Open a Corporate Bank Account and a Personal Bank Account in Switzerland Remotely

WARNING: The bank does not accept companies with individual and legal entity nominee service.

A Swiss bank account is synonymous with privacy and quality banking services. We can help you get a personal and corporate bank account, and the best part is you can do it remotely! But, there are some things to know.

Let us compile the most frequently asked questions here and answer them in detail, so you can understand what you can get with a Swiss corporate and personal bank account.

Here is question number one regarding the remote opening of a foreign bank account in Switzerland. 

Why do you offer the opportunity to open a bank account remotely in Switzerland with this bank?

The answer is very simple. This is the only bank in Switzerland where you can open a non-resident account remotely. Naturally, it is possible to open accounts remotely with larger banks in Switzerland if you have certain connections, but for a number of reasons, we do not recommend large banks in Switzerland to most clients.

This bank is a member of the Swiss Stock Exchange and is controlled by FINMA (Federal Financial Market Authority). This private Swiss bank is a member of the Swiss Bankers Association.

The bank specializes in providing services to non-resident customers. With offices in Geneva, Wollerau, and Lugano only, the bank manages to serve clients in eighty countries. The bank manages to do this with the help of a fairly wide network of agents with whom the bank maintains proactive communication.

Note: The bank opens accounts remotely to almost all non-residents except for the citizens of the following countries, although this list is subject to change:

• USA and Japan;
• Iraq, Myanmar, Sudan, Afghanistan, DPRK, Iran, Syria, and Yemen.

Non-residents from the above-mentioned countries should contact the bank before completing the forms. It is highly probable that they will be refused account opening due to obstacles in the field of tax information disclosure (for the first group of countries) and inclusion in sanctions lists (for the second group of countries).

You can open any of the following accounts of your choice with the bank:

• Current account;
• A trading account that gives access to the online trading platforms. In order to enjoy all of its advantages, you should first open a current account;
• Joint account;
• Operational account.

The bank in Geneva was established in 1990, and it is the only bank in Switzerland that is allowed to open accounts in Switzerland remotely (not via its branches in other countries). The bank has one of the best online banking systems as well.

Remote opening of a bank account in Switzerland with bureaucratic delays reduced to a bare minimum (there are none at all!), and with a minimum amount of papers required, is possible thanks to web conferences with potential bank clients.

We have been working with the bank for over seven years, and the process of opening 99% of accounts is seamless. There are no exceptions. An offshore bank account in Switzerland can be opened remotely by citizens of many countries.

In addition to all other advantages of the simplified procedure for opening a bank account, there are two more benefits:

Your account will be a multi-currency one, including not only the major eight currencies, but also the most exotic ones. Naturally, you will be able to transfer and convert currencies from your account in just a few seconds.

The second benefit is the bank’s gift to you, an anonymous debit card from Switzerland in one of three currencies of your choice, CHF/USD/EUR. You will need to inform the bank about your choice when opening your account. Remember about this gift when you open your account.

What are the possible full costs of opening a bank account in Switzerland remotely?

It is a very good question, as there are hidden costs, just like in any offshore bank. And if you do not ask about these costs, no one will tell you about them.

When opening a personal account, if you do not abuse postal correspondence with the bank, no additional costs should arise when working with the bank. The minimum can not be avoided, and you should consult us to learn the latest amount. This deposit does not fall under the blocking category, and the minimum account balance is equivalent to 1,000 CHF.

Thanks to the changes in the implementation of the new identification system that came into force in April 2019, we have excellent news for you. Now, non-residents wishing to open a personal bank account no longer need to obtain notarized documents, such as their passport and proof of residence. In addition, these documents will no longer need to be sent by courier to Switzerland. This is a significant saving, from 100 to 200 EUR, because there is no need to pay for the services of the notary, translator, and courier.

Client verification will now take place in the following order:

1. Please scan your passport for international travel and any proof of residence issued by your municipality.
2. A password for temporary access to your personal profile will be sent to your email address.
3. Please follow the link sent by the bank to your personal profile and upload the documents there.
4. In your profile, you will need to complete the verification as instructed and participate in a short interview (5 to 10 minutes) with the bank in English.
5. Then, you will get a digital signature (this signature is required to sign the agreement with the bank remotely).
6. Having checked your documents with the Compliance Department, the bank will send you the temporary data with the IBAN number for the first deposit. You will have 30 days to make the payment.
7. Having received the money, the bank will make its final decision on opening your account.

However, in the case of the remote opening of a corporate bank account, additional costs may arise. If you comply with the bank’s minimum deposit amount for corporate accounts (again, consult us), everything is in order, and there will be no additional costs associated with opening an account. But if you want to make half of the initial deposit, you will have to pay CHF 150 directly to the bank for opening a corporate account. Also, you should consider that the bank will have to send your documents and the original copy of the signed contract by courier.

Rates for remittances for a private account in Switzerland

 Transaction fees in Swiss Francs equivalent (CHF) do not include the fees of the participating banks.

Note: payment order can be transmitted remotely via one of the channels agreed with the bank, i.e. by phone, e-mail, etc.

Fees for sending the bank statements, in CHF

Fees for cash transactions

Fees for the payment bank cards maintenance in Switzerland

• Credit cards: Visa, MasterCard and American Express

• Debit cards: Swiss Bankers, Visa or MasterCard

Operations with securities

Note: Transaction costs are not included in the rate and are charged separately. The minimum fee per market order is 25 CHF/EUR/USD. Value of the federal stamp duty is 0.15%.

Storage fees

Securities	0.24% per year (no less than CHF 60)
Precious metals	0.45% per year (no less than CHF 60)

What are the terms of remote bank account opening in Switzerland?

