Getting an Account in a Swiss Bank

So I finally got my "credit" card today, which means I can withdraw some cash and start spending my Swiss money :) It's a quite interesting story.

I'm not sure I can call the thing they gave me a credit card. It is a card. You can withdraw money from your bank account. However, there is no internet banking and you can't even pay with the card in a store. Another funny thing is that this account costs I think 7 CHF (160 CZK, 8 USD, 6 EUR) a month. What for? I don't really know.

I was also pretty amused to sign a thick pile of papers to get this account :) The bank doesn't really like providing accounts to students from different countries. I heard that the Summer Students were paid in cash last year. So I guess we are lucky this year :)

This also bring back memories from the time I studied at Union College in Schenectady, NY. The US bank was super user-friendly. For example, we were given temporary debit cards before they made the proper ones and the staff set up internet banking with us. They actually took a picture of you and put it on the card. The funny part was the use of cheques, which always reminds me of the nineteenth century :) Or when I ended up having three different cards (with the same number) to one account :) They want you to spend money and use the service. Oh, and I nearly forgot, it was free.

Here, I pay money and sign a thousand papers for using a super simple product. The approach is very different... Maybe it has something to do with the stability of American and Swiss banking systems :) However, the American way is definitely more user-friendly.

In the Czech Republic, you can get an account online and receive the card by post in a few days. It's easy, fast, and I like it  like that. As it's probably different for non-citizens, it would be unfair to compare. Anyway, it's fun to see the different ways of thinking :)