WIR Bank Top Review 2026 – Pros & Cons
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(Disclosure: Some of the links below may be affiliate links)
In 2024, the WIR bank introduced a new banking package, the WIR Bank Top package. This banking has some interesting conditions, such as using the interbank exchange rate for currency conversions abroad.
So, in this article, we will see what this Top banking package is all about. And we will see the advantages and disadvantages of this offer. Finally, we will also compare WIR Bank Top against other alternatives.
By the end of this review, you should know whether WIR Bank Top is a good banking package for you.
| Monthly fee | 0 CHF |
|---|---|
| Users | N/A |
| Card | Mastercard Debit |
| Currencies | CHF |
| Withdrawals in Switzerland | 24 free per year, then 2 CHF |
| Withdrawals abroad | 24 free per year, then 2 CHF |
| Languages | French, German, and Italian |
| Custody bank | WIR Bank |
| Depositor protection | 100’000 CHF |
| Established | 1934 |
| Headquarters | Basel, Switzerland |
WIR Bank
Before we delve into the new banking package, we can look at the WIR bank itself.
WIR Bank is a cooperative bank, founded in 1934 in Basel. The bank manages about 5 billion CHF in assets. They have nine offices and employ about 250 employees.
WIR Bank is unique in that it has its currency, the WIR Franc. This was introduced after the great depression to avoid some monetary issues of the time. This currency is backed by the bank and is officially on a price parity with the CHF (although it often sells for less). But you can use the WIR Bank without having to worry about the WIR Franc and focus only on the CHF.
I have not really discussed WIR before, except for mentioning that they are the custodian bank of the VIAC third pillar.
WIR Bank Top Features
Now that we have introduced the bank itself, we can introduce the WIR Bank Top banking package.
This digital banking package is available from the e-banking package from the WIR Bank and from the mobile application. It is good to note that this banking package is also accessible from a proper e-banking platform. Most digital banks are only available on smartphones.
Inside the banking package, you get:
- A private bank account, without any withdrawal limits.
- A Debit Mastercard.
From your account, you can pay your bills and transfer money around. You can, of course, manage your account as well. And you can use your card to pay worldwide. The e-banking platform has support for electronic bills.
There is no interest rate on the private account. It should really be as a payment account, not as a place to hold cash.
In February 2025, WIR Bank added TWINT support for their WIR Bank Top package. Additionally, you can use your card with Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay.
The application is available in the three national languages, but not in English.
Only a few months after the introduction of the package, WIR Bank added support for joint accounts with the WIR Bank Top package. So, you will get two cards and two accesses to the e-banking.
Onboarding can be done entirely online! This is great because most traditional banks are still very old-school and require snail mail or in person attendance to create an account.
Overall, this banking package has all the standard features of a banking package in Switzerland, but nothing more.
Fees
The fees are really where this banking package becomes interesting.
The WIR Top banking package itself is free. There are no monthly nor yearly fees for the account or the card. The card will also be delivered for free.
All usual operations like paying bills and transferring money are free, like for every bank.
With the card, you get 24 withdrawals for free per year, then you will pay 2 CHF per withdrawal. What is really exciting is that these 24 withdrawals are free in the world, not only in Switzerland. WIR Bank Top is the only card I know that offers free withdrawals abroad.
This card is also outstanding to use to pay abroad or in foreign currencies. Indeed, the card offers the interbank exchange rate without any surcharge. This is as good as it gets.
If you do a transfer in EUR in the SEPA region or in Switzerland, you will not pay any fee. However, if you do a transfer outside this region or in another currency, you will pay 5 CHF per transfer. In both cases, WIR will use its exchange rate. Currently, it looks like they have a surcharge of 1% on the interbank exchange rate for these transfers. This is already not too bad for a Swiss bank.
So, overall, the fees of the WIR Bank Top package are excellent!
Conditions
If you want to use the WIR Bank Top banking package, you need to meet one of these conditions:
- Have a regular income of at least 1500 paid to your account each month.
