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I'm living and working now in the Netherlands. Here you can easily open a bank account in EUR but I am interested in an account in Swiss franks. Browsing web pages of several Dutch banks I haven't found any which does this procedure.

I wonder if it is possible to open a bank account in CHF while not living in Switzerland. If yes, then should it be necessary the Swiss bank to open an account in? I am not focused on their safety and reputation as for now, just interested in an account in another currency.

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UBS in Zurich asked me for an opening deposit of US$30,000 to do this when I worked in Hong Kong a few years back. I thought that was a bit much compared to some alternatives, so I did not go through with it.

The Swiss Post runs a bank. That might be an option.
http://www.postfinance.ch/

Fortis Bank in Brussels had multicurrency accounts for non-residents of Belgium. In Hong Kong most of the banks could set up easy to use, interest bearing multicurrency accounts, but then HK is one of the world's major trading centers. I note HSBC is in Amsterdam...

Keep in mind in many jurisdictions you still owe taxes on money earned in a foreign account.

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    "postfinance.ch might be an option"--I've contacted them recently, and they only "focuses on the Swiss market and those of neighbouring countries. For business-policy reasons, we do not offer our services beyond these geographical limits and are therefore unable to open an account [for me]. It is possible to have an account with PostFinance for "domicile abroad", but the customer has to have a relation to Switzerland (salary or pension)."
    – yurkennis
    Commented May 16, 2014 at 21:22
  • "In Hong Kong most of the banks could set up easy to use ... accounts... HSBC is in Amsterdam": HSBC in HK now requires HK ID. HSBC in other countries says they can help only to customers outside of their home country. Other banks in HK are yet to be found.
    – yurkennis
    Commented May 16, 2014 at 21:26
  • Not surprising, times change
    – Paul
    Commented May 16, 2014 at 23:36

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