CSX Review 2020 – Digital Bank account by Credit Suisse

by
Mr. The Poor Swiss
My articles My booksMy videos
Follow on:Twitter

(Disclosure: Some of the links below may be affiliate links)

CSX is a new digital bank account by Credit Suisse. They have just started this new offer in 2020. And this account is much cheaper than the standard Credit Suisse accounts. The CSX bank account can even be free if used correctly.

Interestingly, even large Swiss banks are jumping on the digital bank account wagon. This is a good trend if that allows people to pay lower fees for their bank accounts.

In this article, I will review the CSX bank account in-depth and compare CSX with other digital bank accounts.

CSX

So, what is CSX? CSX is the new digital bank account of Credit Suisse. They started this new bank account in October 2020.

You can access a CSX bank account with the CSX mobile application on any phone (except for Huawei). On top of that, you can also access your account using the online banking apps of Credit Suisse (only after you have created it on mobile). This is an interesting point because most digital bank accounts of Switzerland only have a mobile application.

The account consists of a private bank account and a debit MasterCard. You can use TWINT and ebills with your account. Once again, this is interesting because this is ahead of most digital bank accounts. Credit Suisse reuses a lot of its infrastructure for this new account.

Finally, while it is a digital bank account, you can still get support from real people from Credit Suisse. It is still considered a Credit Suisse account, so you have access to true customer support.

So far, the account does not have any special digital features like instant transfers or budgeting. But Credit Suisse indicated that new features specific to CSX would come in the future. So,  it may change soon. And you can do instant transfers with TWINT, so that would fit the same feature.

CSX Fees

Generally, the biggest advantage of a digital bank account is to reduce the fees. Unfortunately, big Swiss banks are not known for their good prices. So, let’s see the fees of this new CSX account.

There are three variants of the CSX bank account:

• Basic White
• Premium Black
• CSX Young

The CSX Basic White account is free of management fees. You will get a debit MasterCard and a private account in CHF. And you will not have to pay transaction fees when paying in foreign currencies. But, you will have to 2 CHF for each of your withdrawals. There is no free withdrawal for this account.

The Premium Black account costs 3.95 CHF per month. It has the same features as the Basic White card. But you get unlimited free withdrawals at Credit Suisse ATMs (all other withdrawals are 2 CHF). And you also get perks like movie tickets at 15 CHF, but I think that is not an interesting perk. So, the only advantage of this account is free withdrawals. However, if you withdraw only once a month, the Basic White account is better!

The CSX Young account is for people from 12 to 25 years. It has the same features as the Premium Black account but is free! And you can get unlimited withdrawals at all ATMs, not only Credit Suisse ATMs. It is a very interesting account for young people!

Overall, the fees are okay, but not great. If you never withdraw money, the Basic White account is good. But if you have to withdraw money, there are better alternatives in Switzerland. And unfortunately, there are still many cases where we need cash in our country.

And I do not really understand the appeal of the Black account. The White account is better unless you make two withdrawals per month or more on average. I generally make less than one withdrawal per month, so that the Basic White account would be better for me.

CSX Advantages

Let’s summarize the advantages of the CSX digital bank account:

• Excellent account for young people
• Free transactions abroad and in foreign currencies
• The base account is free
• Free debit card
• Access to the full Credit Suisse apps include online banking
• Access to TWINT
• Can use ebills
• Can access physical Credit Suisse offices

CSX Disadvantages

Let’s summarize the disadvantages of the CSX account:

• No Free withdrawals
• No cash back on the card
• Premium accounts are not attractive
• No Maestro card
• Poor exchange rates
• No instant transfers within CSX users (except using TWINT)

CSX vs Neon

Neon is currently my favorite Swiss digital bank account. So, we can compare Neon and CSX, both digital bank accounts.

Both banks offer free transactions in foreign currencies. And both digital bank accounts can be free. But with Neon, you can get two withdrawals for free per month. With CSX, you have to pay 2 CHF per month per withdrawal.

Neon also offers cheap international transfers and direct transfers to other users. It is something that is currently not possible with CSX.

With Neon, you can only use the mobile application, while CSX lets you use online banking from Credit Suisse.

Overall, I think that Neon has more advantages than CSX. It will be significantly cheaper and has more features. The only advantage of CSX would be coming from a large bank instead of a startup.

For more information, you can read my review of Neon.

CSX vs Zak

Zak is another great Swiss digital bank account by Bank Cler. Let’s compare these two bank accounts together.

With Zak, you will get free withdrawals at Bank Cler ATMs while you will need to pay for withdrawals at Credit Suisse. They also both offer free transactions in foreign currencies.

Zak will only give you access to the mobile application, while CSX also has web applications.

Other than that, both banks are very similar. With Zak, you also have access to a large bank (Bank Cler).

