Alternatives after bankruptcy
Important info: In June 2024, the FINMA opens bankruptcy proceedings against FlowBank.
At present, the Bank in liquidationwhich is why she asked Schwiizerfranke to remove the FlowBank experience report.
According to the information available to date, there were still sufficient funds in the bank to pay out all customers, so that no customer lost money has. Find out more below.
If you are looking for a FlowBank Alternative you will find an overview of some brokers here:
| Swissquote | Saxo Bank | Degiro | Cornèrtrader | Postfinance | Interactive Brokers | Migros Bank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Fees & Costs | - Order fees from CHF 5 for shares and ETFs - Custody fees CHF 20 - CHF 50 per quarter | - Order fees at least CHF 3 or 0.08% of the order volume (Classic) • Since 2025: Custody fees free of charge | - Order fees from CHF 1 and an additional CHF 1 for processing - Custody fees free of charge | - Order fees from CHF 6 for shares and ETFs - Custody fees Custody fees from CHF 0 (up to CHF 10,000) to CHF 280/year (for CHF 500,000), tax statement CHF 20 | - Order fees from CHF 6 incrementally up to a maximum of CHF 300 - Custody fees CHF 72 / year (credited as trading credit. Expires annually). | - Order fees 0.05% to 1.0% or min. CHF 1.50 to max. CHF 49 - Custody fees free of charge | - Order fees flat rate CHF 40 - Custody fees 0.23% or at least CHF 50 |
| What does an ETF purchase cost for CHF 10,000? | from CHF 9 (selected ETFs) | CHF 8, or free of charge when purchasing via AutoInvest savings plan | from CHF 2.50 (selected ETFs) | CHF 12 (0.12% for Swiss ETFs) | CHF 30 | CHF 5 | CHF 40 |
| Swiss deposit guarantee up to CHF 100,000 |  | | | | |
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| Special advantages | - Savings plans - Wide range of products (shares, ETFs, options, cryptos) - Interest on cash | - Very low trading fees - Savings plans with free ETFs - Free tax statement - No minimum deposit - Only 0.25 % currency conversion fee - Interest on cash | - Favourable fees - Wide range of products - Intuitive user interface - Free ETF purchases 1×/month | - Interest income on CHF/EUR/USD balances - No custody fees up to £10,000 - Immediate Liquidity access by debit card - A Tax statement for everything - Multi-currency accounts | - Custody fees are credited as trading credit - Simple account connection - Deposit protection | - No custody fees - Very low FX fees - Interest on cash - Extremely wide product selection - Professional tools for traders | - Flat fee for large orders - Swiss customer support - Branches |
| Disadvantages | - Fees could be more favourable | - Entry of registered shares in the share register currently not possible | - No entry in the share register - No Swiss deposit protection | - Higher minimum fees for small transactions - Complex interface for beginners • New custody fees from 2026 (still free of charge up to CHF 10,000) | - Negative interest from CHF 250,000 - Outdated user interface | - No Swiss deposit protection - Customer service difficult to reach | - Account opening Not fully digitised |
| Promotion? | Voucher for CHF 200 trading fees and selected ETFs at a discount | Voucher for CHF 200 trading fees | Voucher for CHF 100 trading fees | Voucher for CHF 250 trading fees | Custody fees given as trading fees | - | - |
| Schwiizerfranke Rating |  |  |  | |  | |  |
| View test report | View test report | View test report | View test report | View test report | Visit IB | Visit MB |
The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has authorised the Bankruptcy proceedings opened against FlowBank. This measure was taken to protect depositors. Here is the important information for you:
Securing your deposits and securities:
Further steps:
Unfortunately, nothing more is known so far. There is therefore no need to worry about money, but a reversal will probably take place. How this will look will hopefully be communicated soon.
If you have any questions or uncertainties, please consult the official sources of information or get in touch with the relevant contact person directly.
If you are looking for an alternative, secure and favourable online broker, you will find it here in the Broker comparison found it!
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I am still waiting for the securities transfer from FlowBank. Who else is still waiting? Is there any possibility of jointly claiming compensation for the waiting period (loss of securities, liquidity bottleneck, etc.)? Who will join in?
Have you contacted the liquidators? What I've heard from the community so far is that pretty much everyone else has received their securities and other funds.
I have not yet received a security either. Apart from the official contact details, is there any advice on how to obtain information on the status of the securities? Unfortunately, the Flowbank online banking page does not provide any information on the status. Thank you for the entries in this forum. Best regards.
Dear Community,
It is regrettable to hear that not everything was going smoothly at FlowBank financially and that finances were becoming increasingly tight. However, FINMA intervened in good time and initiated the bankruptcy before the deposit protection scheme even had to be invoked.
If you have invested with FlowBank, your funds are therefore not at risk. Cash balances are paid out and securities (shares etc.) are protected in the special assets and are also refunded.
Schwiizerfranke had established a partnership with FlowBank in the past, so this news hits me particularly hard. The young provider looked promising and had made its first profit in 2023, but apparently there were financial difficulties.
If any of you receive the first important information about the process in the coming days and weeks, please share it here.
I wish the FlowBank team all the best!
Kind regards,
Eric
Yes, I was also deeply touched by this news. It's a shame that Flowbank didn't manage to refresh the market. It probably simply had too few customers who traded frequently.
I also wonder how FINMA is financed and what influence this might have on its actions? 🤔
What is the status here? Do you have money in the bank?
Unfortunately, I am a Flowbank customer and yesterday I received the money, but not yet the titles I have there.
Hello Didi,
According to my information, the delivery of the securities will still take some time. It's good that the cash payments are already being made. Unfortunately, I don't know any more at the moment.
Unfortunately, I have not received any feedback from the law firm handling the case.
Since the new weblogin is online, I can no longer download any reports. Is it the same for you?
Support does not respond to my enquiry by email at all.
A tax statement for 100 francs is already heavy. And according to the latest issue of K-Money, the custody account also costs a whopping 200 francs a year. That was the most expensive Depot in comparison of 15 banks.
Thank you for the report, very helpful.
I noticed in other tests that "securities lending" was discussed there, which is missing here.
So what is Flowbank's position in this regard?
Thank you.
Hi Peter, thanks for your question!
There is no securities lending at Flow Bank, which is very positive.
Could it be that Flowbank is charging negative interest? I thought that was over? Or am I not understanding something correctly?
Greetings Björn
Do you have investments in foreign currency, e.g. euros? Then you may have neglected to set the automatic exchange...
Thanks for the article. An entry in the Swiss share register now costs CHF 50 and the procedure is relatively complicated. Perhaps you could adjust the fee in the article. I have not found customer service to be very reactive so far.
Is updated, thanks for your input Jon!