How to open a Swiss bank account

The process

There is a set order to opening a Swiss bank account: picking a bank suited to your goal and willing to take your profile, lodging an application backed by supporting paperwork, waiting through the bank's compliance and due diligence checks, receiving approval, and then funding the account. When an applicant arrives well prepared, with tidy paperwork and a simple explanation for where the money comes from, everything runs smoothly and wraps up within a few weeks. When paperwork is missing or the origin of the wealth is complicated to account for, it stretches out much further. Above all else, speed comes down to how thoroughly the application and documents are put together before they are handed in.

Documentation the bank requires

At a bare minimum, Swiss banks ask for a certified copy of a current passport, recent evidence of where you live — usually dated inside the last three months — and paperwork on the source of funds showing where the money you intend to deposit originated. When the account is larger, or a private banking relationship is involved, the bank will additionally look for a source of wealth narrative spanning the applicant's broader financial background. US persons must supply FATCA documentation, a W-9 among it. If an offshore trust or company holds the account, you also need to provide the entity's formation documents, the trust deed, and confirmation of who the beneficial owners are.

Minimum deposits

How much you need to start varies hugely from one Swiss institution and account type to the next. Certain retail-focused banks will open an account on fairly small minimums. At the big houses, a private banking relationship usually calls for several hundred thousand dollars or more, and the most selective private banks pitch it even higher. That figure isn't only about getting in the door — plenty of private banks also enforce an ongoing minimum balance, and dropping under it can bring fees or a review of the account. Before you settle on any one bank, check both the amount needed to open and any balance you must keep afterward.

Source of funds

Source of funds is the point at which most Swiss applications either go through or get stuck. Compliance rules oblige the bank to know where the money came from, and an explanation that is clear and properly documented pushes the application along fast. Proceeds from selling a property, a documented record of salary and bonuses, the sale of a business with the sale agreement attached, or an inheritance backed by the right paperwork are all easy cases. Money that has passed through a series of accounts, or wealth built up in a way that isn't readily documented, calls for a narrative that maps out the trail. Get this ready before you apply — when a bank keeps returning with follow-up questions about source of funds, its review drags on for months instead of weeks.

Timeline and remote opening

An application that is well prepared usually finishes inside two to eight weeks. A lot of Swiss banks now permit remote opening with no in-person visit, relying on certified document copies and, more and more, video identification — although certain private banks still favour, or insist on, a face-to-face meeting for the larger relationships. When an offshore trust or company is opening the account, it is typically the trustee who runs the banking relationship and the account is set up in the entity's name, the usual route for asset protection. Going through a trustee who already holds Swiss banking relationships is frequently quicker than going to a bank yourself, since the trustee's existing relationship trims away part of the due diligence. See Swiss accounts for US persons for the US-specific requirements.

General guidance only. What is required differs from bank to bank and shifts over time. Check the current requirements with the particular institution before you apply.