Anyone here had a Swiss bank account?

[StateBoiler]

How was it? Any regrets?

Thinking of opening one as a hedge for my money.

[Ban my account ffs!]

I had an Austrian bank account, but I can't be of much help.  I used it only as a savings account to pay certain bills while I was over there...  I can tell you that the Swiss/German/Austrian way of banking is different and it is very hard to use credit cards over there in many places... and I'm not so sure they know what a check is...  at least not in the way that Americans are.

[MODU]

Not I.  But I've had an ING account.  Does that count? 

[Gabu]

No.  I'm not Dr. Evil.

[Colin]

I've always wanted to have one. The minimum for the typical Swiss bank account though, usually a fully confidential money market account, is between $10,000 and $50,000 depending on which bank you go through, IIRC. If I ever get a sizeable sum of money, or get paid well, I will definitely open one up because it basically offers the best in stability, confidentiality, and professional service.

[opebo]

Yes I had a bank account in Switzerland when I lived there - I doubt I ever had more than a few thousand dollars in it though, and I doubt it was any different from an american bank account for commoners.

[Tender Branson]

I had an Austrian bank account, but I can't be of much help.  I used it only as a savings account to pay certain bills while I was over there...  I can tell you that the Swiss/German/Austrian way of banking is different and it is very hard to use credit cards over there in many places... and I'm not so sure they know what a check is...  at least not in the way that Americans are.

As I´m from Austria, I of course have a bank account here. It´s true, you can´t pay everywhere with credit card, but in most tourism regions and bigger cities, as well as in about every shopping mall or bigger local shop you can pay with credit card or debit-card. Most common are VISA and Mastercard (mostly everywhere), not so common are AmEx and Diners Club.

I have worked in a local sports-shop during holidays and we often had US tourists and they were astonished that so many people are paying with cash. Well, right now the trend is more towards paying with card, but personally I still pay with cash in 70% of all cases and use my card in 30% of all cases.

And what the hell is a check ?

[AkSaber]

No, don't have one. Not like I got millions to hide from the government.

[StateBoiler]

Yes I had a bank account in Switzerland when I lived there - I doubt I ever had more than a few thousand dollars in it though, and I doubt it was any different from an american bank account for commoners.

Well the reason I want to do it is I can store my money in any currency or gold just as a safe haven where they will do it automatically or over-the-counter. That's not something I can do in an American bank ("Uhhhh...sir, we have dollars...and dollars." )

[memphis]

I had an Austrian bank account, but I can't be of much help.  I used it only as a savings account to pay certain bills while I was over there...  I can tell you that the Swiss/German/Austrian way of banking is different and it is very hard to use credit cards over there in many places... and I'm not so sure they know what a check is...  at least not in the way that Americans are.

As I´m from Austria, I of course have a bank account here. It´s true, you can´t pay everywhere with credit card, but in most tourism regions and bigger cities, as well as in about every shopping mall or bigger local shop you can pay with credit card or debit-card. Most common are VISA and Mastercard (mostly everywhere), not so common are AmEx and Diners Club.

I have worked in a local sports-shop during holidays and we often had US tourists and they were astonished that so many people are paying with cash. Well, right now the trend is more towards paying with card, but personally I still pay with cash in 70% of all cases and use my card in 30% of all cases.

And what the hell is a check ?

A check is a piece of paper from your bank with your account information upon which you can write an amount for payment that will be deducted from your account. They're old-fashioned but still very common here in the states and do essentially the same thing as a debit card. They're used mostly by older people and women, who are less likely to use the far superior debit card..

[KEmperor]

I had an Austrian bank account, but I can't be of much help.  I used it only as a savings account to pay certain bills while I was over there...  I can tell you that the Swiss/German/Austrian way of banking is different and it is very hard to use credit cards over there in many places... and I'm not so sure they know what a check is...  at least not in the way that Americans are.

As I´m from Austria, I of course have a bank account here. It´s true, you can´t pay everywhere with credit card, but in most tourism regions and bigger cities, as well as in about every shopping mall or bigger local shop you can pay with credit card or debit-card. Most common are VISA and Mastercard (mostly everywhere), not so common are AmEx and Diners Club.

I have worked in a local sports-shop during holidays and we often had US tourists and they were astonished that so many people are paying with cash. Well, right now the trend is more towards paying with card, but personally I still pay with cash in 70% of all cases and use my card in 30% of all cases.

And what the hell is a check ?

A check is a piece of paper from your bank with your account information upon which you can write an amount for payment that will be deducted from your account. They're old-fashioned but still very common here in the states and do essentially the same thing as a debit card. They're used mostly by older people and women, who are less likely to use the far superior debit card..

I use checks to pay my bills by mail, not for purchases though.

[MODU]

I use checks to pay my bills by mail, not for purchases though.

I only have one bill (quarterly at that) which I have to write a check for.  Everything else is automatically withdrawn from my account or can be paid electronically.  Thank god for technology!  I hated checks.

[KEmperor]

I use checks to pay my bills by mail, not for purchases though.

I only have one bill (quarterly at that) which I have to write a check for.  Everything else is automatically withdrawn from my account or can be paid electronically.  Thank god for technology!  I hated checks.

I'm just a bit old fashioned in that I like to mail paper checks still.  And I don't care for the automatic debits because I'd rather have control over when the money comes out.

[MODU]

I use checks to pay my bills by mail, not for purchases though.

