FlowBank is a Swiss online bank that provides a range of banking and investment services to investors and the investor-focused. It is located and licensed in Geneva, Switzerland and regulated by the Swiss Financial Market Authority (FINMA).
The bank provides access to international markets for investors and traders through its suite of innovative products and services. Because it is an online bank, its account opening process is quick and easy. You can get set up with a fully functional account within 10 minutes, provided all necessary documents are available.
Once you own an account, you get access to a multi-currency account that allows you to convert between 15 major currencies, an investment platform with access to international markets, and of course, a Swiss bank account.
Our review dives into FlowBank. We explore its offerings, key features, pros and cons, and why you should (or shouldn’t) use this bank to achieve your investment goals.
FlowBank provides investment and trading services through an integrated investment platform, banking services through a traditional bank account, and currency conversion services via a multi-currency account.
You have the choice between a classic and a premium account. Both accounts have access to the same markets and assets, however, premium (or platinum) accounts are charged lower commissions. To get a premium account, you must deposit a minimum of 100,000 CHF.
FlowBank provides investment services in the equities, ETF, and mutual funds markets.
FlowBank grants access to 22 stock exchanges worldwide including major markets like the US, UK, Switzerland, Germany, and Europe. Below is a more detailed list of the markets that you can invest in by country.
Country
Markets
Min Commission
Switzerland
BX Swiss, SIX
0 CHF
US
NASDAQ, NYSE, BATS
6.5 USD
UK
LSE, LSEIOB, LSEAIM
25 GBP
Germany
XETRA, FWB
6.5 EUR
Europe
EURONEXT
With FlowBank, you can invest in over 2,000 funds across various regions, sectors, structures, and markets. This is appealing to passive investors who do not have the time to monitor investments or the skills to choose winning stocks.
Fund custody fees are 0.10% of total investment. However, it caps out at 50 CHF per quarter.
FlowBank also provides an array of bond and fixed income investments across various markets at a 0.20% commission (50 CHF/EUR/USD minimum). You can request for exotic bonds and other OTC fixed income instruments.
Note that all fixed income clearing and settlements are done over the phone.
FlowBank also provides services for core traders. Its Pro platform provides you with the tools to trade over 50,000 instruments from a single terminal. You can trade Futures, Options, and CFDs of various asset types.
We cover the major asset types below.
FlowBank Pro offers CFDs for 50 currency pairs with spreads ranging from 0.5 - 1.6 pips and maximum leverage of 1:200. There are no commissions charged on currency pairs, instead, a markup is added to the raw spread. Platinum accounts get lower spreads.
You can trade CFDs of major stock indices on FlowBank. The trading platform has 14 indices from major markets globally like the S&P 500, UK100, Germany 30, Switzerland20, and more.
Spreads on indices are calculated in points and range from 0.3 - 10 points. You can also trade index Futures which are similarly priced but can come with wider spreads, often reaching 20 points for indices like the Japan 225.
Like currency pairs, the maximum leverage for trading indices is 1:200, however, this does not apply to all indices. Visit the pricing page for detailed information on cost and leverage.
FlowBank offers Spot and Futures contracts for Gold, Silver, and high grade Copper. Spreads on Spot Gold and Silver are 0.2 points and 0.02 points respectively with minimum contract values of $1,000 and $5,000, respectively.
For Futures, the value of the contracts remain the same, however the spreads increase to 0.9 and 4 points for Gold and Silver, respectively. Also, high grade Copper Futures is available at a contract value of $25,000 with a 40 point spread.
Commodities like oil, gasoline, sugar, and wheat are available to trade. The spot market lists the Brent and WTI with spreads from 0.03 pip each. A pip is worth $1,000 and can be traded with a maximum leverage of 1:100.
Commodity Futures include cotton, sugar, gas oil, heating oil, orange juice, US cocoa, soybeans, and coffee. Minimum spreads and pip values vary with commodities while maximum leverage ranges between 1:50 and 1:100.
FlowBank offers Contracts for Differences (CFDs) on stocks which differ from that of the investment service. With CFDs, you do not own the stock, you are simply trading its price action.
Stocks CFDs cost a 0.10% commission for classic accounts and 0.09% for platinum accounts, aside from US CFDs, which cost $0.02 per contract.
Bond CFDs are also available, albeit quite limited, however, you can trade CFDs that track interest rates like the Euribor and the Euroswiss.
