Corporate Bank Account Opening in Switzerland - Swiss or European Startup Company, SME, Trading Business, Association, Organisation, Group Firm

The Decade of Compliance

Last update: 24 January 2024

In the age of compliance, how easy is it really to open a corporate, business or capital deposit bank account for a start-up company in Switzerland or Europe?

Over the last 10 years, bank account opening in general has cardinally changed – from being a mere formality to becoming a lengthy and knowledge-intensive process. Delays and mistakes during the opening procedure of a Swiss corporate bank account reflect negatively on both the client and the financial institution and can put at risk their further collaboration.

The promotion of micro, small, and mid-sized enterprises (MSME) is on the agenda of nearly every European political party, but the reality on the compliance battleground looks different, as Swiss and European banks, FinTechs, and payment service providers (PSPs) show little appetite for low-margin, but high-risk, operational business and transaction accounts with frequent cross-border payments. It is significant that the EU had to guarantee the right to open a basic payment bank account with a European bank on the highest legislative level (here).

In real business life, corporate clients, SMEs, start-ups, founders, and entrepreneurs are often viewed by Swiss and European banks as a diffuse compliance threat calling for robust lines of defense in the form of regular transaction monitoring, sanction screenings, perpetual KYC, and overall plausibility checks. As a result, business bank account opening and managing formalities can pose serious challenges to Swiss and European start-up enterprises and established SMEs, often hampering their growth and at times threatening a company's very existence.

Astrantia Consulting is an independent trade advisory firm for corporate clients. We take an interdisciplinary approach and bring together experts in banking, law, compliance, audit, tax, and cross-border payments from global financial institutions and audit firms. Our know-how in account opening due diligence is unique in Switzerland.

"We specialize in complex corporate client on-boarding and account opening compliance due diligence and have the expertise to open, run, and document company accounts for corporate banking on behalf of businesses in Switzerland and across Europe".

Which documents are needed to open a corporate business bank account in Switzerland?

Required Company Documents:

1. Certificate of incorporation and articles of association or jurisdictional equivalent (in draft form for start-ups)
2. Tax identification number: TIN (here)
3. Certificate of good standing less than 12 months old or jurisdictional equivalent
4. Certificate of incumbency less than 12 months old or jurisdictional equivalent
5. Passport or identity card of the authorized person opening the account
6. Passport or identity card of all signatories on the Swiss corporate bank account
7. Financial statements of the last business year
8. Expected company turnover

Required Ownership Documents:

1. Share register and, in the case of complex structures, documents on the holding structure up to the ultimate beneficial owner (UBO) including documents on each intermediate shareholding company and its stake in the daughter company
2. Passport of the UBO
3. Proof of actual residential address of the UBO (utility bill, permanent resident card, rental contract)
4. Personal tax identification number of the UBO: TIN (here)
5. Basic CV of the UBO mentioning e-mail address and mobile phone number
6. Description of (i) the source of the company's funds (usually the foundation capital) and (ii) the source of company's planned revenues and expenses, that is, a list of its strategic debtors and creditors

Costs for opening a corporate or business account in Switzerland

For demanding cases, we charge a success fee due at IBAN issuance for the Swiss company account. If no IBAN is issued, we won't charge anything.

Lower degree of complexity: CHF 6,000

• Account opening involving only one direct ultimate beneficial owner (UBO)

Medium degree of complexity: CHF 8,000

• Account opening involving more than one UBO and/or intermediate holding companies

Higher degree of complexity: CHF 10,000

• Account opening involving multiple BOs and multiple layers of corporate ownership

Very high degree of complexity: CHF 15,000

• Account opening for private equity funds, pooled investment vehicles, and other regulated entities