I've had to cancel trips to Switzerland since Covid and am now finally traveling, so I've discovered that my Series 8 Swiss Francs have been replaced. I've accumulated a fair amount over the years and now need to exchange them. I have no bank account in Switzerland. In Zurich, is SNB only place to exchange these old notes without a fee? Also, what is the daily limit to exchange?
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1This question might fit better on Money.– DavidRecallsMonicaJan 29, 2022 at 17:41
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2@DavidSupportsMonica while this is probably also a good question for Personal Finance & Money, questions like this are pretty common here too, especially since a very common reason to have withdrawn banknotes is infrequent travel to a place.– phoogJan 30, 2022 at 15:00
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3 Answers
There is no daily limit. After all, Switzerland is well known for not really caring about where your money comes from.
Of course, nowadays there are more anti-money laundering and anti-tax evasion rules, but they are quite relaxed compared to other countries. For example, there is no limit to the amount of cash that you can import to or export from Switzerland and declaration is not mandatory when you enter or leave Switzerland (but the other country can set their own rules).
The mandatory legal duty to establish identity applies to all non-foreign exchange cash transactions over CHF 15'000 in financial institutions. Financial institutions still have the obligation of due diligence for amounts lower than that and must verify identity and other checks if money laundering or terrorism financing is suspected.
In practice, without other suspicion of fraud, money laundering, terrorism financing, beneficial owner not the same as the person carrying out transactions etc., only verification of identity is needed. Other clarifications may be required in case of suspicion. In any case, no daily limit applies.
In its efforts to safeguard the standing of the Swiss financial centre and to fulfil its duty of due diligence, the SNB may make the exchange of banknotes dependent on further clarifications. These may include, for instance, identification of the contractual partner as well as establishment of the beneficial owner’s identity, and additional clarifications.
Suspicions can arise from things like large amount of small-denomination bills, apparent structuring (i.e. appearing to deposit an amount just below CHF 15'000 to avoid financial scrutiny) etc..
In Zurich, is SNB only place to exchange without a fee?
If you do not have a bank account, then probably yes. If you are going elsewhere in Switzerland, SNB has another desk in Bern and partner banks that will also exchange them. You may still find certain merchants still accepting them, but don't count on this.
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That Switzerland does not care were the money comes from is not true. They do care that you obtained the money legally. By which legal means is indeed not important. But for example I sold a house abroad and brought the money in to Switzerland I had to show my bank that this money was from the proceeds of the sale of property I sold. Feb 1, 2022 at 9:08
In Zurich, is SNB only place to exchange without a fee?
No. I tried to exchange an old banknote at a retail branch of the Banque Cantonale de Genève. The clerk told me I'd have to go to the main office down in the center of town ... or to any post office. I went to the nearest post office, where the window clerk exchanged my 100-franc note without asking any questions, without asking for ID, and without any fee.
The post office accepted these notes through October 2021. It doesn't require much time or effort to try, but I suspect that you might not succeed in changing your notes there anymore.
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2When was this ? I know they were accepted by the Post at least until October 31, but I'm not sure if the practice has continued or not for non-customers (for PostFinance customers they still accept them for deposit). Also, I think many new replacement offices (partner shops in corner shops or bakeries) no longer handle much cash (sometimes only 500 CHF is guaranteed) but it doesn't hurt to try at bigger ones (which AFAIK usually have a 14999 franc limit).– xngtngJan 29, 2022 at 22:23
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@xngtng I decided to leave the answer in this edited state instead of deleting it, as it might nonetheless be useful to some readers, especially if a similar situation exists with the next recall.– phoogJan 30, 2022 at 9:50
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"Banque Cantonale de Genève" is one of the cantonal banks, i. e. it is owned by canton, but it is not the same thing as the Swiss National Bank in the question.– idmeanJan 30, 2022 at 14:05
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@idmean yes I understand that. At the time, I found a page saying that the cantonal banks were accepting old banknotes as agents for the national bank, presumably so as to enable people to exchange their notes without having to travel quite as far if they don't live near the national bank. This is why the clerk told me to go to the main office. I don't know whether that's still the case since the end of October. ... Looking again, I see the information in a PDF linked from snb.ch/en/iabout/cash/id/cash_instr_overview– phoogJan 30, 2022 at 14:45
From https://www.snb.ch/en/iabout/cash (emphasis mine):
Banknotes from the eighth series still held by the general public or economic agents, as well as banknotes accepted by the latter, can thus be exchanged at any time and for an unlimited period at the SNB cashier's office in Berne and Zurich or at an SNB agency at their full nominal value. It is important to note that some agencies apply exchange limits.
Many places also accept banknotes from the eighth series for payments into one's own bank or post office account. Financial institutions must exercise the duty of due diligence in connection with combating money laundering and terrorism financing.
So without a bank or post office account an SNB cashier office or agency (selected cantonal banks) is the place to go, and the cashier offices will not apply exchange limits.
More details are found in the Instruction sheet for exchanging recalled banknotes. :
In its efforts to safeguard the standing of the Swiss financial centre and to fulfil its duty of due diligence, the SNB may make the exchange of banknotes dependent on further clarifications. These may include, for instance, identification of the contractual partner as well as establishment of the beneficial owner’s identity, and additional clarifications.
If you have any specific questions, please contact the SNB Cashier’s Office in Berne directly (+41 58 631 07 57 or bargeld@snb.ch).
