neon plus

Two francs a month buys you zero card markup abroad and two free cash withdrawals. That's the whole pitch.

neon plus ranks #4 of the 12 neobanks we rank, with 4.8/5. It's neon free with the two biggest irritants removed: the 0.35% card markup and paying for every Swiss cash withdrawal. If you travel or pull cash even a couple of times a month, it pays for itself.

What Does CHF 2 a Month Get You?

neon plus costs CHF 2 a month, or CHF 20 if you pay for the year upfront, and the minimum term is just one month. The debit Mastercard costs CHF 20 once for production and shipping, same as on neon free. Card payments abroad run at the Mastercard rate with no neon surcharge, and your first two Swiss ATM withdrawals each month are free.

Here's the maths against neon free. Two Swiss withdrawals a month at CHF 2.50 each come to CHF 60 a year, already more than the CHF 24 fee. Add CHF 3,000 of card spending abroad, where neon free takes 0.35%, and you save another CHF 10.50. Cash abroad drops from 1.5% to 1%, so CHF 1 less on every CHF 200.

What Actually Stands Out

A Swiss bank account with no card markup for CHF 24 a year is rare. Your money sits at Hypothekarbank Lenzburg, so you get a native Swiss IBAN, eBill and QR-bill payments, and deposit protection up to CHF 100,000. In our neobank ranking, the other zero-markup options are Revolut, a Lithuanian bank, and neon's own pricier plans.

Plus also adds phone support, which neon free doesn't have. Everything else carries over: pillar 3a, investing with no custody fee, and Spaces for budgeting. You can check every line in neon's official price list, which is refreshingly short for a Swiss bank document.

What Most Reviews Miss

TWINT only works as TWINT Prepaid. You move money from neon into the TWINT Prepaid app before you can pay, so splitting a restaurant bill takes an extra step. The account also holds francs only. Money arriving in euros or dollars gets converted to CHF on the way in, at a surcharge of up to 1.5%, which stings if you're paid from abroad.

International transfers run through Wise, typically at 0.8% to 1.7% depending on amount and currency, and plus gets no cashback on those fees. Withdrawing euros at a Swiss ATM costs CHF 5 each time. And from the third franc withdrawal in a month you pay CHF 2.50 again, so heavy cash users still feel it.

The Bottom Line

If you're on neon free and travel or pull cash twice a month, upgrading is an easy call: the fee pays for itself on Swiss withdrawals alone. If you rarely leave Switzerland and pay everything by card, stay on free. See where every plan lands in our best neobanks in Switzerland ranking.

Verdict: The best value in neon's line-up, and the cheapest way among the accounts we rank to pay abroad without a card markup at a Swiss bank.