try Mac Donald's...
zerotonine, Jul 30, 2008 @ 14:48

depending on who your employer is, they should be able to advise you on such matters.  But you bring up an interesting topic, in that whey you say UBS is no longer an option, how does it affect those of us who already have an account with them?  I've not heard anything from them, which is why I'm surprised to hear this.  You can always try HSBC. I've not really seen any Citibanks in Geneva come to think of it.
YouMeCo, Jul 30, 2008 @ 15:06

i'm surprised to see that you are not aware that for that last 5 years EVERY bank in the world has been "requested" by the USA to reveal who their american clients are. in switzerland, this means that americans holding bank accounts have been required to sign an anonymity waiver, allowing the bank to reveal to the US authorities your account information. HOWEVER there is one banking service here in switzerland which does not comply to this US requirement. do you know which one?
epicure, Jul 30, 2008 @ 15:16

At least American banks have an FDIC limit of $100K vs swiss bank only insure up to 30K CHF.  And don't expect the Swiss banks to give you interest on your deposit (<1%) so maybe time to invest in a safe deposit!! 
YouMeCo, Jul 30, 2008 @ 15:33

the only banking service that does not require americans to sign a W9 form is:

the post office (swiss post - post finance)
epicure, Jul 30, 2008 @ 16:24

Thanks every one for your information. I guess I should explain myself.



Yesterday, my English husband and I went to the local UBS in Rolle to add me onto the account he'd set up a few months earlier. When they saw my passport (for some reason they thought I too was British) we were told that UBS could no longer accept American passport holders! This is not a private investment account, just a simple checking account. They gave me the card of a specialist based in another office who deals specifically with American clients to see if "maybe" she could help me out though I was warned it could take some time and there were no guarantees. My concern was that this policy, which UBS said had gone into effect only in the last couple of weeks, could be extended to other banks. Instead, after the feedback you've all sent, it sounds like this really shouldn't have happened at all! In any event, contacted BCV who said there will be no problem so will hopefully have an account opened on Monday morning.



As for what I mean by a "good" bank...pretty low level really -- just one that will let me open an account and has people at branch level who speak English as I've only been here two weeks so my French is still pretty basic. Although, a high-interest savings account wouldn't go amiss...
pengrem, Jul 30, 2008 @ 16:55

[quote]the only banking service that does not require americans to sign a W9 form is:



the post office (swiss post - post finance)[/quote]



Really Really dumb question, maybe, but does the Swiss Post Finance offer investment vehicles like UBS or Credit Swiss? Being an American, there are certain securities that I just can't buy or am required to talk to the private banker to arrange a purchase, with everything being reported to the US. Anyone wanna sell me an EU passport? :D Seriously, though I knew Post Finance was a bank, I never thought of it as a serious option until now so I am curious....... Guess I need to make a trip to find out.



And everyone, play nice-nice with your answers. :cool:



Tanx!!!
demetris69, Jul 31, 2008 @ 10:54

only banking.......i.e. payments, savings etc. trading in US stocks requires you to inform that you are a US citizen. they may have decided to exclude US citizens from trading, as this is done via their bank ( credit suisse i believe) but for retail banking activities, no W9 forms are required. HOWEVER: you are required by US law, to reveal ALL bank accounts, foreign and domestic!! ( only if you have an aggregate amount of + $ 10,000 or more )
epicure, Jul 31, 2008 @ 14:06

[quote][quote]the only banking service that does not require americans to sign a W9 form is:



the post office (swiss post - post finance)[/quote]



Really Really dumb question, maybe, but does the Swiss Post Finance offer investment vehicles like UBS or Credit Swiss? Being an American, there are certain securities that I just can't buy or am required to talk to the private banker to arrange a purchase, with everything being reported to the US. Anyone wanna sell me an EU passport? :D Seriously, though I knew Post Finance was a bank, I never thought of it as a serious option until now so I am curious....... Guess I need to make a trip to find out.



And everyone, play nice-nice with your answers. :cool:



Tanx!!![/quote]



Hi Demetris.



I have an investment advisory firm and often come accross the difficullties you just described.



I dont think any European bank bank is, especially now, in a position to ignore the risks associated with being consodered to be 'assisting' US persons to avoid their US tax obligations, and so I dont have any helpful suggestions about that.



I do however have solutions to widen the choice of investments which you can purchase. As you'd expect though .. the minimums are pretty high.