I only have one bill (quarterly at that) which I have to write a check for.  Everything else is automatically withdrawn from my account or can be paid electronically.  Thank god for technology!  I hated checks.

I'm just a bit old fashioned in that I like to mail paper checks still.  And I don't care for the automatic debits because I'd rather have control over when the money comes out.

You can easily control when the money comes out.  Depending on who you are paying and/or your financial institution, you can normally choose which day of the month you'd like your payment to occur.  This comes in handy for those who are paid monthly or bimonthly and live on a tight budget, since that way they don't overdraw on their account.  On the flip side, I have an account designed specifically for bills, so there is always money in there to cover my bills, even if all the bills were to be paid on the same day.  It is so much eaiser that way.  The only company I ever had an issue with using electronic payments was Verizon.  For some reason, it seemed like every few months they'd drop me from their auto cycle, causing me to miss a payment.  After the third "late fee" which they had to correct, they finally fixed my account and haven't had any issues since.

[Gabu]

I had an Austrian bank account, but I can't be of much help.  I used it only as a savings account to pay certain bills while I was over there...  I can tell you that the Swiss/German/Austrian way of banking is different and it is very hard to use credit cards over there in many places... and I'm not so sure they know what a check is...  at least not in the way that Americans are.

As I´m from Austria, I of course have a bank account here. It´s true, you can´t pay everywhere with credit card, but in most tourism regions and bigger cities, as well as in about every shopping mall or bigger local shop you can pay with credit card or debit-card. Most common are VISA and Mastercard (mostly everywhere), not so common are AmEx and Diners Club.

I have worked in a local sports-shop during holidays and we often had US tourists and they were astonished that so many people are paying with cash. Well, right now the trend is more towards paying with card, but personally I still pay with cash in 70% of all cases and use my card in 30% of all cases.

And what the hell is a check ?

A check is a piece of paper from your bank with your account information upon which you can write an amount for payment that will be deducted from your account. They're old-fashioned but still very common here in the states and do essentially the same thing as a debit card. They're used mostly by older people and women, who are less likely to use the far superior debit card..

He might be unfamiliar with the spelling; in everywhere except America, it's spelled "cheque".

[Ban my account ffs!]

I had an Austrian bank account, but I can't be of much help.  I used it only as a savings account to pay certain bills while I was over there...  I can tell you that the Swiss/German/Austrian way of banking is different and it is very hard to use credit cards over there in many places... and I'm not so sure they know what a check is...  at least not in the way that Americans are.

As I´m from Austria, I of course have a bank account here. It´s true, you can´t pay everywhere with credit card, but in most tourism regions and bigger cities, as well as in about every shopping mall or bigger local shop you can pay with credit card or debit-card. Most common are VISA and Mastercard (mostly everywhere), not so common are AmEx and Diners Club.

I have worked in a local sports-shop during holidays and we often had US tourists and they were astonished that so many people are paying with cash. Well, right now the trend is more towards paying with card, but personally I still pay with cash in 70% of all cases and use my card in 30% of all cases.

And what the hell is a check ?

A check is a piece of paper from your bank with your account information upon which you can write an amount for payment that will be deducted from your account. They're old-fashioned but still very common here in the states and do essentially the same thing as a debit card. They're used mostly by older people and women, who are less likely to use the far superior debit card..

He might be unfamiliar with the spelling; in everywhere except America, it's spelled "cheque".

[sarcasm] In everywhere except America, you can "go to hell." [/sarcasm]

I'm old fashioned and write checks because I am obsessed with the idea of floating checks and not having money immediately deducted from my account.  Interestingly, the only place that has taken advantage of the new electronic conversion of checks is Wal-Mart.  And it still takes 3 days to post to your account.  But hey, I'm a college kid... poor is my middle name. 

I got sick of automatic debiting for paying bills because I'd ask them to deduct the money on the 6th, and on some occasions, the 6th would fall on a holiday Monday, so they'd deduct it on the 3rd which would sometimes overdraft my account.  Also, I always forget to write down my expenses and end up throwing the receipt away and that can be problematic.  And when you're a poor like me, you have unlimited check writing, but have a daily limit on how much you can use your debit card. 

[Tender Branson]

I had an Austrian bank account, but I can't be of much help.  I used it only as a savings account to pay certain bills while I was over there...  I can tell you that the Swiss/German/Austrian way of banking is different and it is very hard to use credit cards over there in many places... and I'm not so sure they know what a check is...  at least not in the way that Americans are.

As I´m from Austria, I of course have a bank account here. It´s true, you can´t pay everywhere with credit card, but in most tourism regions and bigger cities, as well as in about every shopping mall or bigger local shop you can pay with credit card or debit-card. Most common are VISA and Mastercard (mostly everywhere), not so common are AmEx and Diners Club.

I have worked in a local sports-shop during holidays and we often had US tourists and they were astonished that so many people are paying with cash. Well, right now the trend is more towards paying with card, but personally I still pay with cash in 70% of all cases and use my card in 30% of all cases.

And what the hell is a check ?

A check is a piece of paper from your bank with your account information upon which you can write an amount for payment that will be deducted from your account. They're old-fashioned but still very common here in the states and do essentially the same thing as a debit card. They're used mostly by older people and women, who are less likely to use the far superior debit card..

He might be unfamiliar with the spelling; in everywhere except America, it's spelled "cheque".

Sure I know what´s a "check" or "cheque" It´s just as Snowguy has said: They are completely outdated in Austria and I never used one in my entire live. Read this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheque#The_future_of_cheques