Crypto traders have access to CFDs for 29 major cryptocurrencies with spreads between 0.3% and 1.8% at a maximum leverage of 1:10.
FlowBank offers crypto investment services which differ from crypto CFDs offered in the trading section. With an account, you can invest in Crypto-asset products such as ETFs like the Ether Fund, ETPs like the 21Shares Bitcoin ETP, ETNs like VanEck Vectors Bitcoin ETN, and Crypto Tracker Certificates like the Bitcoin Tracker Certificate CHF.
Crypto ETFs and ETNs cost the same as regular ETFs, i.e, 0.15% with a minimum commission of 6.5 USD/CHF/EUR while ETPs and Tracker Certificates cost 0.10% with the same minimum commission.
FlowBank accounts support multiple currencies and allow you to convert between them at a 0.5% commission. You can invest in foreign assets using their native currency without worrying about conversion fees.
In this case, you’d only need to convert once and maintain a balance in that currency.
FlowBank offers platforms that best cater to its users. If you are an investor, the FlowBank investment platform is the best choice as it gives you access to various markets, allows you to buy fractional shares and manage your portfolio.
If you are a trader, FlowBank Pro provides the tools and terminal to trade the CFDs of various assets. However, if you prefer more traditional trading platforms, FlowBank integrates with the popular MT4 and MT5 trading software.
FlowBank’s pricing structure is clear and transparent. Prices for asset types and the individual assets offered are made clear in their pricing documents. The two types of accounts come with different prices for most assets. The table below provides more details.
Instrument
Classic Account
Platinum Account
Swiss Stocks
0%
Foreign Stocks
0.15% (6.50 USD/CHF/EUR min)
0.10% (6.50 USD/CHF/EUR min)
ETFs
0.15% (6.50 USD min)
0.10% (6.50 USD min)
Mutual Funds
0.15% (8 CHF min)
Futures/Options
3 USD/CHF/EUR/GBP + exchange commission
1.50 USD/CHF/EUR/GBP + exchange commission
Bonds
0.20% (50 CHF min)
CFDs Index
0.8 point minimum
CFDs Stocks
0.10% or $0.02
0.09% or $0.02
CFDs Forex
1.1 pips minimum
0.5 pip minimum
CFDs Metals
0.2 points minimum
0.2 point minimum
CFDs Crypto
0.3% minimum
Other fees include securities transfer fees which are free for inflows but 45 CHF per position for outflows. Changing your stock exchange costs 45 CHF while transferring physical shares cost 190 CHF.
Custody fees cost 0.10% per quarter with a minimum of 10 CHF and maximum of 50 CHF. And if you ever wish to close your account, you’ll have to pay 15 CHF.
FlowBank creates content and analysis to help investors and traders on their journey. New investors can start with the Learning Center that contains guides to investing as well as app tutorials.
Advanced investors and traders can visit the Markets Insights and Technical Analysis sections to gain insights into and daily forecasts on their favourite markets.
FlowBank offers new and existing users generous bonuses like a free stock worth up to 500 CHF when you open a new account and fund it with at least 1000 CHF.
Traders are not left out as a 300 USD cash incentive is made available when they create an MT4 or MT5 account with FlowBank and deposit a minimum of 1,000 CHF/USD/EUR/GBP.
Lastly, FlowBank reimburses transfer fees of up to 750 CHF/USD when transferring securities or portfolios from other services.
FlowBank stands out from other players because of the robustness of its offerings. Most investment services do not offer traditional bank accounts and banks that offer investment services do not usually offer access to CFD trading.
With FlowBank, you get a traditional Swiss bank account with multi-currency features, an investment platform with access to global markets, and a trading terminal with other 50,000 instruments.
And if you run into any issues, customer support is available 24/6 via email, live chat, and phone to help out.
FlowBank is not just another Neo-banking platform with a fancy app, it is an investment platform that gives its users the tools and access required to take charge of their investments.
Its pricing structure is favourable to investors on a budget and it offers a wide array of securities ensuring that there’s something for everyone. Traditional investors who wish to dabble into the burgeoning crypto space can do so using a platform and structure that is secure, safe, and familiar.
However, keep in mind that FlowBank does not guarantee investment or trading success. It can only provide the tools and services to aid on your journey, which it does quite well.