Dukascopy Bank: Swiss bank in Geneva, multi-currency account opened remotely by video

Dukascopy Bank SA is a Swiss bank headquartered in Geneva, regulated by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) both as a bank and as a securities firm. The multi-currency account is held directly by this Swiss entity, without a partner bank.

The group includes a European subsidiary, Dukascopy Europe IBS AS, wholly owned by the bank, and a brokerage company in Japan. These entities do not hold the multi-currency account described here.

The entry for Dukascopy Bank SA in FINMA's register of authorised institutions could not be consulted; the status cited comes from the bank's website. The country of establishment of Dukascopy Europe IBS AS is not stated on the page reviewed.

Opening is done entirely remotely: a form in the app or on the website, an initial deposit, then identification by a short video call with a bank employee. Identity documents must include a machine-readable zone and visible security features; failing that, a certified copy can be sent by post to the head office.

The account is available from figure being updated, with all features reserved for holders aged at least figure being updated. It can be opened from anywhere in the world, except by residents of a list of countries and regions that notably includes the United States, Japan, Russia, Belarus, Iran and North Korea.

The bank does not publish any specific rule for "US persons" living outside the United States, nor on whether the account is kept if the holder moves to an excluded country.

The multi-currency account can hold balances in about twenty currencies, including the euro, the Swiss franc, the pound sterling, the US dollar, the UAE dirham and the Singapore dollar. Payment cards from several issuers and access to the bank's trading services are attached to it.

Opening and maintaining the account are free, with exceptions: the bank may ask for an initial deposit of figure being updated, and charges €1¹ per month to holders who do not hold the minimum number of DUK+ tokens set by the bank, with zero-balance accounts exempt. An outgoing SEPA transfer costs figure being updated. Currency exchange is charged at the interbank rate plus a spread of figure being updated, to which a declining volume-based commission is added.

A private banking package requires a minimum deposit of from $250,000³.

Card, SWIFT transfer, dormancy and closure fees, which are numerous and vary by issuer and currency, are not reproduced here; they appear on the bank's fee page.

According to the bank, deposits are guaranteed in accordance with Swiss law up to up to CHF 100,000² per client. This ceiling corresponds to the Swiss deposit guarantee system (esisuisse), which the page does not name.

The ceiling was not verified on the esisuisse website during this check; securities holdings are not covered by the deposit guarantee.

• Your country of residence against the exclusion list, and its updates, particularly in the event of a move.
• Holding the DUK+ tokens required to avoid the monthly maintenance fees.
• The real cost of currency exchange, which combines the spread on the rate and a volume-based commission.
• Reporting obligations: for a French tax resident in particular, an account in Switzerland must be declared and falls within the automatic exchange of information.