Before you start

Registration confirmation from your commune or permit card
Passport
Address in the canton
Employment contract or student enrolment, sometimes requested

Step-by-step

1
Register at your commune first
The Contrôle des habitants receipt is issued at the counter and is normally accepted as proof of residence. Waiting weeks for the plastic permit card delays your salary for no reason.
In personWho: You
2
Choose the tier that matches how you actually bank
BCV is the cantonal bank with the widest branch network in Vaud; the digital banks are considerably cheaper and are used by ordinary residents, not only newcomers. Students should ask specifically about youth and student accounts, which waive most fees.
OnlineWho: You
3
Declare US person status before applying
FATCA reporting leads several Swiss banks to decline US citizens and green-card holders or restrict services. Establish which institutions accept US clients before submitting a formal application.
In personWho: You
4
Set up eBill and learn the QR-bill
Rent, health insurance, tax instalments, the taxe au sac's communal charges and the Serafe fee all arrive as QR-bills. You scan them in the app or register for eBill. Nothing auto-debits by default.
Mobile appWho: You
5
Set up your tax instalments deliberately
If you file an ordinary return rather than being taxed at source, Vaud sends provisional instalments across the year. Paying them by standing order avoids a single large bill and, in some cases, earns a small interest credit for early payment.
Mobile appWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport
Registration confirmation or permit
Proof of address
Employment contract or enrolment certificate, sometimes requested

Things most newcomers don’t know

The commune registration receipt, not the permit card, is what opens the account.

The receipt is handed over at the counter; the card takes weeks to arrive by post. Most banks accept the receipt. Newcomers who wait for the plastic end up asking an employer to postpone a salary run that did not need postponing.

Source: community-reported, consistently

US citizens should confirm a bank accepts US persons before applying anywhere.

FATCA reporting obligations lead a number of Swiss institutions to decline US clients or charge more. A formal refusal is awkward to explain to the next bank and can delay a first salary by weeks. A phone call in advance avoids the entire sequence.

Source: Swiss banking practice under FATCA

Swiss retail banking is not free, and student accounts are the one big exception.

Maintenance charges, card fees and per-transaction costs are normal here in a way they are not across most of the EU. Banks in a university city compete hard for student and under-thirty accounts and waive nearly everything — worth asking for explicitly rather than being sold the standard product.

Source: Swiss retail banking fee schedules

QR-bills are the reason newcomers miss their first payment deadlines.

Rent, insurance and cantonal tax all arrive as paper or PDF slips with a QR code, and none of them takes money automatically. If you are used to direct debits and card autopay, the first month in Switzerland will quietly accumulate three unpaid bills. Register for eBill immediately.

Source: Swiss payment standards

Common mistakes to avoid

Applying before completing commune registration.
For US persons: applying without first confirming the bank accepts US clients.
Paying standard adult account fees when a student or digital account would be free.
Missing QR-bill deadlines because nothing auto-debits.
Ignoring provisional tax instalments and facing the whole year's bill at once.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.