Cheaper and faster international transfers

You know we like our banking affordable and fast. Unfortunately, Swiss banking isn't really known for that. In particular, international transfers were often still very expensive and slow. That's why from 2020 onward, we started offering a faster and cheaper international transfer solution – directly in the neon app, thanks to our partnership with the innovative FinTech Wise. Like this, you can save up to 5% compared to traditional offerings. 

How much faster we are

Currently, 97% of all transfers arrive within 24 hours. And 63% of all transfers even arrive within 10 minutes. That’s a lot faster than what you are used to from traditional banks. How, you ask? Well, both Wise and we at neon have chosen the Hypothekarbank Lenzburg as our banking partner in Switzerland. Meaning there are no intermediary banks that slow down the process. If you do a transfer right now, your money will have arrived abroad by the time you finish reading this blog – depending on how fast you read, of course ;-). 

How much you save on fees

We are significantly cheaper than traditional providers and veeeeeery close to the FinTech specialists in this field. But in the end, it all depends, of course. First, on the currency and the amount. Rule of thumb: the more «unusual» the currency, the more you save – you will find an example below. Secondly, it also depends on your neon plan:  As a neon metal user, you benefit from a 40% discount on the service fee for transfers with Wise, and as a neon global user you benefit from a 20% discount.

But why do we say «The more unusual the currency, the more you save»? Well, suppose you want to buy a beach house in the Philippines. Now, you don’t want to pay everything in one go, so you decide to send an advance of 1’000 CHF. Of course, the owner of the house can’t do much with your valued CHF, so the money needs to be converted into Philippine Pesos (PHP). 

Now, as you can see, if you send that money through us with neon free or neon plus, 64’349.13 PHP will arrive on the seller’s account. And that’s with all your fees already subtracted. (We’ll get to the fees in detail in a minute.) On the other hand, by sending money through another provider you would lose up to 3’117.13 PHP, or roughly 50 CHF. And Yuh does not support international bank transfers outside of the SEPA countries. 50 CHF is already quite a bit of money with which you could easily buy some nice things for your veranda. A hammock or some palm trees, for example. Of course, the exchange rate changes all the time, so if you want the most up-to-date comparison possible, go to an independent comparison website like monito.com.

As mentioned, the differences in price vary according to the currency. With Euro transfers, the difference is smaller. This is because Mr. and Mrs. Swiss do much more transfers in Euros than they do in Philippine Pesos. Still, if you use neon, you will save money on Euro transfers, too:

How is the service fee calculated?

The service fee contains two parts: the Wise fee and our convenience fee. The Wise fee consists of a small fixed amount and a variable percentage of the amount you transfer. Wise adjusts their fees from time to time, but they are always very competitive and, of course, very low in comparison. Our convenience fee is charged by us so that you can conveniently send money abroad in a matter of minutes – directly from your neon app. In other words, for convenience. What you won’t find here are exchange rate mark-ups. Because we are using the middle rate of exchange, you can save a lot of money with us. How can we afford this, you ask? Because in our partnership with Wise, we simply do things differently.

Please note that, as of June 2024, the Wise fees and our convenience fee are combined in the app. Rest assured that the overall fees remain unchanged, typically ranging from 0.8% to 1.7%, depending on the transferred amount and the chosen target currency. 

As already mentioned above, you benefit from a 40% discount on the service fee for transfers with Wise as a metal user, and from a 20% discount as a neon global user. This discount is refunded to your main account on the working day following your transfer. 

What is Wise’s model?

The traditional model for international transfers works mostly via intermediary correspondent banks. This means a transfer from here to Thailand can be rerouted through multiple banks (see graphic), making the whole process slow and expensive because every bank processes the payment and takes a small cut for itself.

This is why Wise chose to cut the intermediaries and set up local accounts in a number of countries. As a result, you transfer money to a Wise account in your own country, Wise converts it using the middle rate of exchange and then transfers that amount to their local account in the destination country, from which they eventually send it to your chosen recipient. This uses two domestic payments which are both faster as well as cheaper. Even with the fees mentioned above, we’re still cheaper. And that’s how we like our banking. That’s why Wise is a fantastic match for neon. We just click.

What currencies can I send?

You can send around 36 currencies with the neon app via the Wise integration. Of course, this includes the most popular currencies such as EUR, GBP, THB, USD, BRL, AUD, TRY, CAD, MAD and PHP.

To see all available currencies, open the neon app, click on the «Payments» tab, then on «New Payment» and «International Payment». You will see a little pink arrow next to the recipient’s currency (EUR is set as default). Click on it to see the full list.

FAQ

What about other currencies?

We’re working on offering more currencies via Wise. Some currencies have very specific local requirements, making their implementation more complex. As always, at neon we start with a good foundation and then build up from there. Like this, you can start saving while sending money abroad.

Ok, cool, so I could just open a Wise account?

Yep, sure. Or you already have one. Then you can transfer money from your neon account to your Wise account and send it on from there. Doing so allows you to save on fees. But it takes a little longer because there’s a second transaction involved. And you would need to have two apps and make two transfers. As you can see, it’s much more convenient to do it in fewer clicks directly from your neon account – and all that's left for you is a dynamic service fee to cover the cost of carrying out your transfer and the cost on neon's side for providing you with the convenient implementation of the Wise feature in the app. This service fee is transparently displayed throughout the entire transaction, both before and after you make your transfer. If you are a neon metal user, you benefit from a 40% discount on the service fee for transfers with Wise, and as a neon global user, you benefit from a 20% discount. This discount is refunded to your main account on the working day following your transfer.

Can I transfer money to a crypto exchange with this?

No, you can’t. Wise’s Acceptable Use Policy doesn’t allow it. But there is a little trick: you can transfer your neon money as euros into your crypto account via «Domestic payment». For this, the account simply has to be in the SEPA area. Please note: A 1.5% exchange rate surcharge applies here.

Can I set up recurring international payments?

At the moment, you can only make one-off payments. However, we’re working with Wise to set up recurring payments as well.

Can I send US dollars to Germany?

At the moment, you can only send the local currency to a country. So you can only send US dollars to the US. For Germany, you would have to use euros. However, we’re hard at work on a solution to this and will be able to give you an update very soon.

What questions do you still have for us? Write to us: service@neon-free.ch