All Swiss banks ask their foreign clients to always maintain a certain amount on their accounts and use the account in a way compatible with the bank policies. Each bank has different policies but the following is true for all the banks we work with:

• By minimum balance is meant the total value of all assets deposited with the bank, not including valuables left in a safe deposit box. If your Swiss bank has bought bonds, stocks, mutual funds, gold or foreign currencies on your behalf, it is the total value of these investments that has to exceed the account minimum balance.
• The reason Swiss banks ask for a minimum balance is double. First, they are in the banking business to make money, and the only way they make money is by investing the funds deposited by their clients. Small accounts and current accounts cost more than they yield to the bank. After all, who would trust a banker who cannot operate a profitable business. The second reason is that account opened with a foreign client is fraught with a small percentage of risk - out of 1000 accounts opened by a bank, a handful might turn out to be fraudulent or the client might even be a criminal. This risk is, unfortunately, inherent to the business, and Swiss banks nowadays are very strict in filtering new clients and documenting their background. But whatever precautions are taken, a small risk remains for each new client. Asking for a minimum balance makes sure that at least the risk is worth it financially.
• All accounts a foreigner can open in Switzerland nowadays are meant to be used predominantly for savings and investments.No salary / in-and-out account can be opened for non-resident foreigners. It does not mean you cannot use the money on the account or withdraw from time to time or even close the account down. But if your goal is to receive money, spend it, receive some more and use the account as a short-term funnel where nothing remains for long, no bank will want your business. This applies even if you always maintain the minimum balance. At least 50% of what you add on top of the minimum balance is meant to remain on the account to be saved and invested for the long run.

Here are a few examples of clients Swiss bank do not want:

• «I want to receive credit card payments from my clients on a Swiss accounts and then pay my suppliers by bank transfer.»
  We cannot open you an account. Your business may be perfectly legal, but Swiss banks just do not offer current accounts for foreign business to receive and send payments.
  
  
• «I am an engineer/consultant/IT contractor and have clients worldwide. I need my clients to pay me into this account and to obtain a credit card to spend my money. I'll maintain the minimum balance but I'll spend 80% of the monthly transfers I'll be receiving on this account after I deposit the minimum balance.»
  We cannot open you an account. If you would save at least 50% of what you deposit on top of the minimum balance for the account you have selected, and keep this money as a retirement fund or a medium- to long-term savings, then we can help.
  
  
• «I want to deposit a large amount of cash, leave it for a few months, then transfer it to buy a house.»
  Depositing cash is always more delicate than wiring money, and is possible only if the origin of the cash is fully documented. If the money is going to stay only for a few months anyway, no bank will open your account.
  
  
• «I want to open an account to receive money from a variety of my clients and I'll invest it on their behalf.»
  We cannot open you an account. Swiss banks need to know who their clients are and they will never accept to open such an account.