Online Bank Switzerland: Zak Review (2023)

In 2018, Swiss bank Cler launched Zak, an innovative banking solution that was previously unavailable on the Swiss market: free and easy to use on your smartphone. It’s been just over a year since we first reported on Zak. Since then, a lot has happened with Switzerland’s first mobile banking app. In this comprehensive Zak Online Bank Switzerland update, you’ll find out what innovations this smart Swiss neobank has to offer and whether it’s right for you.

Preliminary remarks on the Zak Online Bank Switzerland Update

Termination of cooperation with Zak: As of October 31, 2023, the multi-year cooperation between this blog and Zak was terminated by mutual agreement. Instead, we have entered into new partnerships with the Swiss market leaders Yuh and neon have been entered into. This is because we believe that these two leading neobanks are not only more successful on the market, but also currently offer a clearly more attractive range of products. We have summarized the most important conditions on our Recommendation page incl. Action codes compiled.

Delimitation: This review refers to Zak, an app-based banking solution from Bank Cler. Bank Cler-specific services that are not offered for Zak are not the subject of this review.

Errors excepted: We have researched this Zak Online Bank Switzerland review to the best of our knowledge and belief. Our aim is to present as objective and meaningful a snapshot as possible to help you choose your bank. However, if we have made any mistakes and/or forgotten any important aspects, you are welcome to inform us of any improvements.

What is Zak?

Zak is a Swiss mobile banking app that you can use to save, pay, shop, make provisions and manage other financial transactions.

Who owns Zak?

Zak is a product of Bank Cler. Bank Cler is a Swiss bank headquartered in Basel and has been a subsidiary of Basler Kantonalbank since 2019.

When was Zak founded?

On February 27, 2018, Bank Cler launched Zak, Switzerland’s first neobanking app.

What improvements has Zak made since our last review?

Zak continues to develop dynamically. Since our last Zak review in May 2021, we have noticed the following innovations in particular:

• Introduction of eBill for efficient payment transactions
• Launch of the Zak Visa debit card: one card for everything, at fair conditions
• Abolition of the processing fee of 1.2% for card use abroad
• More flexible savings options by optimizing the clever financial planning feature “Savings pots”
• New cooperation with LINGS for the day-based insurance of items

We will explain these improvements in more detail later in the report.

How safe is Zak?

The following arguments speak in favor of a high level of security:

• Zak is backed by an established Swiss bank – Bank Cler. This means that, unlike its competitors in Switzerland and abroad, Zak is not a start-up or fintech.
• Bank Cler is supervised and controlled by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).
• Bank Cler, like every bank and every securities firm in Switzerland, is obliged to safeguard deposits up to a maximum amount of CHF 100,000 per client.
• Zak uses SSL encryption and two-factor authentication for larger transactions. Specifically, for amounts of CHF 5,000 or more, you receive a code on your smartphone via PushTAN. This code is the security element for logging in and signing the payment.

How can I open an account with Zak?

Stefan and Toni have been satisfied Zak customers for over a year now. This means that we opened our accounts some time ago. At this point, we’ll just say this much: opening an account is done completely online via smartphone – in less than 15 minutes.

You can find the seven steps of the registration process in our first Zak experience report.

What basic services does Zak offer?

The basic services include the Zak private account, the Zak Visa debit card and payment transactions. On the positive side, most of the associated services are free of charge. We will go into these three banking services in more detail below:

Private account Zak

With Zak you get a free private account. This means you don’t pay any annual fees for account management.

With Zak you only have one account, which is managed in the home currency CHF.

You receive 0.75% interest on your private account up to CHF 25,000 (as at 5.5.2023).

On the other hand, you can divide your account thematically into so-called “savings pots” and “common pots”. Thanks to this practical feature, you can plan your finances, be it your daily household expenses or special purchases, easily and transparently.

You can now also save on any calendar day of the month, with or without a predefined savings amount. We have put together the following examples to illustrate this:

• Coffee & Co.” savings pot: Save CHF 5 every day for the “coffee to go” you don’t drink
• “Mobility” savings pot: set aside CHF 20 every Wednesday for a public transport season ticket
• Savings pot “Ready for the island”: set aside CHF 100 every 25th of the month for your vacation
• “Dream bike” savings pot: save CHF 200 a month for an e-bike for a year
• Shared “Summer party” pot: ensure the joint financing of a shared flat party by the end of the month. Here’s how it works: the co-organizers enter their expenses in the “common pot”. Everyone can see at a glance who has paid what and who owes how much to whom. Laborious calculations and collecting receipts are no longer necessary. Debts can then be paid with just one click. A Zak account is required to use the common pot.

The following video tutorial clearly explains the zaksche pot system.

Zak Visa Debit: One card for everything

Finally: Zak has put an end to the card jungle: instead of credit cards, Maestro cards and prepaid cards, there is now the Zak Visa debit card for everything.

This allows you to make payments worldwide – online and in stores. And if a physical card is too cumbersome for you, you can store the Zak Visa Debit in your smartphone’s virtual wallet and pay conveniently via Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay.