Everything depends on you almost entirely. You order the service of remote opening of a personal or corporate bank account in Switzerland. We issue an electronic invoice that can be paid in a number of ways. If you pay by bank transfer and you need your account urgently, we will trust the copy of your payment receipt. The electronic invoice that we issue can also be paid by card.

After the payment or before it (or at the same time), you send us all the necessary documents for filling in the forms.

In case of remote opening of a personal bank account in Switzerland, all we need to do is fill in the form as follows:

1. A scanned copy of your passport suitable for international travel;
2. A scanned copy of the proof of your residence issued by a municipal authority.

This is all we need to fill in your form, except for your email address and phone number.

In case of each individual client, the bank form is generated individually and already includes your client number.

Once the documents have been uploaded to your personal profile on the bank’s webpage, you must make the first deposit to the temporary bank details. It is only after the bank receives your first deposit that it will start reviewing your documents. If your account is approved, the money will be transferred to your new account. If your application is rejected, the money will be returned to the account from which it was received by the bank.

Thus, the term of account opening does not exceed 10 days.

In case of remote opening of a corporate bank account in Switzerland, all we need to do is fill in the form as follows:

1. A scanned copy of your passport suitable for international travel;
2. A scanned copy of the proof of your residence issued by a municipal authority.
3. Scanned copies of all corporate documents of your company, no older than one year, that prove the company has been incorporated and is in an active and operational condition.

It takes about a week to open an account. But you will get your Digipass after your account gets activated.

For a full-fledged and secure use of the Internet banking services, the bank offers you a free Digipass, which is a physical device or a virtual service (application, SMS). If the device is lost, you will have to pay 100 CHF for a new Digipass. The Internet banking service is already included in the account maintenance fee.

A 6-digit code is built into the Digipass. The code is generated when you press the button. It becomes your individual client password. Before entering the code, the client needs to type their login and personal code on the bank’s website.

It is important to note that certain countries do not allow the device to enter their territory since it is necessary to obtain a certificate for these encoders.

The best solution in this situation can be a virtual Digipass, which is a special application for your cell phone that generates access codes to the Internet banking system. This solution is absolutely acceptable from the point of view of the client’s security and ensures absolute safety of their data. Even if the phone is lost, it is not possible to use the service by an unauthorized person who is not the account holder. The bank also offers SMS-Digipasses. When a bank client enters their login and password that is only known to them, they receive an SMS with the code to their phone.

Any situation requires a competent analysis and search for a well-thought-out solution. In any case, you can always use the excellent and seamlessly operating bank’s support.

Full costs include your passport legalization + sending of your documents to Switzerland by courier. The cost of opening the account starts from 2 999 EUR for a personal account, and from 3 999 EUR for a corporate account.

You can come to Switzerland in person if you wish. Please specify this in advance, and we will arrange a meeting with a representative of the bank for you. The cost of opening a corporate account in Switzerland with your personal visit will be from 3 999 EUR and a personal account is from 2 999 EUR.

Does this bank have representative offices outside Switzerland?

No, it does not. The bank does not need such representative offices thanks to a well-thought-out and officially approved procedure for the remote opening of bank accounts.

A bank account in Switzerland may be opened for any tax reporting company, such as those in Singapore and Hong Kong, and the well-known English and Scottish partnerships.

Should you need additional offshore bank accounts other than the Swiss bank accounts, or if you are not fully confident of your choice, it makes sense to contact us for advice to in**@***********rt.com.

Having opened an account with the Swiss bank, you can get several free MasterCard cards without a cardholder. The bank will have to know who is going to use the card. If you intend to give out these cards to specific persons and give these persons the opportunity to call the bank, you will need to provide the passport details of the cardholders. Otherwise, your employees or family who use the cards will not be able to call the bank, but they will be able to check the card balance online.  You can give these cards to your employees or family.

The card is free for holders of a corporate or personal bank account in Switzerland. The cost of depositing money into the card: 1% of the amount + 8 francs (if you deposit money via e-banking) or 1% + 25 francs (if you call or email the bank).

You will not be able to make online purchases with this card since it is anonymous. Card activation: 45 francs. The card can be issued in US dollars, euros, and Swiss francs. We recommend choosing cards in euros.

Cash withdrawals from an anonymous card from ATMs:

EUR 4 + the local currency conversion
USD 5 + the local currency conversion
CHF 5 + the local currency conversion

Payments in the outlets made with an anonymous card (please be careful when matching the data with your client cards of certain stores):

EUR 1
USD 1.50
CHF 1.50

A maximum of 3 cards can be issued to one account with a Swiss bank (1 beneficiary).

Annual maximum per card: 100,000 euros, US dollars, or Swiss francs. Annual maximum per beneficiary: 300,000 (the bank cannot issue 3 cards for one person at once, but as soon as one card expires, the bank can send another card immediately). Should you need 3 cards at once, you will have to provide passport details of your employees or family to whom you would like to give out the cards.

The monthly maximum per beneficiary per card is 30,000. That is why it is better to choose euro.  Monthly limit per 1 card: 30,000  (3 times 10). The card cannot have more than 10,000. If you need 30,000 per month, you will have to deposit 10,000, spend it, deposit another 10,000, and so on.

Anonymous Swiss cards are available in the following currencies: EUR, USD, CHF. The minimum amount that can be deposited into the card is EUR / USD / CHF 100.

If you have already decided to open a foreign bank account, or if you have any questions left, please feel free to email us at in**@***********rt.com. We will answer your questions and assist you at all stages of opening a bank account with a foreign bank.