Alpian Bank Review – 100 CHF Free in April 2024

Alpian: The Swiss private neobank

Alpian is a Swiss Private neobank founded in 2019 and launched to the public in 2022. The bank is based in Geneva and is regulated by the Federal Market Supervisory Authority financial institutions (FINMA).

Alpian offers a multi-currency account that allows clients to hold and manage funds in four currencies: Swiss Franc (CHF), Euro (EUR), British Pound (GBP) and US Dollar (USD).

Unlike other Swiss neobanks, Alpian positions itself primarily as a private bank and offers a range of wealth management services, including:

• Investment management: Alpian offers a range of investment solutions, including managed portfolios, model portfolios and individual securities.
• Wealth Management: Alpian provides comprehensive wealth planning advice to help clients achieve their financial goals.

Alpian’s financial services are accessible via a mobile application.

You just need to be a Swiss resident – regardless of nationality – to open an account with Alpian.

Alpian currently offers a single Metal type bank account with variable quarterly fees depending on the total assets deposited:

• from 50,000 CHF: Free
• from 10,001 to 50,000 CHF: 22.5 CHF/quarter
• from 0 to 10,000 CHF: 45 CHF/quarter

The Alpian account comes with the following benefits:

• 100% account management via iPhone or Android application
• Multi-currency account in CHF, EUR, USD and GBP
• VISA debit card

We have tested the Alpian app for you and compared the prices in detail.

Opening an account with Alpian – 8/10

Alpian allows you to open a mobile account for free from your smartphone.

What are the account opening conditions

You can absolutely use Alpian to receive your salaries and make bank transfers in Switzerland or abroad. As a licensed Swiss bank, Alpian guarantees the security of CHF deposits up to CHF 100,000, in accordance with strict FINMA regulations and by keeping them at the Swiss National Bank.

How to open your account with Alpian

Opening an account with Alpian begins in the app:

1. Download the Alpian app from the App Store or Google Play
2. Answer the questions
3. Verify your identity
4. It’s done! Your account is open 🙌

It only took 12 minutes to open our Alpian account.

Here are the different stages of opening an account with Alpian:

The application is available in French 🇫🇷 German 🇩🇪 Italian 🇮🇹 and English 🇬🇧

#1 You accept the account opening conditions

#2 You enter your phone number then the SMS code

#3 You create a 4-digit password and activate biometric authentication

#4 You agree – or not – to receive notifications from Alpian (recommended)

#5 You enter your personal information and your address

Remember to enter the code PC8YMJ in Referral code (referral code) to receive 100 CHF in your account.

#6 You complete the source of funds and tax declarations

#7 You verify your identity with your identity card or passport

#8 A confirmation message is displayed and you can already access your Alpian account.

#9 As soon as your identity is verified (less than a minute), you can finalize access to your account by accepting the user agreement

It’s done, your account is open and a message displays that you will receive your Alpian debit card within 5 to 7 days

Now make a transfer of 100 CHF or more to validate your promo code PC8YMJ and receive 100 CHF as a gift from Alpian

Beyond the services of a private bank, the Alpian account allows you to carry out all classic operations (transfers, direct debits, etc.) like any Swiss bank account.

Alpian offers a free VISA debit card sent automatically after your account opening.

Our opinion on opening an Alpian account

We appreciate the quick and easy account opening. Small negative point: contract acceptance in PDF format is not ideal.

Usability of the Alpian application – 9/10

The Alpian application is modern and intuitive.

It is an application worthy of the best neobanks like N26 or Revolut:

• The application is fast and smooth,
• The menus are clear and well organized
• Essential functions directly accessible

The Alpian application is rated 4.5 on the Apple Store and 4 on Google Play (6.5k reviews). These ratings are good without being exceptional, but opinions converge to confirm good usability.

Alpian app features – 6/10

Being a neobank, Alpian offers most of its services via the mobile application:

• Consult your banking transactions
• Enter transfers or standing orders
• Pay with TWINT Prepaid
• Scan invoices with the QR code
• Block and replace debit card
• Update your phone number and personal information
• Exchange currencies
• Trading ETFs
• Dialogue with a private investment advisor
• …

However, here is what is missing:

• No eBill
• No dedicated TWINT application (like Yuh TWINT)
• No virtual bank card (like Yuh, N26 or Revolut)
• Not possible to change the card PIN
• No adjustment of VISA card limits, beyond the max. monthly
• Not possible to share sub-accounts with individual IBANs (Spaces)

The function for scanning QR codes or invoices in Swiss format is very practical. A real plus compared to Revolut.

So while the essential features are present, important options like eBill and TWINT are missing

Alpian bank card – 8/10

Alpian offers a free VISA Debit card.

