--- title: "Swiss SMEs: How to optimize your foreign supplier payments" url: https://www.ibani.com/en/guides/optimize-foreign-supplier-payments-sme lang: en date_modified: 2026-09-30 author: "Brice DELHOME" --- ![Optimizing foreign supplier payments for a Swiss SME: bank spread, SWIFT fees and EUR/CHF conversion](https://www.ibani.com/images/paiement-fournisseurs-etrangers.png) # Swiss SMEs: How to optimize your foreign supplier payments 9 min read | Updated 30 September 2026 B2B Guide Author: [Brice DELHOME](https://www.ibani.com/en/author/brice-delhome) 📌 In Short: Paying your foreign suppliers at a lower cost - **The real hidden cost is the spread:** Swiss banks build into the exchange rate a margin that does not show up as a fee, in the order of **1.5% to 3%** under this guide's working assumption (check your bank's price list), often far heavier than the transfer fees they display. - **Get invoiced in your supplier's currency:** asking for a CHF invoice is a false good idea — the supplier builds in their own safety margin against exchange risk. - **Choose the right rail:** SEPA for euro payments (fast, cheap), SWIFT for the rest (1 to 5 days, fixed fees in the order of CHF 15 to 50 per operation, depending on the bank). - **The ibani solution:** a [dedicated Swiss IBAN per supplier](https://www.ibani.com/en/app), conversion with a margin from **0.40% to 0.15%** (decreasing) and zero hidden transfer fees — without changing your accounting processes. **For a Swiss SME engaged in international trade, paying supplier invoices in foreign currencies (Euros, Dollars, Pounds) often represents an invisible financial drain.** Many companies simply make standard international transfers from their Swiss bank account. Without knowing it, they incur inflated exchange rates and hidden transfer fees that directly cut into their profit margins. This expert guide, aimed at SMEs in Geneva, Lausanne, Zurich, Zug or Lugano, breaks down these costs and presents the concrete levers to reduce them drastically, without disrupting your accounting processes. ## 1\. How much does an international supplier transfer really cost? The real cost of a supplier payment in foreign currency is not limited to the fees shown on your statement: it combines a **hidden margin on the exchange rate (the spread)** and **transfer fees**. The former, invisible, is almost always the heavier of the two. When you pay a 50,000 EUR invoice to a European supplier from your CHF account, your bank performs a double operation: a currency exchange, followed by an international transfer (SWIFT or SEPA). ### What is the bank spread? The **spread** (or "markup") is the difference between the real interbank exchange rate and the rate actually applied to your company. Traditional banks almost never apply the true market rate: they add a margin that varies with the institution and the volume; this guide works with an order of magnitude of **1.5% to 3%**. This additional cost is not displayed as a "fee" — it is diluted directly into the exchange rate offered to you, which makes it very hard to detect without comparing to the day's rate. This range is not an official statistic: only comparing the rate you obtain with the day's interbank rate measures the margin actually applied. **💡 A concrete example of cash flow impact:** For the purchase of 100,000 EUR of goods using a CHF account: - **At the market rate (assumption: EUR 1 = CHF 0.95):** the invoice costs you approximately 95,000 CHF. - **With a traditional bank (assumed 2% margin):** the invoice costs you 96,900 CHF. **Result:** you lose nearly 1,900 CHF on a single transaction, solely through hidden exchange fees. Repeated across 30 payments a year, that is nearly 57,000 CHF disappearing from your margin. ### Flat transfer fees In addition to the margin on the rate, banks charge processing fees (issuance fees, correspondent bank fees, exchange commissions) that are added to each transaction. These fees are particularly high when payments go through the SWIFT network (outside the SEPA zone): expect, as an order of magnitude, **CHF 15 to 50 per transfer** depending on your bank's price list, to which the fees charged by intermediary correspondent banks may be added. To understand in detail how an exchange rate is built, see our guide on [how to calculate an exchange rate](https://www.ibani.com/en/guides/how-to-calculate-exchange-rate). ## 2\. Paying in CHF or local currency: what to choose? It is almost always better to ask to be invoiced in the **supplier's original currency** (EUR, USD, GBP) and to manage the conversion yourself. Asking for an invoice directly in Swiss Francs is a **false good idea**. If your supplier (for example in France or Germany) agrees to invoice in CHF, they will assume the exchange risk themselves. To protect against market fluctuations, they will inevitably add a safety margin to the total amount of their invoice — a margin over which you have no control and which is, again, invisible. **⚠️ Beware of the "double spread":** by paying in CHF an invoice issued by a supplier who has themselves converted from the euro, you potentially stack two exchange margins: your supplier's bank margin and your own. Taking back control of