As a digital bank account, I currently prefer Zak over CSX. For more information, read my review of Zak.

CSX vs Migros Bank

Migros Bank is my favorite traditional Swiss bank account. Let’s compare CSX and Migros Bank.

The Migros Bank is free as long as you have 7500 CHF on your account. With Migros Bank, you get unlimited withdrawals per month at each Migros Bank ATM and each Migros Shop. This makes it cheaper than CSX.

On the other hand, you do not have free transactions in foreign currencies with Migros Bank. So, you would still need a secondary card with Migros Bank.

Like CSX, Migros Bank offers several applications to access it. Their applications are pretty bad, but that is another story.

As a primary bank account, I prefer Migros Bank over CSX. But as a secondary account (for the free transactions), CSX is probably more interesting.

Conclusion

It is a great thing that even Credit Suisse is trying to have a cheaper digital bank account than their basic accounts. The CSX account is significantly better than other Credit Suisse accounts.

When you compare with other digital bank accounts like Neon or Zak, CSX is unfortunately not as good. The Basic account of CSX is free, but then you have to pay for withdrawals. If you want many free withdrawals, you will have to pay 3.95 CHF a month, which is only from Credit Suisse ATMs. Neon and Zak each have several free withdrawals per month, and their accounts are free.

As long as they do not offer at least one free withdrawal per month, I do not think they will compete with the other good digital bank accounts. Nevertheless, it is great to get more competition in this area.

So, overall, it is a good account, but there is too much competition for it to really shine. I would recommend people to go with another digital bank account if they want to save on their banking fees.

Now, if you have an existing bank account at Credit Suisse and want to keep your fees lower but stay at Credit Suisse, CSX is a good choice for you. If you are afraid of switching to a fully digital bank account, CSX could be a good middle ground. Indeed, you have access to many services of Credit Suisse, and you get better prices.

If you want to take a look at other digital bank accounts, you can take a look at Zak or at Neon.

What do you think of this new digital bank account? Have you already used CSX?

You Might Also Like

Zak Review: Free Digital Swiss Bank Account

(Disclosure: Some of the links below may be affiliate links) Zak is a free digital Swiss bank account from Bank Cler. It is the first fully digital bank account from Switzerland. It was launched in 2018.Since it is a digital bank account, you can use Zak from anywhere with your smartphone.The main feature of Zak is that it is free! For all your operations in Switzerland, you will not pay anything. Being free makes Zak very attractive.Some people dislike digital banks because they are afraid of not having a big bank behind them. But Zak is a bank account from Bank Cler. You have the advantages of a big bank with the free price of digital banks.In this article, I am going over the details of Zak: what is good with it and what is not great! I should have done this earlier. So now is the

The 4 Investing Levels: Control vs Fees

Investing is very important if you want to fight inflation and get returns on your saved money. But there are many ways to invest. Some of these ways are very simple, while others are complex.But with simplicity comes higher fees. If you want the lowest price possible, you will need to get more control, and thus complexity.

What should you do after a bear market?

Depending on which index you are following, the bull market is back! It is now time to reflect on the bear market. If your portfolio is not yet out of the red, it does not hurt to be prepared.We have already discussed the things you should do during a bear market.

Zak vs Neon: Best Swiss digital bank account in 2020?

Zak and Neon are two good Swiss Digital bank accounts. They are both entirely digital and accessible through mobile applications. The great thing about these bank accounts is that they are significantly cheaper than conventional bank accounts. Their low prices are what make their success. And they have some attractive features.

Diversification is important – Free lunch in Investing

Diversification is often called the only free lunch in investing. It is a great way to reduce the volatility of a portfolio and sometimes increase its returns. You want to avoid having all your eggs in one basket. So, instead, you are going to use many baskets.

Passive Fingerprints Are All Over This Crazy Market

Passive Fingerprints Are All Over This Crazy Market. Apple’s stock is up over 20% since the market peak in February. Without a doubt, Apple, the company, is worse off due to the crisis and global recession. Revenue and earnings will be inferior to what Wall Street had forecast at lower stock prices. Valuations, shown below, are now astronomical.

Technically Speaking: COT Positioning – Back To Extremes: Q2-2020

As discussed in Is It Insanely Stupid To Chase Stocks, the market has gotten quite ahead of the fundamentals as money continues to chase performance. In the Q2-2020 review of Commitment Of Traders report (COT,) we can see how positioning has moved back to extremes.

The 4.0 percent Rule Is Dead. What Should Retirees Do Now?

The 4% Rule Is Dead. A recent article by Shawn Langlois via MarketWatch pointed out this sobering fact but is one we have discussed previously. Retirees have long counted on being able to retire on their assets and take out 4% each year. However, a little more than 20-years later, the “death of the withdrawal rate” has arrived. What should retirees do now?