- Have at least 20,000 CHF in retirement funds with WIR.
- Have a mortgage of at least 300,000 CHF with WIR.
- Buy a social share of WIR Bank. A share costs 200 CHF. However, if you leave WIR Bank, they will only buy it back for 20 CHF. So this is the same as a 180 CHF fee.
For a primary account, it should not be difficult to meet at least one of these conditions, especially the first or the last one. Nevertheless, if you do not meet any of these conditions, you will not be able to use this package.
Unfortunately, for a secondary account, it is not as good. If you want to use WIR Bank Top mostly for using it abroad, meeting any of the conditions is inconvenient.
Overall, these conditions make WIR Bank Top only good for primary bank accounts.
Privacy
Some of my readers brought up an interesting point about WIR Bank general conditions. If you read them closely, you will see an interesting clause (in A.1.3). This clause states (translated from French, the conditions are not in English): The client fully waives the protection of banking secrecy. These conditions are for all WIR Bank products, not only WIR Bank Top.
This means that if you are using WIR Bank Top, you will renounce banking secrecy, which is rather uncommon in Switzerland. This likely comes from the fact that WIR Bank also has its own currency that is used as means of exchange between companies. But still, it creates a significant condition for users.
User Reviews
It is important to look at what users think about the bank.
Unfortunately, there are very few online reviews of WIR Bank in general, and I could not find any that are specific to WIR Bank Top. There is only a single review of WIR Bank on Trustpilot.
There are only 15 reviews of the WIR Bank app on the Apple Store, with an average rating of 4.3 out of 5. Good reviews say that the app is easy to use. And there is one bad review pointing to technical difficulties.
There are only 14 reviews of the app on the Play Store, with 4.4 out of 5 ratings. But there are no written reviews.
Overall, we cannot draw any conclusions on the bank or the apps from these reviews. And this shows a disadvantage about WIR Bank: there are very few users. It does not mean the bank is bad, but it means that they may not able to scale, or that things may change quickly.
Alternatives
We should also compare WIR Bank Top against some alternatives, both digital and traditional banks.
WIR Bank Top vs Neon
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We can continue by comparing WIR Bank Top package with Neon.
Neon is a fully digital bank, with only a mobile application. WIR Bank Top is accessible from both e-banking and mobile banking and in the offices as well.
Both accounts are free. However, WIR Bank also offers some free withdrawals abroad, while you must pay for each withdrawal with Neon. Furthermore, WIR Bank Top offers the interbank exchange rate for currency conversions while Neon uses the Mastercard exchange rate plus a surcharge, for a total of 0.75%. Therefore, WIR Bank is cheaper than Neon.
Neon has some further features, likes spaces and instant transfers to other users. However, these features are only useful if you use them, so you should only consider these criteria if you are going to use this feature.
One advantage of Neon is that they are partnering with Wise for sending money abroad. In this case, this will be significantly cheaper than WIR. But again, not everybody do transfer in foreign currencies.
WIR Bank has a better support for TWINT since they have their app, while Neon relies on apps from other providers.
Overall, WIR Bank Top is a strong alternative to Neon. If you often use the card abroad, you will save money with WIR.
WIR Bank Top vs Migros Bank
Migros Bank used to be my main bank account. We can also compare WIR Bank Top against Migros Bank.
Both are traditional banks, so you can use them in offices, online, and on the phone. One advantage of WIR Bank is that they have a true e-banking online while Migros has bad apps that are difficult to work with on the computer.
Both accounts are entirely free. With Migros Bank, you can withdraw money for free in many Migros places. With WIR Bank, you can withdraw 24 times for free per year. The advantage of WIR Bank is that you can also withdraw for free abroad, while it would be expensive with Migros.
A huge advantage of WIR Bank is that there is no surcharge nor fees while using the card abroad. Migros Bank would be expensive (around 5%) to use abroad.
Both banks have a TWINT app.