the conversion eliminates this risk. **Best practice:** ask to be invoiced in the supplier's original currency. It is up to you to manage the conversion, as you are better placed to find a competitive financial intermediary and control the rate. For future orders, securing your margins requires [forward hedging](https://www.ibani.com/en/guides/lock-exchange-rate), i.e. a contract concluded with a bank; ibani does not offer this product. For spot payments, an intermediary such as ibani [converts your supplier payments at the real market rate](https://www.ibani.com/en/currency-converter) plus a margin of 0.40% to 0.15%, on the main currency pairs. ## 3\. SEPA or SWIFT: which payment rail should you choose? The choice of payment rail directly affects the time and cost of your transfer. Two major networks coexist for international payments from Switzerland: [**SEPA** for euros](https://www.ecb.europa.eu/paym/retail/sepa/html/index.en.html), and **SWIFT** for the rest of the world. | Criterion | SEPA transfer | SWIFT transfer | | --- | --- | --- | | **Currencies** | Euros (EUR) only | All currencies (USD, GBP, JPY, etc.) | | **Zone** | SEPA area (EU + Switzerland and a few countries) | International, outside the SEPA zone | | **Time** | 1 business day | 1 to 5 business days | | **Transfer fees** | Low to none | In the order of CHF 15 to 50 depending on the bank, + possible correspondent fees | **💡 Did you know?** Switzerland is part of the SEPA area even though it is not a member of the European Union. A Swiss SME can therefore issue SEPA transfers in euros to its suppliers in the Eurozone, provided it holds an account funded in euros — which avoids SWIFT fees, but does not solve the question of the spread on the CHF-to-EUR conversion. ## 4\. Traditional bank or specialized FinTech: what are the differences? Today, it is no longer necessary to use your historical deposit bank to make your international payments. Using a FinTech company specialized in currency exchange can help you significantly reduce your exchange costs, provided you compare each provider's terms and status. Here is a comparison of the two approaches for a Swiss SME. | B2B comparison | Traditional Swiss bank | Specialized service (e.g. ibani) | | --- | --- | --- | | **Margin on the exchange rate** | In the order of 1.5% to 3%, not shown separately | From 0.40% to 0.15% (decreasing with the amount of the transaction) | | **Opening / management fees** | Yes (flat commissions) | Zero hidden fees | | **Dedicated account per beneficiary** | Often complex to open in multi-currency | Personal and free Swiss IBANs | | **Rate control** | Exchange at the processing day's rate | Manual mode: exchange triggered at the time you choose; short rate lock on request | | **Accounting integration** | Standard e-banking | Standard CHF transfer from your usual e-banking | To go further on currency solutions dedicated to companies, see our guide on [buying foreign currency for companies](https://www.ibani.com/en/guides/buying-foreign-currency-companies), as well as our analysis of the [macroeconomic factors that influence the EUR/CHF rate](https://www.ibani.com/en/guides/macroeconomic-factors-eur-chf). ## 5\. How ibani transforms your supplier payments To support Swiss SMEs, ibani offers a "Business" solution designed to integrate frictionlessly with your current accounting habits. The principle: you continue to issue CHF transfers from your usual e-banking, and ibani handles the conversion and routing, at the interbank rate plus a published margin. ### A dedicated Swiss IBAN per supplier The operation is incredibly simple. As soon as you need to pay a new foreign supplier, ibani generates a **free, dedicated Swiss IBAN** for this beneficiary. You simply record this IBAN in your accounting software or your standard e-banking, exactly like a Swiss supplier. When you make a CHF transfer to this IBAN, the funds are automatically converted with ibani's margin (from 0.40% to 0.15%, decreasing), then sent to your supplier's foreign account, in their currency. You have no new process to learn. **💡 The ibani solution for importing SMEs:** with an **ibani company account** and a **dedicated CH IBAN per supplier**, your company can: - Pay its suppliers in EUR, USD or GBP by issuing a simple CHF transfer from its usual e-banking, without opening a complex multi-currency account. - Convert with an **exchange margin from 0.40% to 0.15%** (decreasing with the amount of the transaction), with no fixed fees or hidden commissions on transfers. - Activate **manual mode** to trigger the exchange at the time you choose, or request a short rate lock before executing a large payment. Discover the full offer on the [ibani Businesses page](https://www.ibani.com/en/businesses). [Create my ibani company account](https://www.ibani.com/en/app) **⚙️ AML compliance:** as a financial intermediary based in Geneva, affiliated with the SRO SO-FIT (self-regulatory organisation recognised by FINMA), ibani applies Swiss anti-money-laundering (AMLA) and Know Your Customer (KYC) obligations. ## 6\. What are the treasury best practices for SMEs? Beyond the choice of intermediary, a few management reflexes help durably protect your SME's