A social site isnt really the place for business promotion, but a quick look at marketplace and city guide reveals everyone else is at it .. so what the hell :-)
wilycoyote, Jul 31, 2008 @ 14:28

I've got a similar question, but this thread hasn't answered it quite yet so here is my situation:



I want a bank in Geneva that will give me (an American citizen) a savings and/or checking account with a small minimum and low or no ATM fees in and out of Switzerland (I would like to use it in the rest of Europe as well). The lower the fees the better; and I don't need anything fancy, just a place to park my money and a debit or credit or check card or whatever.



Any suggestions? Thanks!
Vazza, Sep 16, 2008 @ 12:58

This is a bit off subject but it is US/Swiss banking.  Assuming that I (US citizen) could open a bank account here; what is the best way to transfer US dollars to it?  On the same hand, what about transferring CHF to Euros??  Thanks!
smoore4, Sep 16, 2008 @ 13:23

You are married to a Briton? Get a British (EU) passport and show that to the Bank.



[quote]Thanks every one for your information. I guess I should explain myself.



Yesterday, my English husband and I went to the local UBS in Rolle to add me onto the account he'd set up a few months earlier. When they saw my passport (for some reason they thought I too was British) we were told that UBS could no longer accept American passport holders! This is not a private investment account, just a simple checking account. They gave me the card of a specialist based in another office who deals specifically with American clients to see if "maybe" she could help me out though I was warned it could take some time and there were no guarantees. My concern was that this policy, which UBS said had gone into effect only in the last couple of weeks, could be extended to other banks. Instead, after the feedback you've all sent, it sounds like this really shouldn't have happened at all! In any event, contacted BCV who said there will be no problem so will hopefully have an account opened on Monday morning.



As for what I mean by a "good" bank...pretty low level really -- just one that will let me open an account and has people at branch level who speak English as I've only been here two weeks so my French is still pretty basic. Although, a high-interest savings account wouldn't go amiss...[/quote]
Stef__Granny, Sep 16, 2008 @ 15:00

Are you kidding? No matter how many years you've lived in the UK or how long you've been married to a Brit, you can't even apply for a UK passport without taking the Living In Britain test based on a 150-page book that's been updated about 4 times in as many years (and if you've studied one version that's suddenly updated with a newer one, too bad -- start again), and you have to be living in the UK at the time of application, and cannot travel outside the UK more than 4 weeks during the year that the application goes through. So, not an option for me...or many other people who have busy lives and travel a fair amount.
pengrem, Sep 16, 2008 @ 15:25

for securities investments post finance is like any bank and they will require all usa citizens to sign the same papers. it's only as a holder of a savings or checking account that no documents need to be signed because of nationality. post finance offers world wide valid atm cards, internet transfer for bills etc. also, they are open on saturday mornings!!!
epicure, Sep 16, 2008 @ 16:07

The only way to have fees waived is with a relatively high minimum balance (e.g.10K).  But if you withdraw non CHF currency, you pay commissions regardless.  

"But be ready to pay for the cards, nothing ( or almost nothing) is for free today." (Lalla74)

Yes... be careful also NOT to forget your pin or make a mistake with 3 wrong entries on either your cash/debit card or your electronic banking card, because unlike in the US where you can go to the bank and have it reset... here they issue you a new card if you lock yourself out and get charged 20CHF.  Every e-banking transaction you will cost .30, every cash withdrawl from bank that's not yours can be 2chf.  So withdraw big but don't spend it all at once. 

What I found amazing is that here in CH there have such a large denomination - 1000CHF bills :blink: 

This country is not a "banking" country for nothing, but definitely favors the upper end of the spectrum :ermm:

(footnote: Facts/Figures are based my own national swiss bank)
YouMeCo, Sep 16, 2008 @ 17:03

Thanks for the tips everyone. I guess I'm used to American banks that charge no commission whatsoever if you use the bank's own ATMs.
Vazza, Sep 16, 2008 @ 22:09

[quote]The only way to have fees waived is with a relatively high minimum balance (e.g.10K). But if you withdraw non CHF currency, you pay commissions regardless.



"But be ready to pay for the cards, nothing ( or almost nothing) is for free today." (Lalla74)



Yes... be careful alsoNOT to forget your pin or make a mistake with 3 wrong entries on either your cash/debit card or your electronic banking card, because unlike in the US where you can go to the bank and have it reset... here they issue you a new card if you lock yourself out and get charged 20CHF. Every e-banking transaction you will cost .30, every cash withdrawl from bank that's not yours can be 2chf. So withdraw big but don't spend it all at once.



What I found amazing is that here in CH there have such a large denomination - 1000CHF bills :blink:



This country is not a "banking" country for nothing, but definitely favors the upper end of the spectrum :ermm:



(footnote: Facts/Figures are based my own national swiss bank)[/quote]



Which bank do you use?
Vazza, Sep 16, 2008 @ 22:10

Hi all,

 

I wanted to see if anyone had any updates on this issue. My husband and I do PostFinance, but need to do a bank guarantee for the rental deposit on our new apt. However, PostFinance does not do this, and only offers the SwissCaution insurance. And doubly unfortunately, the Regie that we signed with does not want this type of guarantee, only the blocked acct type done by a bank. Since we are Americans, we had been using PostFinance but now realize that we may need another bank service to meet these requirements! Argh! :-(

 

Any ideas? Thanks for all your help!

-Ale

Alejandra C, Oct 14, 2012 @ 19:09

I had some similar issues very recently, even though I am not American, but I lived in the U.S. before moving to Geneva:

I initially wanted to open a UBS account, but they would have let me only with some additional paperwork (with a lot of paperwork and depending on your employer, they also open accounts for American citizens). I was lazy, and hence I went to PostFinance instead where they opened my account within 10min.

Then I also needed the deposit account for the lease, and was running from one bank to the next to see who does it. The problem was that most banks (including UBS) offer these accounts only for their own customers. A notable exception was BCGE, but I think there is some account opening fee (not sure though).

What worked for me in the end was the Migrosbank - they offer lease deposit accounts also for non-customers (it took some time to convince them in the local office though).

They also asked me for my citizenship and said something like "Good - with an American passport it would have been difficult." I don't know whether this "difficult" really means impossible...

Monika B, Oct 15, 2012 @ 13:12

I just e-mailed my contact at UBS.  The reply:

We are still accepting new clients who are US passport holders. In order to open an account, as before, they need to come with the proof of main residence in Switzerland, as we are not allowed to open accounts for people (US citizens or not) living in the USA.

richardm, Oct 15, 2012 @ 13:56

Thanks everyone! We will go bank hunting and I will keep you posted. :-)

 

-Ale

Alejandra C, Oct 16, 2012 @ 19:16

Hello,

I work for a wealth managment company and I understand the troubles that you will be coming up against holding an american passport.

We have a number on connection accross the industry and may be able to help as we specialise in helping expatriates living in Switzerland. If you wish, please drop me a message and maybe I can help.

www.liberty-wealth.com

Kind regards

 

James

 

James Hall, Oct 17, 2012 @ 16:04

Hi All,

  Although I find myself paying $10 a pop at the ATMs to get cash from my Bank Of America account, and I'm also stuck with postfinance for banking here..I still highly recommend to other Americans the Capital One Venture Card.  It is a credit card which allows you to pay 0% conversion + 0% fees wherever Visa is accepted!

Matt Fisher, Oct 17, 2012 @ 16:29

Hi all,

 

So we got the UBS account. Thanks to all for your help. What you need:

1) Passports

2) Work permits

3) Work contract in Switzerland

4) Attestation de domicile

 

We didn't have #4-- duh, we needed the bank and its deposit mechanism to rent an apt! It is like the chicken and the egg, huh??! But we did have our rental contract for the new apt. I think it could have gone either way (they could have said no), and the rep was kind to us. We were in a private room for about 20 minutes while she went to talk to colleagues about whether we could have an acct with them. Another problem was that our permits are for limited times (we need to renew them every year), so the bank wants us to send our renewal permits as they occur. I know-- so intense. But there you have it and so I thank you all for the help!

 

-Ale

 

Alejandra C, Oct 18, 2012 @ 14:25

I also got a bank account with UBS and it was no problem after I showed my documents including the " Attestation de domicile".

Swiss banking is expensive compared to banking in the US. I have my salary deposited in my UBS account but I still use my account with my US credit union here in Switzerland, which charges no international fees. The card, however is through Mastercard and they charge 1% per transaction, but other than that there is no fee.

Savannah B, Oct 18, 2012 @ 21:24

Thre are no banking fees when you use the bank's own ATMs here, either.

 

eveyansas, Dec 18, 2012 @ 13:47

Banks here don't charge you if you use their ATMs, either.

eveyansas, Dec 18, 2012 @ 13:51