If you compare Yuh vs Alpian, you are probably looking for a multi-currency account, a neobank for Trading or a neobank for traveling and for your transactions abroad.
It is indeed very interesting to consider these neobanks compared to traditional banks such as UBS or Raiffeisen because they generally offer better exchange rates with very low transaction fees.
Yuh and Alpian are neobanks that provide financial services accessible from your smartphone.
Yuh is a Swiss-based neobank that offers a bank account with IBAN CH and allows you to have a main account in CHF, EUR or USD, as well as sub-accounts in several currencies (13 in total). Yuh also offers a Yuh Card, a prepaid Mastercard for online and offline purchases.
Alpian is a Swiss neobank based in Geneva, which combines private banking and everyday banking services. Aimed at individuals with assets between 100,000 and 1,000,000 CHF, Alpian offers personalized investment portfolios, financial advice and banking services via a mobile application. Alpian offers a bank account with IBAN CH and allows you to have a multi-currency account in CHF, EUR, GBP and USD. Alpian also offers an Alpian Card debit card, an Alpian Amex credit card and a virtual card for online purchases.
Yuh offers a free bank account and a free debit card. At Alpian the debit card is also free but the free account is limited to the first 6 months. You must then invest at least CHF 10,000 or maintain a balance above CHF 50,000 for the account to remain free.
Let’s take a closer look at what each neobank offers.
Yuh vs Alpian – Which neobank to choose
If you don’t have time to read this article, here is which neobank to choose according to your usage:
| Use | Yuh | Alpian |
|---|---|---|
| Free bank account with free debit card | 👍 | |
| To use in Switzerland | 👍 | |
| To travel abroad | 👍 | |
| To make free SEPA transfers | 👍 | |
| To transfer money abroad | 👍 | |
| For Trading | 👍 250 SWQ+50 CHF Trading Credits with our promo code | 👍 0,75% per year |
To find out how each criterion is judged, read on: we review important options for Switzerland (IBAN CH, transfers in CHF, TWINT) and for abroad (withdrawals with the card, SEPA transfer fees, transfers in foreign currencies).
Yuh vs Alpian – 1 point each
| Yuh | Alpian | |
|---|---|---|
| Free debit card | ✅ Mastercard | ✅ Visa |
| Quick account opening | ✅ 15 min. with the app | ✅ 15 min. with the app |
| Safe | ✅ Subsidiary of Swissquote and Postfinance | ✅ Swiss baking licence |
| IBAN (CH) | ✅ | ✅ |
| Virtual card | ✅ | ✅ |
| Free CHF transfers | ✅ | ✅ |
| ETF Trading | ✅ | ✅ |
| Apple Pay, Google Pay | ✅ | ✅ |
Yuh and Alpian are tied on these criteria, even if sometimes the experience can be different during the account opening, the 2 neobanks allow a quick and easy opening in 15 minutes.
Yuh vs Alpian – Promo Code
When you open an account with Yuh or Alpian, you receive a welcome gift in cash on your account, which is always nice.
The advantage goes to Alpian which offers a better welcome offer.
1 point for Alpian
Yuh vs Alpian – Free multi-currency account
Yuh and Alpian offer multi-currency bank accounts with IBAN CH, but at Alpian the account is free without conditions only for the first 6 months.
| Yuh | Alpian | |
|---|---|---|
| Free bank account | ✅ | ❌ flrst 6 months only |
| Main currencies | CHF, EUR or USD | CHF, EUR, GBP and USD |
| Available currencies | CHF, USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, AUD, CAD, SEK, HKD, NOK, DKK, AED, SGD | CHF, EUR, GBP, USD, AUD, DKK, NOK, PLN, SEK, CAD, CZK, HRK, HUF, RON, SGD |
After 6 months, Alpian charges according to your account balance:
- Free if you invest or if the balance exceeds CHF 50,000
- CHF 7.5/month for a balance between CHF 10,000 and CHF 50,000
- CHF 15/month for a balance below CHF 10,000
1 point for Yuh
YUH Promo Code: YUHNEO
Don't have a YUH account yet? Use our referral code to open your free YUH Bank account!
Use the promo code YUHNEO by September 30, 2024 to receive CHF 50 Trading Credits + CHF 4 (250 SWQ) for FREE 🙌
Get CHF 54 Free with YUH ➡️
Yuh vs Alpian – TWINT, eBill, QR payments
| Yuh | Alpian | |
|---|---|---|
| TWINT | ✅ Yuh TWINT | ❌ TWINT Prepaid |
| eBill | ✅ | ❌ |
| QR payments | ✅ | ✅ |
Unlike Yuh TWINT, Alpian does not offer a dedicated TWINT application but asks you to use the TWINT Prepaid application, which is less practical.
1 point for Yuh
Yuh vs Alpian: Debit card and withdrawals
At Yuh as at Alpian, the debit card is multi-currency, that is to say that you can use it indifferently for all the currencies available on your account, it will automatically debit the corresponding currency.
For example, if you have CHF and EUR in your account and you pay for a restaurant in France, the card will use the EUR available in your account.
