swiss banking
 

Anyone know which swiss banks will let non-swiss residents open accounts in person (I have EU citizenship)? UBS and the other big one won't do it for anything other then investment accounts and even then it requires 100k CHF minimum balance, whereas I require a regular account with a debit card allowing me access to funds.

Big initial deposit is not an issue, but something with a reasonable minimum balance would be good.

I've looked into that Micheloud & Cie company, but since switzerland is not that far away I would rather save the $1000 they charge and spend it on skiing and go there to take care of it in person.

you can take a look at swissquota (or swissquote?) thats an online based bank, though it acts mainly as a trading platform

but they will probably decline you

Micheloaus is solid from what i heard though, although if you'e doing adult stuff and just expect a personal swiss bank account to send your money there, then it might be very hard, if not impossible to get such one

even worse if you're a 21 year old polish guy, like i think you are :)

There are no banks in your own country?

UBS is a wealth management outfit, what did you expect? :1orglaugh

Just go there. What's so complicated? Don't tell us you are afraid to not find a bank in a country of banks. :1orglaugh

Try Zurich or Geneva.

I'm 23 :1orglaugh

I did take a look at swissquote but it's not exactly what I'm looking for.

I can't get bank account in Poland because we have a military draft and I will get 9 months mandatory military service if I register as a resident here, which getting a bank account requires. I can't do that here until I turn 25. My only other option would be going into the medical exam for the army and acting totally nuts screaming "GIVE ME A MACHINE GUN ILL KILL ALL THOSE FUCKING IRAQIS" or something to try to get Category D :1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

I don't mind going to switzerland and just looking around but it seems like a pain in the ass driving from bank to bank hoping I run into someone that speaks english.

Most swiss banks require a $100K before they even want to talk to you
let alone open an account for you....try Luxemburg....slightly easier

Or find someone who already has a swiss bank account and let them
introduce you that works too :winkwink:

Isn't romania part of the EU yet? If they are you can open a bank account in any EU country with nothing more than your passport

looks like you're going into the military...

I don't think it is, but you definately need more then a passport. I have a polish passport and I can't open a bank account here without registering as a resident.

Well you can in Holland, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Portugal and others.
They are non resident accounts you have to sign a paper that you're
non resident in the country where you open the account and they make
a copy of your passport and that's it. I've have bank accounts in several
countries so without a shadow of a doubt this works.

You can get atm and visa electron debit cards on the account....the only
thing you can't get is credit on the account.

:thumbsup

Well, if anybody needs US/offshore incorporation services and bank acounts I can recommend some peeps.

I originally thought he wants an account in one of these countries that dont share information about account holders with other EU countries, that would be CH, AUS and LUX.

But indeed if thats not the purpose, then it might be easier, in Germany perhaps or so....

Well, the main problem at hand is my military issue. However, banking secrecy would also be nice.

I was not aware the AUS and LUX also provide similar privacy. I will look into banks in Luxembourg and Austria as well then.

And what kind of country abbreviation is that AUS? Never heard of that, but I Guess you meant Austria (which is AT). I quickly want to let you know that Austria has no banking secrecy laws

sorry for using the wrong abbraviation.

but its fact that Austra has stronger bank secrecy laws than most of other european countries and its a FACT that they are one of 3 countries in europe which wont share with other european countries information about their banking clients, at least not for a few more years (well unless theres a money laundering investigation or so)

You're VERY wrong.

I guess opening an account in Germany should be no problem - as far as I remember some banks even allow you to open an account by authenticating at a German embassy (go there with your passport and their paperwork, sign everything, they confirm your identity, send everything to the bank and you're done).

For increased privacy use Austria - I think the only reason for lifting banking secrecy around here would be if there were some criminal proceedings against you, and even then banks don't give up your data easily.

I think i've found a bank in Luxembourg that will suit all my needs. They appear to allow non-residents to open regular accounts.

There is no such thing as banking secrecy in Europe.

It's marketing BS for dummies. :)

Except for Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg who refuse to share their banking data unless non-EU countries like Switzerland, Lichtenstein or Monaco do so as well. Basically kind of like a guarantee for banking secrecy laws for years to come. :winkwink:

As a EU resident you can walk into most Swiss banks and open an account in person without any problems. The opeing balances are minimal. It all depends on the descretion of the local manager and how you approach them. It is up to them to decide how much they appreciate your business.

The Swiss Postgiro is the easiest to open an account with. Be aware that they will report your account to your home country. They will deduct up to 35% of taxes off of your earnings and interest.

If you looks for alternatives, make a vacation in Hong Kong and open an account with DBS or any other HK bank. They welcome foreigners who bring their money to China :-) No reporting, no taxes.

Three words: Goldfinger, Jungholz, Austria

be careful, swiss money has often big holes
..or was it the cheese?

Hey, wasn't Poland eventually admitted into the EU ? They were allowed to keep the draft ?

dont forget to let us know which bank you've chosen and been accepted ;-)

yeah, i'm interested in more info on this...

GFY is THE place to gather serious info on the subject :)

expert opinion :thumbsup