Neobanks emerged in the mid-2010s and now include Revolut, Wise, N26, Monzo, Starling, bunq and — in Switzerland — Neon, Yuh and Zak. Some operate under their own banking licence (N26, Revolut UK and EU, Starling) while others are 'agency' or e-money institutions partnering with a licensed back-end bank. The customer-facing experience is similar — account opening in 5–10 minutes via passport scan, free contactless debit card, multi-currency wallet, in-app spending categorisation — but the regulatory protection varies.
For travellers and frequent currency users, neobanks are typically far cheaper than incumbents: Revolut and Wise convert at near-interbank rates with a 0.5–1% spread, versus 2.5–4% at a traditional Swiss bank. For salary banking, deposit insurance coverage matters: under a banking licence (Revolut Bank, Neon via Hypothekarbank Lenzburg) you get full EUR 100,000 or CHF 100,000 protection; under an e-money licence (older Revolut tiers) funds are safeguarded but not insured.
Use neobanks alongside, not instead of, a traditional bank for now. Keep a primary salary account at a Swiss bank for direct debits, salary payments and pillar-3a contributions, and a neobank card for travel, online subscriptions and FX-heavy spending. Combined, you get the best of both worlds at roughly zero monthly cost.
A regular traveller spends CHF 4,000 per year in foreign currency. With a UBS Visa card at 2.5% FX markup the cost is CHF 100. With a Revolut Standard plan (free) the markup drops to about 0.5%, saving CHF 80 per year — plus a 1% cashback on selected merchants.