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Every bank in Switzerland needs a FINMA licence, and FINMA, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, supervises it prudentially. Deposits are protected by esisuisse up to CHF 100,000 per client and per bank. The cover includes legal entities such as an AG or a GmbH and clients domiciled abroad, adds together all of a client’s accounts at the same bank, and extends to foreign currency balances. One gap matters when choosing a provider: an institution holding only a FINMA fintech licence under Article 1b of the Banking Act is outside the scheme and must tell its clients so. Some cantonal banks add a state guarantee on top; the Canton of Zurich, for instance, is liable for all of Zürcher Kantonalbank’s liabilities that its own funds cannot meet, subordinated debt excepted.
A GmbH or AG founded with cash cannot be registered until its capital sits in a Swiss bank. Article 633 of the Code of Obligations requires money contributions to be deposited with a bank under the Banking Act for the exclusive use of the company, and lets the bank release them only once the company is entered in the commercial register; Article 777c applies the same rules to the GmbH. The statutory capital to deposit is CHF 20,000, paid in full, for a GmbH and, for an AG with its CHF 100,000 minimum share capital, at least 20% of each share and never less than CHF 50,000. This blocked account, the Kapitaleinzahlungskonto, is the first Swiss bank account most foreign founders meet.
Zürcher Kantonalbank’s factsheet shows the sequence: an application for a capital deposit confirmation, identification of the applicant, the transfer (no cash at the counter), the confirmation by registered mail once the full amount has arrived, the notarial deed, the commercial register entry and its publication in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce, then conversion into a company account with the same IBAN. Raiffeisen says it usually releases the capital the same day the entry is made. One point is easy to miss: ZKB states that if it decides not to take on the new company, the capital is paid only to another account in the company’s name. The bank holding the capital is not committed to becoming the operating bank.
Shareholders may live anywhere, so a non-resident can own the company that holds a business bank account in Switzerland. The company itself must be capable of being represented by one person resident in Switzerland: a board member or executive officer of an AG under Article 718 paragraph 4, or a managing director or manager of a GmbH under Article 814 paragraph 3. For the founders, the banks’ own documents differ:
| Bank | Type | What it publishes about the capital deposit |
|---|---|---|
| UBS | Bank | Online account for companies domiciled in Switzerland; lists residence in Switzerland among the founder’s requirements; deposits in CHF, EUR or USD |
| Zürcher Kantonalbank | Cantonal bank, state guaranteed | Identification by post with an ID copy authenticated abroad by a notary or official body; restrictions by domicile or nationality, in particular for US persons |
| Thurgauer Kantonalbank | Cantonal bank | Authenticated ID copy of every signing founder; payments from abroad may be checked further and refused; capital released after publication of the entry |
| Raiffeisen | Cooperative banking group | Capital deposit account for GmbH and AG formation; capital usually released on the day of entry |
The banks’ due diligence code treats video identification as equal to a meeting in person, and accepts identification by correspondence with an authenticated copy and an address check. Whether a given bank offers either route to a founder abroad is its own decision, so ask before transferring anything.
Swiss banks identify companies under CDB 20, the Swiss Bankers Association’s code of conduct on due diligence, approved by FINMA and in force since 2020. For an operating GmbH or AG the file normally holds:
An account may be used before the file is complete only exceptionally, and the missing documents must arrive within 30 days; otherwise the bank blocks the account and must end the relationship if they never come. Since 1 October 2026 the Federal Office of Justice keeps a transparency register of beneficial owners under the new TJPG. It is not public. Banks may consult it online, but their own checks still follow the Anti-Money Laundering Act, and they may rely on the register only where those checks show nothing different.
Private banks apply the same code. Where a relationship counts as higher risk, the Anti-Money Laundering Act requires the bank to clarify its economic background and purpose, and a foreign politically exposed person always counts as higher risk. In practice, expect to document where the money comes from and what the account is for. No law sets a minimum account size; each bank sets its own threshold.
The national currency is the Swiss franc, but share capital may be set in a foreign currency the business needs, and contributions may be paid in freely convertible currencies. UBS takes capital deposits in CHF, EUR or USD; ZKB in CHF, and in EUR, USD or GBP after discussion. A Swiss IBAN has 21 characters and starts with CH. Switzerland is outside the EEA but inside the geographical scope of the SEPA schemes, so euro transfers can run on SEPA.
A ready-made Swiss GmbH or AG has already been through the capital deposit and the commercial register, so you skip that first account; the operating bank still identifies you as the new controlling person, on Form K or Form A. A new formation starts with the capital deposit account. We can supply either and help prepare the bank application; whether an account is opened is for the bank alone to decide. Our guide to shelf companies with bank accounts explains the sequence, and the Switzerland hub covers tax and the residency rules.
Yes, but not through every route. Shareholders may live abroad, while the company needs one person resident in Switzerland who can represent it. UBS’s online capital deposit account lists residence in Switzerland as a requirement, whereas Zürcher Kantonalbank accepts identification by post with an ID copy authenticated abroad. Banks may restrict some domiciles and nationalities, US persons in particular, and check money arriving from abroad.
Form K comes from the Swiss Bankers Association’s due diligence code, CDB 20. On it an operating company names its controlling persons: anyone holding 25% or more of the votes or capital, otherwise whoever controls it by other means, otherwise its most senior manager. Banks may use their own equivalent form. A domiciliary company signs Form A instead, naming its beneficial owner.
The same code applies as at any Swiss bank: identification in person, by video or by authenticated copy, a commercial register extract under twelve months old for a company, and Form K or Form A. Where the bank classifies the relationship as higher risk, the Anti-Money Laundering Act requires it to clarify the economic background and purpose. Foreign politically exposed persons always count as higher risk.
No law sets a minimum for an ordinary account; each bank, private banks included, sets its own threshold. The amounts the law does fix belong to company formation: a GmbH pays in its CHF 20,000 capital in full and an AG at least CHF 50,000 of its share capital, both into a blocked capital deposit account before the company can be registered.
No regulation sets a deadline, so it varies by bank. The capital deposit confirmation follows once the full amount has arrived, Raiffeisen usually releases the capital the day the commercial register entry is made, and ZKB converts the account after the entry is published. Under CDB 20 an account cannot be used until the identification file is complete, so a complete file comes first.
Yes. esisuisse protects deposits up to CHF 100,000 per client and per bank, for companies as well as individuals and for clients domiciled abroad, foreign currency balances included. Institutions holding only a FINMA fintech licence are outside the scheme. Some cantonal banks also carry a state guarantee: the Canton of Zurich is liable for the liabilities of Zürcher Kantonalbank that its own funds cannot cover.