It is black and made of metal:

Here is the unboxing of the Alpian VISA card :

The Alpian VISA card is very good for traveling and is Apple Pay compatible (soon Google Pay).

Card settings allow you to view card number, PIN and change spending limits.

Alpian prices – 6/10

Opening an Alpian account isfree and there are no feessaccount is not billed during the first 6 months.

• From: 0 CHF/month
• Account management: via iPhone or Android mobile application
• Bank card: VISA Debit

Account fees

Alpian currently offers a Metal type account with variable quarterly fees depending on total assets:

• from 50,000 CHF: Free
• from 10,001 to 50,000 CHF: 22.5 CHF/quarter
• from 0 to 10,000 CHF: 45 CHF/quarter

VISA card

Alpian offers a free VISA debit card. It is black and made of metal, which corresponds to the Premium cards of other neobanks like Neon or Revolut for example

Card replacement is charged 50 CHF.

Cash withdrawals in Switzerland in CHF

• 2.00 CHF / withdrawal
• No withdrawal limit mentioned in their conditions

Cash withdrawals in Switzerland in EUR

• 5.00 EUR / withdrawal
• No withdrawal limit mentioned in their conditions

Cash withdrawals abroad

• 2.50% / withdrawal

International transfers

• Free SEPA transfers to the EURO zone and Switzerland, otherwise 7.00 CHF per transfer
• Free transfers in CHF, USD and GBP in the country of the currency, otherwise 7.00 CHF per transfer
• Transfers in AUD DKK NOK PLN SEK CAD CZK HRK HUF RON SGD charged 2.00 CHF in the country of the currency, otherwise 7.00 CHF per transfer
• All other currencies are charged CHF 7.00 per transfer

Also applies an exchange rate increase of 0.2% during the week and 0.5% between Friday 9:00 p.m. and Monday 8:00 a.m.

For comparison, Yuh applies exchange fees of 0.95% while Neon applies a fee of 0.9% for a CHF to EUR transfer (around 0.5% for Wise and 0.4% for Neon).

Alpian therefore has a very competitive offer for international transfers but the fees applied to the daily use of the card as well as the account fees make it an expensive product, reserved for those who want to invest at least 50,000 CHF.

Speed of transactions – 9/10

A transfer from one Swiss bank to another Swiss bank is very fast, but it depends on the times: if you make your transfer in the morning, it arrives in a few minutes, but if you make it ‘afternoon, he arrives the next day.

An instant transfer option like “Beam” at N26 or is missing “Pay a friend” at Yuh which allows you to pay another account in a few seconds from his telephone number.

[“Pay a friend” at Yuh[/caption ]

The push notifications system allows you to be alerted in real time of any movement on the account.

Alpian customer service – 9/10

Unlike Neon and Yuh, Alpian allows you to Chat with a customer advisor. You can also make an appointment with an investment advisor.

Customer support offered par chat is very good and the advisors respond quickly. You speak directly to a human and not a Bot or AI like at Revolut and N26.

Unsurprisingly, the fees are higher but the service is as good as you can expect from a private bank.

Alpian vs FlowBank?

FlowBank is a trading platform while Alpian is a real private online bank that uses the Interactive Brokers platform for investments.

It is obviously important to compare them in terms of prices and service offerings.

Trading

Alpian focuses on investing in ETF portfolios while Flowbank allows you to use different instruments: stocks, ETFs, Futures, Bonds,…

• Alpian applies 0.75% annual investment mandate fee, but no transaction fees (these are included in the 0.75%)
• Flowbank does exactly the opposite by applying zero account management fees but transaction fees of 0.15% on ETFs

Here are several examples to understand which is the cheapest:

For an ETF trade of 5,000 CHF

• Alpian costs 37.5 CHF per year
• FlowBank costs 7.5 CHF per transaction

For 5 ETF trades of 10,000 CHF

• Alpian costs 75 CHF per year (considering your total assets are 10,000 CHF)
• FlowBank costs 75 CHF (5 transactions of 15 CHF)

FlowBank seems cheaper than Alpian, but it all depends on how you want to invest.

• If you prefer to buy stocks or ETFs and hold them for the long term, Flowbank will be cheaper.
• If you trade more often and want investment advice, Alpian is more suitable and will also be cheaper

So you have on the one hand the “IKEA” investment: it’s cheaper but you have to do everything yourself, or on the other hand the Private Bank type investment: it’s (perhaps) more expensive but you receive expert advice.

Why open an account with Alpian?

Alpian offers a multi-currency account in CHF, EUR, USD and GBP, a VISA debit card and a very well-designed application.

With this offer Alpian competes with Flowbank and Yuh on a more high-end market segment: so that the offer is competitive , you must invest at least 50,000 CHF with Alpian in order to eliminate account fees..