Banking

Steps

1. Get your residence permit and an address in Switzerland: most banks ask for them to open a current account in Swiss francs (conditions specific to each bank).
2. Compare banks (cantonal banks, big banks, online banks, PostFinance): account maintenance fees, debit card, exchange and euro transfer fees.
3. Present your passport or identity card, your residence permit and your employment contract; the bank checks the origin of your funds.
4. Keep your euro account in your country of origin if you continue to pay bills there, but check the exchange fees for your salary in francs.
5. For a property purchase, have several banks calculate your borrowing capacity and ask your pension fund how much you can withdraw for your home.

Documents

• Passport or identity card, residence permit (B, C or L permit) or cross-border permit (G).
• Proof of address and employment contract.
• For a mortgage: payslips, tax return, statement from your pension fund (2nd pillar) and your 3rd pillar, preliminary contract or draft deed.

Costs and timelines

• Current account: fees not fixed, set by each bank.
• Euro transfers to the EU: possible via SEPA, but the fees and exchange rate depend on your Swiss bank.
• Withdrawal from the 2nd pillar for your home: possible up to 3 years before the entitlement to old-age benefits arises, for a home you occupy yourself; up to age 50, your entire vested benefits (avoir de libre passage); after age 50, at most the balance you had at 50 or half of your current balance. This withdrawal reduces your future pension benefits, and the spouse's written consent is required if you are married.
• Mortgage, rule in force (ASB guidelines recognised by FINMA as the minimum standard, version in force since 01/01/2025):
  • at least 10% own funds on the lending value (valeur de nantissement) of the property that do not come from the 2nd pillar (neither early withdrawal nor pledging); your 2nd pillar can therefore supplement the deposit, but not cover that 10%;
  • if the purchase price exceeds the lending value used by the bank, the difference must be paid entirely with own funds outside the 2nd pillar;
  • count as own funds: advances on inheritance (avancements d'hoirie) and gifts, loans assigned to the bank or subordinated, pledging of assets, securities, pillar 3a or the surrender value of an insurance policy; for a home you occupy, a loan from close family, if the lender undertakes in writing to be repaid only with the bank's consent;
  • amortisation: the debt must come down to two thirds of the lending value within 15 years at most, in a linear way, starting 12 months after the payout at the latest (indirect amortisation possible through pillar 3a or a life insurance policy);
  • these minimums apply to new loans and increases; the stricter 2020 measure for investment properties was repealed on 01/01/2025.
• Affordability (notional rate, share of income): not set by these guidelines or by law: each bank sets its own rule (notional rate and maximum share of income). The ASB guidelines on property-secured lending only require it to calculate your financial capacity at a long-term notional mortgage rate and to define a maximum costs-to-income ratio. Ask your bank before looking for a property.
• Reference rate for rents: 1.25% in 2026; it reflects the banks' average mortgage rate.

Common pitfalls

• Assuming that EU rules protect your Swiss account: no guaranteed basic account, no European fee cap.
• Forgetting the exchange rate: a salary in francs and expenses in euros lose you money at each conversion; compare rates.
• Relying only on the 2nd pillar for the deposit: the minimum 10% must come from elsewhere (savings, a pledged 3rd pillar, a gift…).
• Emptying your 2nd pillar for the deposit without measuring the drop in your future pension and the tax due on the withdrawal: it is taxed separately, at a reduced rate (for direct federal tax, one fifth of the ordinary scale: art. 38 LIFD), and your canton adds its own tax on capital benefits, which varies from one canton to another.
• Buying before being domiciled: without a domicile in Switzerland, an EU citizen is subject to the Lex Koller for a second home.
• Cross-border workers: your Swiss account is used to receive your salary; your accounts abroad often have to be declared to the tax authority of your country of residence (see the tax sheets of the country concerned).

What changes by country of origin

• EU and EFTA: no restriction on buying once domiciled in Switzerland; banking conditions identical to those of other residents.
• British citizens (Scots included): for purchases, only those with acquired rights (Switzerland–United Kingdom agreement of 2019) are treated like Europeans; the others must have the right to settle in Switzerland.
• Proposed tightening of the Lex Koller (not in force): on 15 April 2026, the Federal Council put out for consultation, until 15 July 2026, a preliminary draft that would make the purchase of a home by nationals of third States (outside the EU and EFTA) subject to authorisation. It has not been adopted: the rule in force remains the one described above.