Overall, the WIR Bank Top package is a better bank account than the Migros Bank account. They have the same features, but WIR Bank Top is much better to use abroad.
WIR Bank Top FAQ
Who is WIR Bank Top good for?
The WIR Bank Top banking package is good for people who want a free bank account with great conditions to use the card abroad.
Who is WIR Bank Top not good for?
The WIR Bank Top banking package is not good if you do not want to use a small bank.
Can you use TWINT with WIR Bank Top?
Yes, WIR Bank provides its own TWINT app.
WIR Bank Top Summary
The WIR Bank Top banking package is a nice banking package by WIR Banka, with great support abroad.
3.5
WIR Bank Top Pros
Let's summarize the main advantages of WIR Bank Top:
- Interbank exchange rate with the card
- No monthly fees
- Support of ebills
- Support for joint accounts
- Support for TWINT
WIR Bank Top Cons
Let's summarize the main disadvantages of WIR Bank Top:
- Fairly new
- Strict account conditions
- No banking secrecy
Conclusion
Overall, the new WIR Bank Top banking package is very interesting! The fact that they offer the interbank exchange out of a free bank account is excellent.
Until recently, it was often ideal to use two bank accounts, one for paying bills and one for paying abroad. But now, we have great options to use as a main bank account, with good support both in Switzerland and abroad.
You may also be wondering how WIR Bank is going to make money with this bank account. Like most banks, they will not make much money on the bank account itself but on the other products. Like all banks, WIR Bank also has many other services like 3a, investments, and mortgages. And these services are where they make money.
Currently, it looks like this is among the best banking packages available. I do not intend to change our bank account, since we would only save a little on foreign transactions. And I also want to see how it plays out in the longer term, but this banking package sure is great!
One disadvantage is that it is not great for using as a secondary bank account since it has conditions to use. These conditions are fine for a primary bank account but definitely not ideal for a secondary bank account.
If you are looking for other digital packages by traditional banks, you should read about Valiant Lilac. It is an interesting banking package by Valiant.
What about you? What do you think about this banking package?
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Hi Baptiste,
As always, great reviews, congratulations!
I’ve tried WIR App when they launch this package. Really bad App if you want only one (the debit card was managed with an external one App debiX+).
I saw that the re-designed the App. Do you know if they still using secondary Apps for online payments?
Best Regards
Hi Dani
Thanks!
Yes, you need the second DebitX application to confirm online payments. I believe that’s its only function.
Dear Baptiste,
I hope you’re doing well. I’m a regular reader of The Poor Swiss, and your reviews have been invaluable as I navigate Swiss banking. I’m writing because I’m stuck in a dilemma, and I’d love your take on it.
My Situation:
I’m a resident in Switzerland, and while I don’t travel abroad often, I do need a reliable card for foreign payments (Radicant’s closure has left me scrambling). I’m considering WIR Bank’s “Bankpaket Top”, but I’m torn between two options:
1.Keep UBS as my main account + buy the WIR share (CHF 200):
Use WIR only for foreign transactions. This way, I avoid the hassle of switching banks and don’t have to worry about the CHF 1,500/month deposit requirement.
2. Fully migrate to WIR (meet the CHF 1,500/month deposit):
Replace UBS entirely. The idea of no fees and a simpler setup is appealing, but here’s the catch: I’d be limited to 24 withdrawals per year—both in Switzerland and abroad. I don’t withdraw cash often, but the thought of constantly counting withdrawals to avoid fees fills me with anxiety. Is this stress worth the savings?
My Concern:
I’m not afraid of leaving UBS. What worries me is the mental load of tracking withdrawals. I don’t want to live in fear of accidentally exceeding the limit and incurring fees. At the same time, I don’t want to overpay for foreign transactions with UBS.
My Question for You:
Do you think the WIR Bank’s 24-withdrawal limit is a dealbreaker for someone like me? Or am I overestimating how often I’d actually need to withdraw cash? Have you or your readers found this limit restrictive in practice?