There are, however, card-related fees that are different at Yuh and Alpian:
| Yuh | Alpian | |
|---|---|---|
| Free Debit card | ✅ | ✅ 20 CHF or FREE with our promo code |
| Free CHF Withdrawals | ✅ 1/week, then 1.90 CHF, up to 10,000 CHF/mo. | ❌ 2 CHF |
| Free Withdrawals Abroad | ❌ 4.90 CHF each | ❌ 2.5% |
Yuh applies a fixed fee of 4.90 CHF and a foreign exchange fee of 0.95%, while Alpian only applies a 2.5% foreign withdrawal fee.
Note that Alpian applies Visa’s interbank rates, which are very close to those of Mastercard used by Yuh.
Example with single withdrawals:
| Single withdrawal | Yuh | Alpian |
|---|---|---|
| (4.90 CHF + 0.95%) | (2.5% each) | |
| 50 EUR | 5.38 CHF | 1.25 CHF |
| 100 EUR | 5.85 CHF | 2.50 CHF |
| 200 EUR | 6.80 CHF | 5.00 CHF |
| 300 EUR | 7.75 CHF | 7.50 CHF |
| 400 EUR | 8.70 CHF | 10.00 CHF |
| 500 EUR | 9.65 CHF | 12.50 CHF |
| 600 EUR | 10.60 CHF | 15.00 CHF |
| 700 EUR | 11.55 CHF | 17.50 CHF |
| 800 EUR | 12.50 CHF | 20.00 CHF |
| 900 EUR | 13.45 CHF | 22.50 CHF |
| 1000 EUR | 14.40 CHF | 25.00 CHF |
For single withdrawals, Yuh becomes cheaper than Alpian from 300 EUR but in practice withdrawals abroad are more often less than 300 EUR, so our preference goes to Alpian.
For withdrawals in Switzerland the Yuh card is therefore much more advantageous than the Alpian card.
For withdrawals abroad you must use the Alpian card up to 300 CHF/EUR per withdrawal, beyond that Yuh becomes more interesting.
1 point each
Alpian Promo Code: ALPNEO
Don't have a Alpian Bank account yet? Use our referral code to open your free multi-currency bank account in CHF, EUR, USD et GBP!
Use the promo code ALPNEO by September 30, 2024 to receive a free Debit card and CHF 150 🙌
(A minimum deposit of CHF 500 is required to benefit from this exclusive offer)
Get CHF 150 Free with Alpian ➡️
Yuh vs Alpian: Transfer fees
Yuh and Alpian also allow you to make SEPA transfers in EUR without fees, there are however fees on currency exchanges:
| Pricing | Yuh | Alpian |
|---|---|---|
| Free transfers in Switzerland | ✅ CHF and USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, AUD, CAD, SEK, HKD, NOK, DKK, AED, SGD | ✅ CHF and EUR |
| Free SEPA transfers in EUR | ✅ | ✅ |
| Incoming transfers | ✅ | ✅ |
| Exchange fee | ❌ 0.95% fee | ✅ 0.2% on weekdays and 0.5% on weekends |
| International tranfers fee | ❌ 4.00 CHF each | ❌ Free for USD and GBP. 2 CHF for AUD, DKK, NOK, PLN, SEK, CAD, CZK, HRK, HUF, RON, SGD. Or 7 CHF |
At Yuh, it is not possible to exchange currencies outside opening hours while it is possible at Alpian but with a surcharge: 0.50% fees on weekends.
For transfers in CHF in Switzerland or in EUR in the EURO zone, Alpian and Yuh are free, however for international transfers you need to look in more detail.
Here are the fees for international transfers for comparison:
| International transfer | Yuh | Alpian (Same as local currency) | Alpian (Different than local currency) |
|---|---|---|---|
| CHF | 0.00% | Free | 7 CHF |
| EUR | 0.00% | Free | 7 CHF |
| USD | 4 CHF | Free | 7 CHF |
| GBP | 4 CHF | Free | 7 CHF |
| AED | 4 CHF | 7 CHF | 7 CHF |
| AUD | 4 CHF | 2 CHF | 7 CHF |
| CAD | 4 CHF | 2 CHF | 7 CHF |
| CZK | 4 CHF | 2 CHF | 7 CHF |
| DKK | 4 CHF | 2 CHF | 7 CHF |
| HKD | 4 CHF | 7 CHF | 7 CHF |
| HUF | 4 CHF | 2 CHF | 7 CHF |
| JPY | 4 CHF | 7 CHF | 7 CHF |
| NOK | 4 CHF | 2 CHF | 7 CHF |
| PLN | 4 CHF | 2 CHF | 7 CHF |
| RON | 4 CHF | 2 CHF | 7 CHF |
| SEK | 4 CHF | 2 CHF | 7 CHF |
| SGD | 4 CHF | 2 CHF | 7 CHF |
To know who is cheaper between Yuh and Alpian, you need to compare all the fees:
Example 1: Transfer of 5,000 EUR in Switzerland, from your CHF account
Alpian and Yuh do not charge fees for transfers in EUR (SEPA) in the EURO zone and Switzerland.
