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Understand what is required to open a bank account in Switzerland...
Opening a bank account in Switzerland is in theory accessible to all, but banks do reserve the right to refuse customers. Recent clamp-downs on money laundering and other financial crimes have made it more difficult, especially for non-residents, to open bank accounts.
If you are working in Switzerland and wish to open a bank account in order to pay your salary into it and have a credit or debit card you will need the following papers:
- Passport or identity card
- Recent utility bill (electricity)
- Residence permit
- A copy of your work contract
- Cross border workers, a copy of your permis frontalier/Grenzgaengerbewilligung (cross border work permit)
It is not necessary to make an appointment to open a current account. Opening an account can be done in a day and methods of making payments (cash cards) will usually arrive within a week to ten days of the account being opened.
Cheque books will take longer to arrive as banks usually request at least two pay slips before issuing a cheque book.
Most banks do not fix a minimum amount to be deposited if it is for a simple current or savings account. This can be different for banks offering Private Banking services.
In general banks are open from Monday to Friday from 08:30 to 16:30, and are closed at weekends and on public holidays.