ibani vs Yuh: what does currency exchange cost, and why use both?

1. Comparison table

Terms published by Yuh and by ibani, checked on 21 October 2026.

Criterion	Currency exchange and transit IBAN	Yuh Current account, card, investing
Exchange margin	0.40% to 0.15% depending on the amount, on the real market rate	0.95% added to the interbank rate, single rate whatever the amount
Current account with a balance	✗ No transit IBAN: funds are converted and then sent on (in manual mode, held until you give the signal)	✓ Yes Swiss IBAN, free account maintenance
Payment card	✗ No	✓ Free Debit Mastercard physical and virtual
Currencies	12 currencies to convert no foreign-currency balance held	13 currencies you can hold free multi-currency account
CHF transfer within Switzerland	✓ Free	✓ Free
SEPA transfer in euros	✓ Free	✓ Free CHF 4 in another currency
Minimum or maximum exchange amount	✓ None	Not stated on the pricing page
Cash withdrawal	✗ No	1 free withdrawal per week in Switzerland, then CHF 1.90 CHF 4.90 abroad
Investing and pillar 3a	✗ No	✓ Yes stock market, crypto, 3a
Deposit guarantee	✗ No no deposit: pass-through account	✓ Up to CHF 100,000 assets held by Swissquote Bank Ltd
Account opening for a resident of France, Germany or Italy	✓ Yes	✗ Suspended opening restricted to residents of Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein
Subscription	✓ None	✓ None for the account

Sources: Yuh's pricing page and FAQ, Yuh's official list of authorised countries of residence; ibani's public pricing schedule. Checked on 21 October 2026, details in the Sources section. Terms may change.

2. What does currency exchange cost on each side?

Both services start from a comparable reference: the interbank rate, that is, the rate at which banks exchange currencies with one another. Each adds a margin to it, and that margin is what makes up the cost of currency exchange. According to the pricing published by Yuh, it is 0.95%, regardless of the amount or the currency. At ibani, it is 0.40% up to CHF 10,000 per transaction, then it falls in tiers.

Example: a CHF 6,000 salary converted into euros every month

The calculation: CHF 6,000 × 0.40% = CHF 24 a month at ibani; CHF 6,000 × 0.95% = CHF 57 a month at Yuh. The difference is CHF 33 a month, or CHF 396 over a year.

Example: a one-off payment of CHF 20,000

For a larger amount (a deposit for a property purchase, repaying a loan, moving savings), the gap widens, because ibani's margin drops to 0.35% between CHF 10,000 and CHF 50,000 while Yuh's stays at 0.95%:

• ibani: CHF 20,000 × 0.35% = CHF 70;
• Yuh: CHF 20,000 × 0.95% = CHF 190.

These examples compare only the exchange margin published by each service. The interbank rate itself changes continuously; it is a comparable starting point for both.

3. What Yuh does better than ibani

Yuh is a full current account; ibani is not one. For everything to do with day-to-day banking, Yuh offers what ibani does not:

• A current account with a Swiss IBAN, with no account maintenance fees, where your money stays available.
• A free Debit Mastercard, physical and virtual, to pay in shops, online and abroad.
• 13 currencies you can hold (CHF, USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, AUD, CAD, SEK, HKD, NOK, DKK, AED, SGD) in a free multi-currency account: useful for keeping euros or dollars before a trip.
• Free transfers within Switzerland and Liechtenstein, and SEPA transfers when they are in euros.
• Investing and pillar 3a: stock market, crypto and 3a in the same app.
• The deposit guarantee: according to Yuh, assets are held by Swissquote Bank Ltd and protected up to CHF 100,000.

If you are looking for an account to receive your money, keep it, pay and save, ibani is not the answer: that is the role of a current account such as Yuh.

4. What ibani does better than Yuh

ibani does only one thing: convert currencies and transfer them. On that specific point, the published terms differ:

• A lower, tiered exchange margin: 0.40% up to CHF 10,000, then 0.35%, 0.30%, 0.20% and 0.15% depending on the amount, against a flat 0.95% at Yuh.
• No minimum or maximum exchange amount, and no limit on transfer frequency or volume.
• Automatic conversion on receipt: funds received on your ibani IBAN are converted and sent on to the destination account with no action on your part. If you prefer to choose the moment, manual mode holds the funds until you give the signal.
• Timing: funds received on a business-day morning are converted and sent on within half an hour.
• Payment of Swiss bills in CHF (LAMal health insurance, pillar 3a) before conversion, free of charge.
• Access from abroad: ibani is available to people who do not live in Switzerland, including in France, Germany and Italy (see the Cross-border workers page).

How it works is described step by step on the How it works page.

5. How to combine Yuh and ibani

You do not have to choose. The two services overlap only on conversion, and that is the only step you hand over to ibani:

1. Keep Yuh as your current account: salary, card, savings, investments.
2. Open an ibani Swiss IBAN for the currency pair you need, for example CHF to EUR, and enter the destination account for the euros.
3. When you have francs to convert, transfer them from Yuh to your ibani IBAN, in CHF. According to Yuh's pricing, a CHF transfer within Switzerland is free.
4. ibani converts at the market rate plus its published margin, then sends the euros by free SEPA transfer.

On CHF 6,000, the conversion then costs you CHF 24 instead of CHF 57, and you keep everything Yuh does well. The same approach works for a one-off sum: on CHF 20,000, CHF 70 instead of CHF 190.

6. Cross-border workers: who can open a Yuh account?

As of 21 October 2026, Yuh's FAQ states that account opening is currently suspended for people who live outside Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein. Yuh's official list of authorised countries of residence, consulted on 21 October 2026, says the same, with no date for reopening. The pricing page still mentions residents of France, Germany and Italy, but the FAQ and the list of countries are more precise on this point. A cross-border worker who lives in France, Germany or Italy therefore cannot open a Yuh account for the time being.

The options that remain open to cross-border workers are covered in our guide Yuh alternatives for cross-border workers.

7. Who provides what: status of the two services

Conclusion: a current account on one side, a currency exchange service on the other

Yuh covers most of what you need from a current account in Switzerland: IBAN, free card, currencies you can hold, investing and deposit guarantee. Its currency exchange costs 0.95%, whatever the amount.

ibani does not replace that account. It handles the conversion: 0.40% up to CHF 10,000, less and less above that, with no amount limit, and automatic forwarding to the account of your choice. As soon as you convert regular or large sums, routing those francs through ibani reduces the cost of currency exchange without giving up Yuh.

No opening or account maintenance fees · Affiliated with SO-FIT (SRO)

Read also: ibani vs Neon · ibani vs Revolut Standard · ibani vs a traditional bank · Exchange rate comparison