Buying crypto by bank transfer

A bank transfer is the least glamorous way to buy bitcoin – and usually the cheapest. No card surcharges of 3% to 4.5%, no ATM markup, and a bank statement that documents everything later on, for your bank and for the tax office. Yet this is exactly where plenty goes wrong: francs travel via SWIFT instead of SIC and lose fees on the way, the bank converts francs into euros at a poor rate, or the payment sits in limbo for days because the reference is missing.

This page explains the four payment rails, shows which provider accepts which, and walks you through your first deposit. If your bank sells bitcoin directly in e-banking – PostFinance, Swissquote or Yuh, for example – you don't need a transfer at all; those banks are compared in our guide to crypto banks in Switzerland.

SIC, instant, SEPA, SWIFT: four routes for your money

In e-banking, every payment looks the same: recipient, IBANInternational Bank Account Number: your account number in international format. Swiss IBANs start with CH, Liechtenstein ones with LI., amount, done. Behind the scenes, the currency and the recipient's bank decide which system carries the money – and that determines cost and speed.

SIC is Switzerland's payment system for francs. Swiss Interbank ClearingSwiss Interbank Clearing: the payment system for franc transfers between banks in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, run by SIX on behalf of the Swiss National Bank. connects the banks in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. An ordinary franc transfer to a Swiss or Liechtenstein account goes through it automatically, usually free of charge. Money is credited on bank business days, often the same day.

Instant payments are the fast version. Since August 2024, the largest Swiss banks have had to be able to process instant payments, and the other banks are following in stages. According to SIX, the money arrives in under ten seconds, around the clock, Sundays included. The catch: both banks must take part, and your e-banking must offer the option. So far we have found hardly any crypto provider that explicitly accepts instant franc payments.

SEPA is the euro payments area, and Swiss banks are part of it. A SEPASingle Euro Payments Area: a single area for euro transfers across Europe, which Switzerland also takes part in. transfer needs euros – either from a euro account or converted by your bank. SEPA Instant is the euro counterpart of the Swiss instant payment.

SWIFT is the banks' global messaging network and steps in when no local system fits. SWIFTGlobal network banks use for international payments. Slower and more expensive than SIC or SEPA, often with fees on both ends. payments take one to five business days, and both banks often charge fees. At Kraken, a franc deposit via SWIFT costs CHF 0.75, versus nothing via SIC; what your own bank charges for a SWIFT payment is in its price list.

Which provider accepts which rail

The differences between providers are bigger than the marketing suggests. The overview below is based on the providers' pricing and help pages:

Three things stand out. First: CEX.IO, operating since 2013, does not offer francs to Swiss residents – they contract with a company in Nevis, and deposits are made in euros, dollars or pounds (CEX.IO review). Second: SwissBorg only takes francs via SWIFT, with the French company BlockNodes SAS as the beneficiary – so your bank will charge SWIFT fees (SwissBorg review). Third: Kraken is the only large international provider on the list that explicitly names SIC as a free franc rail, via Bank Frick in Liechtenstein (Kraken review).

For Swiss bitcoin apps, bank transfer is the norm. Relai charges 1%, Pocket 1.5% with no minimum fee, DFX 1.49%; Mt Pelerin charges no commission on the first CHF 500 each year (Mt Pelerin review). Pocket itself notes that instant payments don't work through its Swiss bank – only euro SEPA Instant via its UK bank connection (Pocket review).

Francs or euros?

Rule of thumb: deposit in the currency your account is held in. Send euros from a franc account and you let the bank do the exchange – and banks build a margin into the rate. PostFinance, for instance, says it includes a margin in line with market practice, the size of which depends on the transaction, the currency and the amount. It doesn't publish a figure.

An example with assumed numbers: if your bank adds a 1% margin to the exchange, that costs around CHF 10 on CHF 1,000 – more than many exchanges charge for the purchase itself. And if you sell back into francs later, you pay for a second conversion.

Euros make sense if you already have them – a euro account with your Swiss bank or a neobank, savings still sitting in an account back home, or a salary paid in euros. Or if the provider doesn't take francs: Crypto.com only offers Swiss residents a euro account, and we could not confirm franc deposits at Coinbase.

