neon Bank Review 2024: THE best Swiss Bank for Mustachians
Source: Mustachian Post
I’m a converted fan of neon since January 2022. It could have been my primary bank for more years, but our love story needed more time to take off (I’ll explain to you why later). For the new Mustachians among you, I remind you that you can save money like crazy by just switching from your current institution to a new one. We speak here of about CHF 4'440 of money savings over 10 years. And all this just to make the unique effort of changing of bank accounts.
neon Bank Review in a nutshell — by MP
In a nutshell, below is my neon Bank Switzerland review:
What I love about neon banking services
- First true neobank in Switzerland built from scratch with a strong focus on its customers (vs. for instance CSX from the traditional bank Credit Suisse which is “just” a product of an existing bank, hence they have less pressure to succeed by addressing key Swiss residents’ needs)
- Built upon their banking partner Hypothekarbank Lenzburg, a secure and trustful bank that protects your bank account up to 100'000 CHF thanks to the Swiss deposit insurance
- Free bank account in Switzerland — for real, with unbeatable conditions: no hidden base fees, no currency exchange rate surcharge when paying with the neon card abroad in foreign currencies, low fees international transfers via Wise integration
- One card (the neon payment card) for all my international payments in foreign currencies abroad with a 0% exchange rate spread!
- neon app is really easy to use (vs. usability of other digital banks in Switzerland which over-complicate processes like domestic payments with a painful input field for the security code)
- Digital banking platform from the ground up: fully online account creation, bank transfers in total autonomy in their app, high daily transaction limit (CHF 50'000/day!), push notifications, etc.
What cons neon could improve?
- Joint accounts, so that you and your partner can handle common household finances
- Partner credit card, so that your partner can use a secondary card linked to your neon account (it’s coming soon looking at neon’s roadmap)
- Cross-border Swiss account, so that border workers can open a neon account (same as a partner credit card, it should come soon!)
- Other “Made by neon” financial products like mortgage and pillar 3a to be a one-stop shop bank, vs. relying on partners (that are often not as best and cheap as neon itself is with banking)
- Fluidity of the mobile app user interface, similar to what Revolut or Wise do (that’s a detail that only geeks like me will notice, though)
MP’s Recommendation
I recommend neon Bank to all Swiss Mustachians. It’s the cheapest and most complete of all Swiss digital banks. Moreover, the neon app is secure both on a technological level as well as financially speaking as it relies on the well-established Hypothekarbank Lenzburg.
Since January 2022, neon Bank is my primary Swiss bank account. Mrs. MP and I receive our Swiss salaries on it and use their mobile application for our everyday banking needs.