| Transfer fees | Yuh | Alpian |
|---|---|---|
| Total to transfer in EUR | 5,000 EUR | 5,000 EUR |
| Total in CHF before fees | 4,773.25 CHF | 4,773.25 CHF |
| Exchange fee | 43.35 CHF (0.95%) | 9.55 CHF (0.2%) |
| Transfer fee | 0.00 CHF | 0.00 CHF |
| TOTAL | 43.35 CHF | 9.55 CHF |
Example 2: Transfer of 10,000 USD to Switzerland, from your CHF account
| Transfer fees | Yuh | Alpian |
|---|---|---|
| Total to transfer in USD | 10,000 USD | 10,000 USD |
| Total in CHF | 8,666 CHF | 8,666 CHF |
| Exchange fee | 82.33 CHF | 17.33 CHF |
| Transfer fee | 0.00 CHF | 7.00 CHF |
| TOTAL | 82.33 CHF | 24.33 CHF |
Example 3: Transfer of 5,000 USD to the United States, from your CHF account
| Transfer fees | Yuh | Alpian |
|---|---|---|
| Total to transfer in USD | 5,000 USD | 5,000 USD |
| Total in CHF | 4,333 CHF | 4,333 CHF |
| Exchange | 41.16 CHF | 8.67 CHF |
| Transfer fee | 4.00 CHF | 0.00 CHF |
| TOTAL | 45.16 CHF | 33.06 CHF |
(*) Tests carried out during the week
Alpian is therefore less expensive than Yuh for foreign currency exchange and transfers. On the other hand, if you already have a stock of foreign currencies and you simply want to make a transfer to Switzerland, Yuh will be less expensive because there are no fees on transfers to Switzerland, for the 13 currencies offered.
If the question of exchanging CHF to EUR is important to you, check out our article How to Exchange Swiss Francs to Euros at the Best Rate.
1 point for Alpian
Yuh vs Alpian: Trading Fees
At Yuh, the first step to buying shares will probably be to exchange CHF to USD or EUR, and as seen above, Yuh applies a 0.95% exchange fee.
Then the comparison is more complicated because Yuh and Alpian offer 2 very different investment strategies:.
| Trading | Yuh | Alpian |
|---|---|---|
| Mandate fee | - | 0,75%/year |
| Custody fee | ✅ | ✅ Included |
| Trading of Stocks | 0.50% | ❌ Not available |
| Trading of ETF, Themes | 0.50% | ✅ Included |
| Trading of crypto-currencies | 1.00% | ❌ Not available |
Yuh is similar to traditional trading platforms and allows you to directly buy stocks, ETFs or cryptocurrencies by applying transaction fees.
Alpian offers a private banking strategy with 2 types of mandates: Guided by Alpian and Managed by Alpian. The mandate fees of 0.75%/year include custody fees and transaction fees. Alpian can be very interesting if you only invest in ETFs and change your portfolio several times a year.
We believe that these offers are complementary: Yuh for more direct investments, Alpian to benefit from a guided strategy and expert advice.
1 point each
Yuh vs Alpian – Which app is more ergonomic?
Discussing ergonomics can be very subjective, but it comes down to which app is more intuitive and easier to use, for example:
- How many clicks to access an important function?
- How many clicks to make a transaction?
- Does the app crash often?
- Is the app fast?
Without doing a complete ergonomic analysis (this is not the subject of this article), we think that the Yuh app is generally better than the Alpian app:
At Yuh:
- the application is fluid and fast
- The white background and icons make reading transactions more pleasant
- all functions are accessible directly
At Alpian:
- the application is very sober, in a private banking spirit
- the transaction icons do not allow to quickly identify a company
- all functions are directly accessible
The 2 applications have very good ergonomics and it is difficult to separate them on this point.
1 point each
Yuh vs Alpian – Customer reviews and ratings
Yuh is rated 4.6 on the App Store (7.4k reviews) and Alpian is rated 4.3 on the App Store (112 reviews). The customer reviews are therefore comparable in terms of rating and suggest that customers are generally satisfied with the 2 neobanks.
Yuh vs Alpian – Banking Licenses
Yuh is a subsidiary of Swissquote and Postfinance and uses the banking license of Swissquote Bank SA.
Alpian has its own Swiss banking license.
In both cases your deposits are protected up to 100,000 CHF.
1 point each
Yuh vs Alpian – Which neobank is the best
If we consider all of these criteria:
- Yuh Bank gets 8 points
- Alpian Bank gets 8 points
The choice between Yuh and Alpian must be made according to your usage and your objectives:
- if you use eBill or TWINT, choose Yuh
- if you make withdrawals once a week in Switzerland, choose Yuh
- if you make transfers abroad, choose Alpian
- if you make withdrawals abroad, choose Alpian
- if you want the services of a private bank, choose Alpian
Otherwise, do not hesitate to test both because these neobanks are free and are possibly complementary:
