Hello Adriana,

I would suggest you to open a CHF bank account and a card to pay/withdraw from that account.

Alternatively, a prepaid card such as Weswap (free to receive and use) would allow you to have multi-currency cash balances, and good FX conversion rates. I've been using the Weswap card for my travels around Europe (including GBP, SEK and DKK), and was quite happy about it. Cash withdrawals from ATM are free as long as you withdraw a sufficient amount (e.g. 200 EUR).

Here is a referral link, where both the new client and I would receive 5 EUR bonus credit: http://swp.to/en/ziz3147

Hi Adriana,

What US bank do you have an account with? Some US bank have partnership with Swiss and French banks that allow you to use their ATMs without fees. Check with your US bank or in their website. Bank of America, for example, has a partnership with BNP paribas. From their website:

"Use your Bank of America ATM or debit card within the Global ATM Alliance to avoid the non-Bank of America usage fee for each withdrawal, transfer or balance inquiry, as well as the ATM operator access fee."

Thank you soo much! You've just saved my life 

Hi. Get UBS savings a/c ATM card. It is free. No charges. But u have to use only Ubs bancomats for cash withdrawals.

UBS debit card u have to pay chf 10 per month. Valid in all over the worldwith certain cash withdrawal limit which can be set by you.

Good luck

Sam

The visible fees are not the only problem when you withdraw cash or when you pay with a credit card abroad. Very often, you also get a poor exchange rate. The Revolut prepaid card seems to avoid the problem. Apparently, they give you excellent exhange rates and no fee for ATM withdrawals under $200 a month (then 2%). I said "apparently" because I just ordrered it and haven't tried it yet

 https://www.revolut.com/. 

Hi, Bustan. You are right in pointing out that there are several charges attached to using ATM's from banks other than your own, and specially in foreign countries. The use of disadvantegous exchange rates is a hidden charge, and unjustified given the speed of electronic transactions these days (so that banks do not have to protect themselves from changes in the rate after the customer's use of the card at an ATM). In addition, many banks also charge a "conversion fee" (usually around 3%), which is akin to the commission charged by currency exchange bureaus.

That is why using ATMs from bank partnership networks is so great. You get the interbank rate, which is the "official" exchange rate you see when you check sites like Oanda or the financial newspapers. Since I travel a lot, membership in a global partnership was an important factor in chosing a bank. I have not used an exchange bureau since ATMs became universally available.