Currently, interest rates for savings accounts in Switzerland are very high. Whereas a few years ago, hardly any savings account offered more than 0.25% interest, today there are various accounts offering more than 1% interest.

In this article, we will show you the Swiss savings accounts that offer the best interest rates. Factors to consider include account maintenance fees and withdrawal limits. The interest rates shown in the article are based on April 2024 data and may change over time.

Why You Need a Savings Account

A savings account is not a great way to invest money. Even with a 2% annual interest rate, your money does not grow significantly. Stocks (especially ETFs) and bonds are much better for letting your money work for you. So why have a savings account? You need savings accounts to have a certain amount of money available at all times. Stocks can suddenly lose value, and bonds cannot be redeemed at any time. Therefore, it is important to have enough money in a savings account for emergencies. A so-called Emergency Fund. With this, you should be able to cover your expenses for a few months.

Other reasons for a savings account are if you suddenly receive a large amount of money - for example, from inheritance, gifts, or sales. In that case, it is wise not to decide immediately where the money should go. Instead, it is good to wait for a while and place the money on a savings account in the meantime. Your money is available at any time in a savings account and is protected from market fluctuations. Additionally, all Swiss banks have deposit protection of up to CHF 100,000 per depositor through FINMA. All banks presented here have this protection. Thus, your money is also protected in the event of a bank failure.

Savings Accounts with the Highest Interest Rates

So, we want to place a certain amount of money in a savings account. While we cannot generate the same returns as with other investments, what we can do is slow down inflation through interest rates. This is where the savings accounts presented here come into play. They offer between 1% and 2% annual interest rates - without any account maintenance fees.

Account	Interest Rate for CHF
wiLLBe Current Account	1.3% up to 50k, 1% up to 150k
Bank WIR Savings Account Plus	1.8% up to 500k
Cembra Savings Account	1.25%
Cembra Savings Account Plus	1.6%
Cler Savings Account	1.8%
Raiffeisen Member Savings Account	1.1% (varies by branch)

wiLLBe Tagesgeldkonto

wiLLBe is a brand of the Liechtensteinische Landesbank (LLB). Everything is managed via an app. In addition to the savings account, there is also an investment product, which we will not go into here. Even though it is not a Swiss bank, LLB still provides deposit protection of CHF 100,000, guaranteed by the Liechtenstein government.

As seen here, wiLLBe is especially attractive for amounts under CHF 50,000. For those seeking even higher interest rates, there is the option to open a Euro or US dollar account. However, this exposes you to currency fluctuations - historically, the Swiss franc has always appreciated against the euro and dollar.

Additional conditions:

• No account maintenance fees
• Only via app, no web banking
• Interest credited every 3 months
• No withdrawal limits

Bank WIR Sparkonto Plus

WIR Bank offers the highest interest rate - a full 1.8%. And this is up to CHF 500,000. No other bank offers such high interest rates.

Here are the facts:

• Free account maintenance
• E-banking and mobile banking
• Immediately withdraw 20,000 per calendar year
• 6-month notice period for amounts above this
• Expected interest rate of 1.35% from March 2025

So, the downside of this savings account is that “only” CHF 20,000 can be withdrawn per year without notice. This is not optimal if you need the account as an “emergency fund.” However, if you want to park a larger amount of money for a longer period and maximize interest, this account is a good choice.

Cembra Savings Account and Savings Account Plus

Cembra Bank, mainly known for its credit cards, offers two different savings accounts. They differ in their interest rates and withdrawal limits.

For both accounts, the following conditions apply:

• No account maintenance fee
• No maximum amount
• Regulated Swiss bank with deposit protection

Savings Account

The regular savings account offers an interest rate of 1.25%. CHF 20,000 can be withdrawn every 90 days. For higher amounts, a notice period of 3 months applies.

Savings Account Plus

The Savings Account Plus offers a higher interest rate of 1.6%. However, only CHF 20,000 can be withdrawn every 180 days, i.e., semi-annually. For higher amounts, a notice period of 6 months applies. So, you sacrifice flexibility for a higher interest rate.

Cler Savings Account

Theoretically, Bank Cler’s savings account also offers a 1.8% annual interest rate. However, the conditions here are different.

Here’s an overview:

• Free account maintenance
• Base interest rate of 0.8%
• Additional +1% bonus interest
• Withdrawal of 50,000 per calendar year, 6-month notice period beyond that

To receive the additional bonus interest rate, there are some requirements:

• For 1 year after account opening for the entire account balance
• Then only for newly deposited money under CHF 250,000
• Revoked if more than CHF 20,000 are withdrawn

Raiffeisen Member Savings Account

For those who want to invest their money with one of the largest Swiss banks, Raiffeisen is a good choice. To open the Member Savings Account, you need to own a share certificate of the bank. This costs CHF 500 but also brings various other advantages.

Here are the account conditions:

• Free account maintenance
• 1.1% interest rate, varies by branch
• Typically lower interest rate above CHF 100,000
• CHF 20,000 freely withdrawable per month
• 3-month notice period beyond that

What about Neobanks?

Previously, Neobanks hardly offered any interest. However, they now also distribute interest. However, these are slightly lower than the other offers we have looked at in this article.

Neon The main account does not pay interest. Neon calls their version of savings accounts “Spaces.” The following conditions apply there:

• 0.9% up to CHF 25,000
• 0.65% over CHF 25,000

YUH

• 1% interest, without limit

Cler ZAK

• 1% interest up to CHF 25,000 No interest thereafter

Radicant

• 1.25% interest up to CHF 250,000
• Then 1% interest

As we can see, Neobanks also now offer good interest rates. Especially YUH and Radicant are interesting because you still receive at least one percent interest on amounts over CHF 25,000. For those who already have their account with a Neobank, these offers are certainly interesting.

The Best Savings Account

For most people, the Savings Account Plus from WIR Bank is the best choice. It offers the highest interest rate compared to other options at 1.8%. Moreover, the interest rate can be guaranteed up to CHF 500,000.

For those who are already customers of Raiffeisen, the Member Savings Account should be examined more closely. For those who already have a share certificate, this offers a free savings account with 1.1% interest. The advantage of this is that you do not have to register with a new bank and everything is available in the same e-banking system.

If you want to invest in foreign currencies like the euro and dollar, the wiLLBe Current Account is the best option. There, you get record-high interest rates: 3.8% for euros and 4.75% for US dollars. However, it should be noted that historically, both foreign currencies have lost a lot of value compared to the Swiss franc.