margin against exchange risk. Formalize the following control points: - **Always compare to the interbank rate:** before each significant payment, check the day's rate (the [reference rate published daily by the ECB](https://www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/policy_and_exchange_rates/euro_reference_exchange_rates/html/eurofxref-graph-chf.en.html) gives an indicative benchmark) to estimate the margin actually applied. - **Get invoiced in the supplier's currency:** keep control of the conversion rather than delegating it (and paying for it) to the supplier. - **Hedge large volumes forward:** on planned orders, a [forward exchange contract](https://www.ibani.com/en/guides/lock-exchange-rate) concluded with a bank protects your margin against a depreciation of the CHF; ibani does not offer this product. - **Centralize your recurring payments:** grouping transfers to the same supplier reduces the number of fixed SWIFT fees. - **Take care with your multi-currency reconciliation:** every conversion must be traceable for accounting — see our guide on [multi-currency accounting (reconciliation and exchange differences)](https://www.ibani.com/en/guides/multi-currency-accounting-chf-eur). If your business also involves cross-border invoicing (VAT, accounting entries, exchange), our guide on [cross-border B2B invoicing Switzerland / EU](https://www.ibani.com/en/guides/cross-border-b2b-invoicing-switzerland-eu) is the ideal complement to this read. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### How can I reduce currency exchange fees when paying a foreign supplier? To reduce exchange fees, you must address the **hidden margin (spread)** applied by banks on the exchange rate, in the order of 1.5% to 3% under this guide's assumption. The solution is to use a specialized financial intermediary that applies the real interbank rate plus a reduced margin (from 0.40% to 0.15% at [ibani](https://www.ibani.com/en/app), decreasing with the amount of the transaction), with no fixed SWIFT fees. On an annual purchasing volume of EUR 500,000, this represents a saving of EUR 5,500 to 13,000 per year under that assumption, calculated on the maximum margin of 0.40%. ### Is it better to pay a foreign supplier in CHF or in their local currency (EUR, USD)? It is almost always better to pay your supplier in their **original currency** (EUR, USD, GBP) rather than in CHF. If the supplier invoices in CHF, they bear the exchange risk and add a safety margin to the price to protect themselves. By managing the conversion yourself through a competitive intermediary, you control the rate and avoid that margin hidden in the sale price. ### What is the difference between a SEPA transfer and a SWIFT transfer? A **SEPA transfer** covers payments in euros within the SEPA area (EU plus a few countries including Switzerland). It is fast (1 business day) and inexpensive. A **SWIFT transfer** covers all other currencies and destinations outside the SEPA area: it goes through correspondent banks, takes 1 to 5 business days and charges fixed fees in the order of CHF 15 to 50 per operation depending on the bank, plus possible correspondent fees. ### How much does an international transfer really cost via a Swiss bank? The real cost of an international transfer via a Swiss bank combines two elements: **fixed transfer fees** (in the order of CHF 15 to 50 per SWIFT transfer depending on the bank, plus correspondent fees) and a **hidden margin on the exchange rate**, in the order of 1.5% to 3% under this guide's assumption. For a payment of EUR 100,000, the exchange margin alone can represent EUR 1,500 to 3,000 (about CHF 1,425 to 2,850 at the guide's example rate, CHF 95,000 for EUR 100,000), far more than the fixed fees displayed. ### What is ibani's status in Switzerland? ibani is a financial intermediary based in **Geneva**. ibani SA is affiliated with SO-FIT as a financial intermediary. SO-FIT is a self-regulatory organisation (SRO) approved by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) for the supervision of the financial intermediaries referred to in Article 2 para. 3 of the Swiss Federal Act on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing in the Financial Sector (Anti-Money Laundering Act, AMLA). As such, ibani applies Swiss anti-money-laundering and Know Your Customer (KYC) obligations. ## Official sources - [Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA): instruments, participating countries and legal framework](https://www.ecb.europa.eu/paym/retail/sepa/html/index.en.html) — European Central Bank, accessed 29 September 2026 - [ECB euro reference exchange rate: Swiss franc (CHF)](https://www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/policy_and_exchange_rates/euro_reference_exchange_rates/html/eurofxref-graph-chf.en.html) — European Central Bank, accessed 29 September 2026 ## Reduce your exchange expenses today Does your company regularly transfer money in different currencies? Stop paying hefty charges to your bank. Our service lets you drastically reduce your cross-border exchange costs, without changing anything in your internal accounting processes. [Discover the Business Solution](https://www.ibani.com/en/businesses)