🇨🇭 Switzerland · Business Banking
Opening business and personal bank accounts, remote options, required documents, and fees.
Quick answer
Switzerland is a global banking centre; accounts are straightforward for residents and available to non-residents with due diligence. FINMA supervises banks, and a residence permit plus proof of address ease account opening.
Swiss banks are supervised by FINMA. Opening an account is straightforward for residents; non-residents can open accounts subject to due-diligence checks.
- FINMA supervises banks and financial institutions.
- Residents open accounts with ID and a residence permit or proof of address.
- Non-resident and business accounts involve additional due diligence.
Step-by-step
- 1
Choose a bank
Pick a cantonal bank, a big bank (UBS), a Raiffeisen cooperative or a digital bank (Neon, Zak, Yuh); residents open accounts easily, while non-residents can open one but with stricter due diligence and sometimes higher fees or minimum balances.
- 2
Gather your documents
Provide a passport or ID, your Swiss residence permit and proof of a Swiss address. Non-residents should also prepare source-of-funds documentation, a tax-residency certificate and a short note on the account's purpose.
- 3
Prepare business documents (business accounts)
For a business account, prepare the commercial-register extract and owner / director ID.
- 4
Complete FINMA-supervised due-diligence checks
Banks apply KYC, customer due diligence and, for higher-risk cases, enhanced due diligence. Switzerland now participates in international information exchange, so accounts are reported under global tax standards; non-resident reviews can take several weeks.
- 5
Activate the account and set up payments
Receive your IBAN and card, then set up salary, rent, e-bill and TWINT (mobile) / SEPA payments.
Checklist
- Passport or national ID
- Swiss residence permit (residents)
- Proof of a Swiss address (utility bill / statement, within 3 months)
- Source-of-funds documentation + tax-residency certificate (non-residents)
- Commercial-register extract + owner / director ID — business accounts
- Initial deposit / minimum balance (some banks)
Official authorities
- FINMA
Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority.
Frequently asked questions
Can non-residents open a Swiss account?
Yes — many banks offer non-resident accounts, though with stricter due diligence and sometimes higher fees or minimums.
What do residents need to open an account?
Typically a passport or ID, a residence permit and proof of a Swiss address.
Is Swiss banking still secret?
No — Switzerland now participates in international information exchange, so accounts are reported under global tax standards.
Official-information aggregation, not legal advice. Always verify on the authority's own site.
Government portals
- ch.ch — Swiss Authorities Online — Official information portal for federal, cantonal and communal authorities
- State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) — Visas, residence permits (B/C), and naturalisation
- Federal Tax Administration (FTA) — Federal tax and VAT (cantonal taxes are levied separately)
- EasyGov.swiss — One-stop company registration and business admin