Step by step: your first deposit

1. 1

   Open and verify the account

   Sign up, upload your passport, Swiss ID or residence permit, then a selfie or video. Many providers don't show deposit details until verification is complete.

2. 2

   Pick the right rail

   Under Deposit, choose currency CHF and the SIC rail, not SWIFT. Note the recipient, IBAN, bank and your personal reference.

3. 3

   Enter the payment in e-banking

   From an account in your own name. The reference goes into the message-to-recipient field. For the first payment, a small test amount is worth it.

4. 4

   Wait for the credit

   SIC usually the same or next business day, SEPA 1 to 2 days, SWIFT up to 5 days. At weekends, only instant payments arrive.

5. 5

   Buy and decide where the coins live

   Buy bitcoin, ideally with a limit order rather than at the instant price. If you want to self-custody, send the coins to your own wallet afterwards.

If you want to buy regularly, a standing order in e-banking does the job. Pocket Bitcoin buys automatically with every incoming payment and sends the bitcoin straight to your wallet; Relai offers savings plans in its app. How to store coins safely yourself is covered in our guide to crypto wallets in Switzerland.

Reference, message and name: the three most common pitfalls

The reference. Many providers give you a personal reference to match the payment to your account. If it's missing or mistyped, the money goes into manual review or is returned – with fees and, for foreign currency, an exchange-rate loss. At Mt Pelerin, the payment details are tied to the combination of coin, network and receiving address; a different address needs new details. At SwissBorg, the beneficiary must read “BlockNodes SAS”.

The message. Put only the required reference in the message field, nothing else. You have nothing to hide, though: buying crypto is legal in Switzerland, and your bank can see who the payment goes to anyway.

The name. The money must come from an account in your own name. Kraken states in its help centre that it only accepts bank deposits from accounts in the customer's name; if the sender's name doesn't match, the payment can be held until its origin is proven. Kraken also rejects withdrawals to third-party accounts. For crypto itself, Switzerland also applies the travel ruleRule requiring financial institutions to pass on or verify sender and recipient details for crypto transfers. Applied in Switzerland since 2019, with no exemption for private wallets.: according to FINMA, supervised providers may only send coins to, or receive them from, external wallets belonging to their own verified customers, unless sender and recipient details can be transmitted reliably. That is why exchanges often ask, at your first withdrawal, whether the destination wallet is yours.

• Account in your own name – not your spouse's, your parents' or your company's
• SIC selected, if the provider accepts francs via SIC
• Reference copied exactly, with no extra text
• Beneficiary name written as the provider specifies
• First payment as a small test amount
• Bank statement and purchase record filed for your tax return

When your bank asks questions

Under the Anti-Money Laundering Act, banks must look into unusual payments. A CHF 500 transfer to a well-known exchange barely registers; a large amount coming back from an exchange is more likely to. The most radical case came from Neuchâtel: Banque Cantonale Neuchâteloise announced in January 2024 that it would stop processing crypto trading flows through its accounts from June 2024, citing the workload of checks and money-laundering risk.

Most banks simply ask. Keep exchange statements in your name, records of the original deposits and the tax returns in which the coins are declared. Which banks offer crypto and which keep their distance is compared in our guide to crypto banks in Switzerland.

The way back: cashing out crypto into francs

When you sell, everything runs in reverse, with the same rules. Payouts only go to an account in your own name, and francs via SIC are usually cheaper than SWIFT here too. Fees differ: SwissBorg charges 0.10% on franc withdrawals, at least CHF 5 and at most CHF 110; YouHodler 0.15% or CHF 15. The full process – including tax questions and proof of origin – is explained in our guide to cashing out crypto in Switzerland.

When a bank transfer isn't the best route

A bank transfer is cheap but not immediate. If you want to buy on a Saturday evening without instant payments, you'll wait until Monday. The routes that get you into crypto within a day or within minutes, and what they cost, are compared in our guide to the fastest way to buy crypto. If you'd rather not use a bank account, cash options – from bitcoin ATMs to SBB ticket machines – are covered in buying bitcoin with cash. And if you were hoping to use TWINT: no provider we checked accepts it for crypto – what works anyway is explained in buying crypto with TWINT.