A complete overview of your finances: All card payments are immediately debited from your account and displayed in the “My transactions” menu.

It is important that you always have a positive account balance. This is because account overdrafts and the associated high interest payments are not possible with a debit card, unlike with a credit card.

Optionally, you can also request a push notification for every movement. You can also assign your payments to your pots immediately.

Good news: with this new debit card you pay no annual fee. Payments in Switzerland are also free of charge and there are no additional processing fees abroad either. Finally, cash withdrawals at Bank Cler ATMs are free of charge.

Fees only apply in the following three situations when using the Zak Visa Debit Card:

• Exchange rate surcharge of approx. 0.5% for purchases in foreign currencies based on the Visa reference rate. (An improvement on the previous Zak Visa prepaid card, which had a foreign currency surcharge of 1.2%, and cheaper than many competitors).
• Cash withdrawals at foreign ATMs: In Switzerland, a fee of CHF 2 per withdrawal in local currency or CHF 5 per withdrawal in euros is charged. A fee of CHF 5 per withdrawal is generally charged abroad. (These fees are waived with the Zak Plus account model for CHF 8/month.) The Visa reference rate plus approx. 0.5% exchange rate surcharge also applies to withdrawals in euros.

CHF 20 for a replacement card in the event of loss.

The last two cost items are avoidable, which is why we do not consider them relevant.

Payment transactions

Individual payments manually or via QR code, standing orders and direct debits (LSV) are free of charge at Zak.

New and also free of charge, Zak offers the practical service eBill service – the digital invoice for Switzerland. This allows invoices to be checked and paid with just a few clicks.

Foreign payments within the SEPA area are free of charge in the home currency CHF. Transfers in euros are made by means of an automatic currency exchange. The respective daily exchange rate of Bank Cler is applied. For our test transfer on 4.7.2022, a EUR/CHF exchange rate of 1.02204 was used, which corresponds to a (too high) margin of around 2% (!).

Payment transactions at Zak are subject to the following two restrictions:

• The total of all payment orders (including standing orders) is limited to CHF 25,000 (or equivalent) per week.
• Payments outside the SEPA area and payments in currencies other than CHF and EUR are not possible.

Credits in CHF are free of charge. Incoming payments in foreign currencies are automatically converted into CHF based on the respective daily exchange rates of Bank Cler.

According to four test transfers in euros and US dollars to the Zak CHF account, the following exchange rates were applied:

• EUR/CHF 0.99176 (value date 28.6.2022) and 0.98098 (4.7.2022)
• USD/CHF 0.93492 (28.6.2022) and 0.94178 (5.7.2022)

In accordance with the precise interbank exchange rates according to the SIX currency converter, Zak’s exchange rates include a margin of around 2% (!), which is comparatively very high. Zak confirmed this value to us upon request.

Finally, Zak offers the optional “Zak Instant” plug-in for “internal” payment transactions. When activated, Zak customers can transfer money to each other in real time, just like with Twint.

What additional services does Zak offer?

Yes, the Zak app can do even more than the basic services mentioned above. It also covers topics such as pensions, insurance, shopping and the fee-based Zak Plus service package. We will go into this in more detail below:

Precautions

Pillar 3a pension provision is attractive from a tax perspective. Zak offers two models for this purpose, which can also be combined: “Retirement savings account 3” and “Securities”.(The following statements regarding the investment horizon are not recommendations from Zak, but are in line with our conviction that investments should not be made in the “equities” share class, which is susceptible to fluctuations in the short term).

If you have a shorter investment horizon, e.g. because you want to buy your own home in three years’ time or emigrate next year, you should preferably opt for “Retirement savings account 3”. This variant is not exposed to market turbulence, as only cash is invested. The interest rate is currently 0.10%. There are no fees.

For those with a longer investment horizon, on the other hand, Zak offers three sustainable investment solutions with securities as an alternative or in combination. The custody account and all transactions are free of charge. The ongoing charges (TER) amount to 1.25% of the invested amount per year. This seems relatively high to us, which is why we recommend a comparison with competitors before taking out this pension solution.

8.2 Insurance

Zak has recently entered into a cooperation with the innovative insurer LINGS insurance company. The special thing about it is that you can insure your favorite pieces to the day.

For Stefan, a passionate amateur photographer, for example, his camera and lens cost just 75 centimes for a one-day photo session (see Figure 6). A fair deal!

Health, luggage and cyber insurance round off Zak’s range of insurance products.

Shopping

Bargain hunters will constantly find new offers in the app under the “Zaktion” section, such as a JBL Go 3 mini speaker for CHF 33.00 instead of CHF 46.90.

Zak Plus – additional lines for a fee

“The perfect offer for anyone who wants to stay flexible. Climate protection included.” At least that’s how Bank Cler advertises this service package for CHF 8 per month.

“Flexible” here means unlimited access to all ATMs worldwide at favorable conditions.

And “climate protection included” refers to the 0.2 centimes that Zak donates to the climate for every franc that Zak Plus customers spend with their card. In other words, according to the motto “Spend money with a clear conscience”. Specifically, this involves an annually changing climate protection project as part of the Zak Green Impact Initiative.

