• Cash withdrawal costsFree of charge up to a limit, fees thereafter
• Special servicesMulti-currency management, management of employee expenses, API
• SoftwareWeb platform, mobile app
• Exchange rateInterbank rate on weekdays up to CHF 1,000; 0.5-2% surcharge on weekends
• Local bank accountsYes (EUR, GBP)

UBS key4 business account

• Account typeTraditional bank
• Company typeSMEs, Startups
• Currency: CHF, USD, EUR
• RequirementsSwiss SMEs and start-ups
• Interest rate0% p.a.
• Debit interest rate and loansVariable depending on the market situation
• WithdrawalsNo restrictions
• Credit cardsUBS Business Prepaid Card (CHF 50/year), Business Card (CHF 70/year)
• Capital contributionFree of charge when opening a UBS business account, otherwise CHF 1'000, thereafter 0.05%, min. CHF 200
• Account management costsCHF 80/year (1st year free of charge)
• Payment transaction costsFree of charge up to 500 transactions/month, thereafter CHF 0.30
• Costs for purchasesDebit Mastercard CHF 50/year, foreign currency fees 2%, min. CHF 1.00
• Cash withdrawal costsFree of charge at UBS ATMs, CHF 2 in Switzerland, CHF 5 abroad
• Special servicesSME insurance, company formation consulting

Raiffeisen business account

• Account typeTraditional bank
• Company typeSMEs, start-ups, self-employed, large companies
• Currency: CHF, USD, EUR
• RequirementsCorporate clients
• Interest rate0% p.a.
• Debit interest rate and loans10% p.a.
• WithdrawalsNo restrictions
• Credit cardsMastercard Business Silver (CHF 90/year), Gold (CHF 160/year)
• Capital contributionCHF 250
• Account management costsCHF 60/year
• Payment transaction costsCHF 0.15 up to 60 transactions/quarter, thereafter CHF 0.12
• Costs for purchasesDebit Mastercard CHF 50/year, foreign currency fee 1.25%, min. CHF 1.50
• Cash withdrawal costsFree of charge at Raiffeisen ATMs, CHF 2 in Switzerland, CHF 4.50 abroad
• Special servicesSuccession planning

PostFinance business account

• Account typeTraditional bank
• Company typeSMEs, start-ups, self-employed, large companies
• Currency: CHF, USD, EUR
• RequirementsSwiss corporate clients
• Interest rate0% p.a.
• Debit interest rate and loansOverdraft interest rate 9.5%
• WithdrawalsNo restrictions
• Credit cardsVisa Business Card (CHF 80/year)
• Capital contributionCHF 145 on foundation, thereafter 0.05%, min. CHF 250
• Account management costsCHF 60/year
• Payment transaction costsSEPA free of charge, non-SEPA CHF 2
• Costs for purchasesPostFinance Card CHF 30, foreign currency fee 1.5%
• Cash withdrawal costsFree of charge at PostFinance ATMs, CHF 2 in Switzerland, CHF 5 abroad
• Special services: Company formation consulting

Migros Bank business account

• Account typeTraditional bank
• Company typeSMEs, start-ups, self-employed, associations
• Currency: CHF, USD, EUR
• RequirementsSwiss corporate clients
• Interest rate0% p.a.
• Debit interest rate and loansOverdraft facility 8%, overdraft facility on request
• WithdrawalsNo restrictions
• Credit cardsBusiness Card Silver (CHF 100/year), Gold (CHF 170/year)
• Capital payment0.05%, min. CHF 300
• Account management costsCHF 36/year
• Payment transaction costsSEPA free of charge, non-SEPA CHF 5
• Costs for purchasesVisa Debit free of charge, foreign currency fee CHF 1.50 per purchase
• Cash withdrawal costsFree of charge at Migros ATMs, CHF 2 in Switzerland, CHF 5 abroad

Wise Business

• Account typeNeobank
• Company typeSMEs, Startups, Self-employed
• Currency50+ currencies
• Requirements: Companies worldwide
• Interest rate0% p.a.
• Debit interest rate and loansNone
• WithdrawalsNo restrictions
• Credit cards: Free virtual cards, physical cards on request
• Capital contributionNot available
• Account management costsOne-off opening fee of CHF 55
• Payment transaction costsLow transaction costs, depending on the currency
• Costs for purchasesFree payments in CHF, fees for foreign currencies
• Cash withdrawal costsChargeable, depending on the amount
• Special servicesMulti-currency management, API
• SoftwareWeb platform, mobile app
• Exchange rateReal average exchange rate, from 0.39% premium
• Local bank accountsYes (EUR, USD, GBP, and 10 other currencies)

Conclusion

There is no perfect account for every company. However, since the fees and the associated range of services are the most important factors when setting up a company, you should consider the free bank account from Amnis free bank account. Here you get a fully-fledged multi-currency account with a Swiss IBAN and Swiss deposit protection (FINMA certified) for free! We use it ourselves and consider it the best business account in Switzerland, suitable for any business. Check out our separate post on Amnis, sign up via our link and receive after your first currency exchange with Amnis 200 CHF bonus on your account!