Neon Free

neon (operated by neon Switzerland AG, Buckhauserstrasse 24, 8048 Zurich) is a Swiss digital banking provider offering an app-based everyday account with a Swiss IBAN, a debit Mastercard, money-management tools and investing. Accounts are held at the partner bank Hypothekarbank Lenzburg and are covered by Swiss deposit insurance up to CHF 100,000; customer data is stated to remain in Switzerland. Onboarding is fully digital: after signup the account is ready in two to three working days and the card arrives within seven working days.

The product range is structured into four plans — free (digital everyday account), plus (added accessibility), global (travel and online/abroad protection) and metal — plus two combinable extensions: neon green (tree planting linked to card usage) and neon duo, described as Switzerland's first fully digital joint account. Beyond payments (domestic and cross-border transfers, QR-bill scanning, eBill, standing orders, LSV) the app includes Spaces for organising money, neon invest for stocks, ETFs and crypto-ETPs, automated savings plans (Sparplan) for long-term investing, and a pillar 3a retirement offering. The website also shows an in-app AI assistant ("hAI").

Eligibility is restricted to users with permanent Swiss residency and exclusive Swiss tax liability, aged 15 or older, holding a Swiss passport/ID or a B or C residence permit. On the free plan, account opening, maintenance, closure, incoming and outgoing domestic payments, LSV/eBill and standing orders are free of charge; the debit card carries a one-off CHF 20 fee, cash withdrawals in Switzerland cost CHF 2.50 each, withdrawals abroad 1.5% of the amount, card purchases abroad carry a 0.35% exchange-rate premium, and non-SEPA outgoing foreign payments cost 0.4%. The account pays no interest. A limitation noted by reviewers and a comparison site is that Hypothekarbank Lenzburg has no own Twint app, so only Twint Prepaid can be used.