Finally, Zak Plus customers at Bank Cler branches are offered a coffee.

What is the difference between Zak and Zak Plus?

The following illustration compares the scope of services of Zak and Zak Plus.

How does Zak earn money and which services are free?

In the table below you will find the prices for all the main services of the two account models Zak and Zak Plus.

Services	Zak	Zak Plus	Remarks
Private account Zak
Account management	gratis	8 CHF per month
Interest rate	0,00%	0,00%	Account overdrafts are not possible
PDF account statement as at 31.12.	gratis	gratis
PDF account statement, monthly	gratis	gratis
Restriction on withdrawal	none	none
Zak Visa debit card
Cash withdrawals at Bank Cler ATMs - from CHF - from EUR	free of charge approx. 0.5% exchange rate surcharge	free of charge approx. 0.5% exchange rate surcharge	based on visa reference course
Cash withdrawals at foreign ATMs in Switzerland - from CHF - from EUR	2 CHF per purchase 5 CHF per purchase plus approx. 0.5% exchange rate surcharge	free of charge approx. 0.5% exchange rate surcharge	based on visa reference course
Cash withdrawals at ATMs abroad	CHF 5 per purchase plus approx. 0.5% exchange rate surcharge	approx. 0.5% exchange rate premium	based on visa reference course
Pay for purchases - in Switzerland - abroad	free of charge approx. 0.5% exchange rate surcharge	free of charge approx. 0.5% exchange rate surcharge	based on visa reference course
Card blocking - temporary via app - permanent via customer advisor	free of charge 50 CHF	free of charge 50 CHF
Replacement card	20 CHF	20 CHF
Payment transactions
Incoming payments - in CHF - in foreign currencies	free of charge at the daily rate from Bank Cler	free of charge at the daily rate from Bank Cler	Exchange rate margin of approx. 2%
Payments, standing order and LSV in Switzerland in CHF	gratis	gratis
Payments and standing orders in Switzerland in euros	at the daily rate of Bank Cler	at the daily rate of Bank Cler	Exchange rate margin of approx. 2%
Payments and standing orders abroad in euros	at the daily rate of Bank Cler	at the daily rate of Bank Cler	Exchange rate margin of approx. 2%; Payments outside the SEPA area not possible

Table 1: Comparison of the fees for the Zak and Zak Plus account models.

As Table 1 shows, the basic services of account management, payment transactions and card use in Switzerland are free with Zak.

You will always incur costs when foreign currencies are involved, whether for purchases abroad, cash withdrawals or payment transactions.

The price differences between the Zak and Zak Plus account models are manageable. For the monthly CHF 8 account fee with Zak Plus, you essentially get more flexibility when withdrawing cash.

Specifically, with Zak Plus you save the fixed fees for all cash withdrawals at third-party ATMs (i.e. at non-Bank Cler ATMs) in Switzerland and abroad.

Conversely, this means for you: If you mainly pay by card or are not dependent on (third-party) ATMs in Switzerland and abroad, then you are definitely better off with the free Zak account model.

What is Zak Support good for?

In general, we recommend that you first send all inquiries to Zak’s chat bot via the app. This way, simple standard questions (for him) can be answered immediately.

If he can’t help, he is kind enough to refer you to the Bank Cler human support hotline.

We have found this free hotline for more specific inquiries to be quite efficient (you can expect to be on hold for a few minutes), always in Swiss German, always friendly and usually competent. Of course, the latter depends on the person providing the information.

You can find more information about Zak Support in our first Zak experience report.

Who is Zak particularly suitable for?

Zak is suitable for all digitally savvy savers who

• value an app-based Swiss banking solution with deposit protection of CHF 100,000;
• do not want to pay annual fees for a private account and debit card;
• process the daily payments and/or credit notes mainly domestically and in home currency, which means that no costs are incurred;
• want to process payment transactions as efficiently as possible using QR codes and eBill;
• want to benefit from a clever financial planning feature thanks to the “zak’s pot system” – optional and free of charge;
• last but not least, appreciate the efficient, (Swiss) German-speaking telephone support provided by Bank Cler.

Who is Zak not suitable for?

If you value one or more of the following four services, we cannot recommend Zak:

• Foreign currency accounts: Zak only has one private account in CHF. This means that foreign currency transactions at Zak are always carried out via the CHF account using automated currency exchange.
• Dollar transfers: With Zak, outgoing payments are only permitted in the currencies CHF and EUR. However, credits are possible in dollars and other foreign currencies without any problems.
• Worldwide transfers: With Zak, payment transactions are limited to the European SEPA area. (With the exception of the Visa debit card, which can of course be used globally).
• Trading: Zak does not offer any trading functions. However, Zak can be ideally combined with established brokers such as Interactive Brokers or DEGIRO (use this link to secure a CHF 100 bonus).

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Updates

2023-10-31: Cooperation dissolution and neobank alternatives mentioned.
2023-05-05: Interest rate updated to 0.75%.
2023-02-16: Text block “Short & sweet” inserted; new interest rate of 0.4% mentioned.