I’d really appreciate your perspective—especially if you’ve heard from others who’ve faced a similar dilemma. Your insights always cut through the noise, so I’d love to know what you think.
Thank you so much for your time and for the fantastic work you do. It makes a real difference for those of us trying to make sense of Swiss banking.
Best regards!
Hi Vitor
I think 24 withdrawals a year is already better than 2 a month because you can sometimes need 3 or 4 times cash in a month, and this would be more expensive with some other setups.
That being said, for people relying on cash, 24 withdrawals a year can be limiting. If you do 25, you will only have paid 2 CHF, so it’s not really too bad. But if you do 50, the account may start to be expensive.
Now, if you are already using UBS, you likely pay fees. If you pay 8 CHF a month at UBS, you can still withdraw 72 times a year (24 + 48) and have the same price. So unless you are withdrawing like crazy, you will save money by switching to WIR Bank.
Regarding the requirement of having at least 1500 CHF coming into the account each month, do we know if this would this be satisfied just by having a monthly standing order from another account of mine?
Hi Andreas
I think it would. But if you simply transfer 1500 CHF and then again out after a few days, I am not sure if it will work. I don’t know how strict they are with their requirements.
Hi Batiste,
Thanks for the review, as always very helpful. Do you know if we can use the WIR “Compte d‘épargne plus” as a secondary bank account? It currently has 0.75% interest until June 2026 which looks excellent. I am trying to find out if there is a card included and if we can make payments in foreign currencies but I am unable to find this information on their website.
Thank you
Hi Henrik,
Thanks, I am glad you liked it.
The account you are mentioning a savings account, so there won’t be a card from the savings account. You can only withdraw 20’000 CHF per year, otherwise you need 6 months notice. So it’s really meant to let cash sleep.
Neon just changed their fees and are significantly worse. You should do an article about that and change your recommendation. Now WIR looks to be better.
Yes, and this article already reflect these changes.
I tried opening an account to get this card. I did the online verification and for 2 weeks nothing then I get an email from them asking me to call them. They ask me what my job is, who my employer is and if I have a “connection to crypto” (what does it even mean?). I found this a bit intrusive and the first time anyone asked me such questions. I have a common office job, the company I work for is almost 20 years old and I can’t say I have any “connection to crypto” or even the finance industry. Yet today, after waiting almost a month, I got an email saying my request was rejected. No explanation given. Annoying waste of time.
Hi Eddie
Sorry to hear about your bad experience. It sounds indeed very intrusive and very weird. Your profile must have checked some internal trigger and they got worried, but they should at the very least provide an explanation :(
WIR now does have a TWINT app!
Good news, I will update the article accordingly when I can.
“Indeed, the card offers the interbank exchange rate without any surcharge. This is as good as it gets.” … I just read on reddit, that WIR applies MASTERCARD- exchangerate and NOT interbank exchange rate. You know about this?
Hi Hans
Interesting, I also found this on reddit and on another forum. They still mention the interbank rank on their website. I will contact them to try to get an answer. But looking into the results, it seems more and more indeed like it’s the Mastercard rate.
There is no single “interbank exchange rate”, it’s an average of multiple bank rates. And according to studies, the Mastercard exchange is as good or even better than the average interbank exchange rate:
https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/credit-cards/currency-conversion-rates-study
So the WIR bank debit card currently has the best exchange rate and fee structure (no fees) in Switzerland. Neon now has a small 0.35% surcharge. Revolut is close to the interbank/Mastercard rate, but they charge 1% on weekends and another 1% above 1250 Fr./month.
Hi Baptiste,
Does WIR accept European citizen?
As a belgian, this looks very good for payments in EU.
In 10 years, my idea is to store my money in Switserland and retire in Mexico :-)
Thanks and keep up the good work
TD
Hi Tom
I think they only take on Swiss residents. And the first question of the form requires a Swiss phone number.