Switzerland is well known for the wide range of banking services it can offer with its large and diverse banking sector, so some banking institutions provide the opportunity to open accounts in swiss cantons without the need to travel to the country of the Alps.
The wonderful tool of the Internet makes some banks in Switzerland offer not only see account statements or make transfers to and from anywhere in the world but also open an account from the comfort of your home. In other words, all you have to do is send the necessary documents and have a meeting with a banking executive through Skype.
Of course, not only in Swiss banks you can enjoy opening an account from your home, banks in Caribbean countries and others in Europe offer this opportunity. However, remember that Switzerland is a symbol of confidentiality, confidence, long history, a wide range of products and excellent customer service.
Without a doubt, most Swiss banks will be able to satisfy any of their needs, however, becoming a client is not always so easy.
It must be borne in mind that banks in Switzerland are increasingly stricter in terms of the opening process, so they will always verify the client’s profile, as well as the source of their resources and above all, they will request a minimum deposit for can open the account.
Let’s see more details to consider when opening a bank account in Switzerland
- The first minimum deposit to open the account:
Most Swiss banks are made for people with high net worth, those who can meet the payment of the initial deposit. This deposit can be in Swiss francs, euros or dollars.
- Documents:
In the common banks, we can open an account with only our official identification of the country and some proof of address and ready, in a couple of hours we have an account and a new card. In banks abroad, for example in Switzerland, we need a list of documents which need to be certified by a notary, apostilled and even sometimes translated into English.
Normally to open a bank account in Switzerland we must present the following:
PERSONAL ACCOUNT
- Copy of valid passport, with photograph and above all in good condition
- Proof of address, not to exceed more than 3 months
- Bank reference of a bank where you already have an account for a couple of years. This should indicate your good relationship with the bank and the years of your account. As well as the number of figures in your account
- Professional references, this can be issued or written by a lawyer, accountant, etc.
- Legal proof of the origin of your funds
CORPORATE ACCOUNT
Each director and shareholder of the company or signatory of the account must send the documents mentioned above, in addition to the following documents of the company:
- Social statutes
- Certificate of incorporation
- Appointment of the first director
- Certificate of shares
- Declaration or deed of trust (in case of having nominative shareholders)
- Power of attorney
- Certificate of Validity or Good Standing (only if the company is older than 1 year)
All previous documents must be apostilled
How long does it take to open the account?
This will depend on the bank where you are opening your account, but once you have the full documents it could usually be 1 to 3 weeks. During this time the bank will be checking that all the information provided is true. After this, the minimum deposit that the bank indicated previously must be met. And voila, once your account is active, you can make transactions from the comfort of your home.
Switzerland and it’s level of confidentiality
This is the country most famous for its ability to maintain banking secrecy, however, in recent times this fact has been very much at stake. Due to the FATCA law which requires all financial institutions to report on the accounts of US citizens even abroad, Switzerland like many other countries could not resist this onslaught of Uncle Sam and was forced to join and comply with the requirements that this law establishes.
Switzerland joined the multilateral agreement in conjunction with 51 other countries, for the exchange of automatic fiscal information promoted by the OECD, however despite joining this agreement, Switzerland decided to wait to carry it out, postponing the exchange until 2018. It is important that we understand that the world and banking secrecy is not as it was years ago, so the transformation of the financial sector globally is unpredictable and any decision we make to protect our assets should be based on today’s.
Do not forget that Switzerland offers excellent banking and innovative products such as, for example, some banks that do not offer the opening of accounts remotely, they send one of their bank executives to visit him at home and so he can sign all the necessary documents to open your bank account without the need to leave your country.
