A Swiss account remains a basic element of diversification for our clients, yet classic private banks maintain high thresholds, unhurried onboarding and a fondness for paper. Over recent years a workable intermediate floor has grown up between the retail app and Pictet — digital private banking with a full banking licence.
Geneva-based Alpian took that floor first: a FINMA licence since April 2022, live advisers inside the app, discretionary mandates from CHF 2,000 and the Intesa Sanpaolo group as majority shareholder. Let us go through the project's origins, its fee structure, the competitive field and the economic lessons of a segment in which neighbours have already managed to shut down.
Background
The project started in October 2019 as an in-house incubation at the Geneva banking house REYL & Cie. The bet was on the mass affluent segment — Swiss residents with investable assets of CHF 100k–1m: the CHF 12.2m Series A in May 2020, led by REYL, valued that layer as a market of ≈CHF 660bn, traditionally underserved by the classic private banks. In December 2020 the team selected the Temenos core platform; the infrastructure runs on Google Cloud.
Capital was raised in steps: a USD 18m Series B in April 2021, then a double event in April 2022 — a full FINMA banking licence, the first among Switzerland's digital banks, plus a CHF 19m Series B+. The public launch came in October 2022. Co-founder and CEO Schuyler Weiss left in September 2023 for public service in the United States; the bank has since been led by co-founder Gianmarco Bonaita, previously deputy CEO.
The incubator itself was changing in parallel: Fideuram — Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking took a majority stake in REYL (a 2020–2021 transaction, after which the brand became REYL Intesa Sanpaolo), and in January 2026 Intesa bought out the remaining 24% to take full control of the group. For Alpian this line proved decisive: the CHF 76m Series C in May 2024 was led by Fideuram itself, with a CHF 40m tranche contingent on regulatory approvals. After those approvals Fideuram became the bank's majority shareholder; total funding into the project reportedly approaches CHF 170m.
The 2025 results, published in May 2026, showed a turn in unit economics: over 40k clients (+65% year on year), invested assets up 127% to CHF 289m (including Pillar 3a), gross fees tripled, operating expenses down 2%, and net loss narrowing year on year for the first time. Discretionary mandates returned 8.29% for 2025 against 6.41% for the Performance Watcher Mid-Risk benchmark, and 21.38% cumulatively since launch against 17.07%: the top quintile of Swiss managers.
Products and pricing
The base is a free multi-currency CHF/EUR/USD/GBP account with free payments in those currencies, including SEPA. A metal Visa Debit costs CHF 60 one-off (free with Signature status) and lasts five years; up to five virtual cards are issued free. Cash withdrawals: CHF 2 per transaction in francs within Switzerland, EUR 5 in euros, and 2.50% of the amount abroad; the FX mark-up is 0.20% on weekdays and 0.50% at weekends — rates per the bank's FAQ and reviews as of August 2026.
Interest is distributed with foreign-currency clients in mind: a CHF savings account pays 0.01% under CHF 125k and 0.10% above that, current balances in CHF and GBP earn nothing, while EUR pays 0.75% and USD 1.00% on the tranche from 10k to 500k (rates as of August 2026). Among the everyday details: there are no sub-accounts along the lines of Spaces and no separate TWINT app — the neo-banques review honestly logs this as a drawback.
The investment line-up, per the pricing page and the official fee brochure dated 21.04.2026:
- Managed Essentials — discretionary ETF portfolios from CHF 2,000: the Swiss, Global, Sustainable and Global + Crypto strategies (up to 10% digital assets), a fee of 0.75% a year plus a TER of ≈0.25%;
- Managed Premium — personalised mandates from CHF 30,000; Guided Premium — an advisory format from CHF 10,000 in which the client makes the decisions after consultations;
- Signature — a status granted with assets of CHF 150k or more, or regular investments of CHF 1,000 a month: the mandate rate drops to 0.69% (under CHF 300k), 0.60% (300–500k) and 0.50% (over 500k); over 90% of eligible clients have activated the status;
- Pillar 3a — retirement portfolios launched in November 2025: 0.60% plus ≈0.15% in fund costs, eight strategies and over 1,000 clients in the first months.
The mandate fee covers custody, trades and unlimited adviser consultations by video and chat. There are no fixed monthly-fee plans in the line-up — the bank's economics sit in AUM fees and net interest margin; precious metals are not offered as a separate product.
Competitive landscape
From below, Alpian is bordered by retail neobanks. neon serves over 200k users without a licence of its own — the accounts sit on Hypothekarbank Lenzburg's balance sheet; Yuh has grown to ≈340k users on Swissquote's licence (it launched in 2021 as a joint project with PostFinance and is now wholly owned by Swissquote). Both earn on trading and card turnover; neither offers managed mandates with a personal adviser.
From above sit the classic private banks, with thresholds ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions of francs, fees over 1% and onboarding measured in weeks. Alpian has positioned itself exactly in between: a full banking licence and discretionary management as at the grown-up institutions, with thresholds and an interface like a neobank's. Direct analogues of that combination in Switzerland have all but disappeared since radicant's exit.
What it means for the client
The client gets entry into the Swiss jurisdiction long before the thresholds of classic private banks: a mandate from CHF 2,000, an account in four currencies and a live adviser on request. Deposits are protected by the esisuisse scheme up to CHF 100k; investment positions are held segregated at custodians (Interactive Brokers and REYL), belong to the client legally and stay outside the bank's insolvency estate.
Onboarding takes ≈8 minutes in the app, but is open only to Swiss residents aged 18 and over: the bank requires a Swiss domicile, with no publicly stated restriction on permit type. US persons are excluded under the FATCA agreement — US citizenship, a Green Card or US tax residency close the door; verified against the bank's FAQ as of August 2026. The activating transfer must arrive from an account in the client's name at a bank in Switzerland or a FATF country; transfers from Revolut, N26, Wise and PayPal are not accepted. Planning a "Swiss account via Alpian" from abroad will not work today.
Under the hood
Technologically the bank is assembled on the Temenos core platform and Google Cloud infrastructure, with its own app and a video channel to advisers on top; AI tools cover onboarding and part of compliance. The "app plus human" hybrid is the central bet: a pure robo-adviser is cheaper but holds an affluent client poorly, while a branch network eats the segment's entire margin.
The segment's economics, meanwhile, are merciless. FlowBank, a Geneva online bank with 22k accounts and ≈CHF 680m in assets, was put into bankruptcy by a FINMA decision on 13 June 2024 after three years of supervisory proceedings over a chronic capital shortfall. radicant, the digital bank of the cantonal BLKB, cost its shareholder a CHF 105.5m write-down, announced the cessation of operations and the return of its licence in November 2025, and ≈20k of its clients moved to Alpian together with their Pillar 3a portfolios: the agreement was signed in December 2025 and the integration completed in April 2026.
The conclusion for anyone building a captive is sober: a FINMA licence buys trust and a jurisdiction, but the unit economics only work at scale and with patient capital — ≈CHF 170m has been invested in Alpian in total, and there is still no profit. In this model a partnership with an anchor bank works as survival insurance; Fideuram's control and the fate of the competitors confirm as much.
Regulation and status
Alpian SA is a bank with a full FINMA licence since April 2022 and a member of the esisuisse deposit guarantee scheme (up to CHF 100k per client). Since 2024 the majority shareholder has been Fideuram, the private banking division of the Intesa Sanpaolo group; the parties' partnership started back in 2022, and the parent REYL has been wholly owned by Intesa since January 2026.
Milestones: the CHF 76m Series C (May 2024), the handover of leadership to Gianmarco Bonaita (interim from September 2023, then a permanent mandate), the Pillar 3a launch (November 2025), the transfer of radicant's clients (December 2025 to April 2026), and the first year of a narrowing loss per the 2025 report.
FAQ
Can a non-resident of Switzerland open an Alpian account?
No: as of August 2026 onboarding is open only to Swiss residents aged 18 and over, and US persons are excluded under FATCA. The activating transfer must come from an account in the client's name at a bank in Switzerland or a FATF country; Revolut, N26, Wise and PayPal are not accepted. Non-residents seeking a Swiss account will have to look at classic banks with a cross-border desk.
How much does portfolio management cost?
Managed Essentials costs 0.75% a year plus a TER of ≈0.25% with entry from CHF 2,000; with Signature status the rate falls to 0.69–0.50% depending on the amount. Custody, trades and adviser consultations are included; the rates are per the brochure dated 21.04.2026.
How does Alpian differ from neon and Yuh?
At neon and Yuh the accounts sit on other institutions' licences (Hypothekarbank Lenzburg and Swissquote), and the product is everyday banking and self-directed trading. Alpian holds its own FINMA licence and sells discretionary mandates with a personal adviser; the client pays an AUM fee instead of per-trade brokerage charges.
What happened to radicant, and what does Alpian have to do with it?
The digital bank radicant, a project of the cantonal BLKB, brought its shareholder a CHF 105.5m write-down and announced its closure and the return of its licence in November 2025; ≈20k clients and their Pillar 3a portfolios were transferred to Alpian by April 2026. For the segment this is a reminder of the real cost of digital private banking in Switzerland.
How well protected are the cash and the securities?
Deposits are covered by esisuisse up to CHF 100k per client; investment positions are held segregated at custodians, belong to the client legally and stay outside the bank's insolvency estate. The FlowBank case showed the mechanics in practice: preferred deposits were paid out from the bank's own funds and custody accounts were returned to clients. Market risk on portfolios, however, sits entirely with the client.