Zak is the banking app of Bank Cler, a wholly owned (100%) subsidiary of Basler Kantonalbank, the cantonal bank of Basel. According to Bank Cler's homepage, consulted on 29 October 2026, Zak brings together a private account, savings, a card, payments, retirement provision and investments on a smartphone. The app is advertised as free and available from age 12. What sets it apart: the app is issued by the bank itself, with no partner bank.
Zak belongs to the family of banking apps without fitting the typical profile. A Swiss neobank is defined by its channel, not by a legal status, as our page on the Swiss neobank explains. For the customer, the real question lies elsewhere: which institution holds their money, and under what protection? The other apps in this series are listed in our neobanks and online banks section.
Who is behind Zak?
Behind Zak is an established bank, in business since 1927. Bank Cler says it serves private clients, high-net-worth private clients and real estate clients. It is 100% owned by Basler Kantonalbank. Its name comes from Romansh, where "cler" means clear, simple, understandable.
Bank Cler is not a pure online bank. Its homepage points to its branches, advisory meetings and mortgages. Zak appears there as one offering among others, alongside savings accounts and traditional investments.
Its weight remains modest compared with the large groups. In a survey by the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU) reported by finews.ch on 26 October 2026, Bank Cler is classed among the "other banks". This group, together with the regional banks, the savings banks and Migros Bank, accounts for around 9% of main banking relationships.
What does the Zak account offer?
Bank Cler presents Zak as "the first real Swiss bank on a smartphone". According to its homepage, the app includes:
- a private account;
- a savings account and savings pots;
- a card with Mobile Payment;
- payments;
- retirement provision;
- investments.
The page we read does not specify the card network, nor whether TWINT or eBill are available. It highlights a limited-time offer on retirement provision. Customers who open a retirement provision account in Zak by the end of the year and pay in 500 francs receive 100 francs from the bank.
The same page shows a Savings Plus account paying 0.70% in the first year, with no account maintenance fees. The bank speaks of a preferential rate "currently" in force. It does not say whether this account can also be opened in Zak.
How much does Zak cost?
Zak is free, according to Bank Cler. The homepage says nothing more: no fees for the card, withdrawals or foreign-currency payments are listed. The detailed fee schedule was not consulted for this article.
Swiss competitors display different models. Neon offers four plans, from 0 to 15 francs a month, according to its website consulted on 28 October 2026. At Yuh, the account and the Mastercard are free, but a new physical card costs 20 francs.
How do you open a Zak account?
Opening an account starts with downloading the app, according to Bank Cler's page. Zak is open from age 12. The steps and the documents required are not detailed on the page we read.
In Switzerland, any remote account opening falls under circular 2016/7 of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). On 8 October 2026, FINMA adopted a partial revision of it, in force on 1 November 2026. It accepts the electronic identity (e-ID) and documents bearing a QR code, such as the Swiss driving licence. It also makes liveness detection mandatory.
Is money held with Zak covered by deposit insurance?
Deposit insurance protects customers' assets up to 100,000 francs per customer and per bank, according to esisuisse. All banks with a branch in Switzerland must be members. Bank Cler presents itself as a bank and has branches.
This sets Zak apart from an institution with a FinTech licence. According to FINMA, client funds held with such an institution are not protected by deposit insurance in the event of bankruptcy.
The ceiling applies per bank, which raises the question of aggregation. At Yuh, the 100,000-franc coverage applies to all of a person's Yuh and Swissquote accounts combined. Bank Cler's page does not say whether assets in Zak and in a standard Cler account are added together.
Then there is the state guarantee. According to Wikipedia, as cited by 2clics, 21 of the 24 cantonal banks benefit from one, and Basler Kantonalbank is not among the three exceptions. But no source consulted indicates that this guarantee extends to its subsidiary, Bank Cler. It therefore cannot be presented as a protection for Zak customers.
Finally, investments are not deposits. Nothing in our sources indicates that deposit insurance applies to securities bought in Zak.
How does Zak differ from Neon, Yuh or Revolut?
The main difference lies in the institution that holds the money. With Zak, it is the bank that issues the app. Neon and Yuh rely on a partner bank or a parent company, as detailed on our pages Neon bank and Yuh app.
| Criterion | Zak | Neon | Yuh | Revolut |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Institution holding the money | Bank Cler, subsidiary of Basler Kantonalbank | Hypothekarbank Lenzburg, partner bank | Swissquote Bank SA | No Swiss banking licence of its own; application filed with FINMA in September 2026 |
| Advertised account price | Free | From 0 to 15 francs a month depending on the plan | Account and card free | Not specified in our sources |
| Deposit insurance | Bank with branches, therefore required to join esisuisse; terms not detailed | Up to 100,000 francs, according to Neon | Up to 100,000 francs, with Swissquote | Not specified in our sources |
| Advertised users | Not disclosed | More than 250,000 | More than 400,000 | More than 1.3 million in Switzerland |
The user figures come from the companies themselves, or from finews.ch for Revolut, in October 2026. They are not directly comparable.
Revolut illustrates the other model. This neobank, which claims more than 50 million customers worldwide, serves its Swiss customers without a Swiss banking licence of its own, as our article on Revolut in Switzerland points out. On 20 October 2026, a Google Cloud outage in London blocked its card payments and withdrawals.
These apps remain a supplement for most households. According to the HSLU survey, digital banks such as Revolut, Yuh or Neon are the main bank for just over 2.4% of respondents.
What should you check before opening a Zak account?
A few points follow from FINMA's rules and from the gaps in the page we read. They do not constitute a product recommendation.
- Fees: the fee schedule, for the card abroad and for withdrawals.
- Aggregation: how deposit insurance treats assets held in Zak and at Bank Cler.
- Retirement provision: the conditions of the 100-franc offer and the fees of the retirement provision account.
- Continuity: according to the 2clics page on Swiss neobanks, a second means of payment with another institution limits the disruption on the day of an outage.
Key figures
- 1927: year of foundation claimed by Bank Cler.
- 100%: share of Bank Cler held by Basler Kantonalbank.
- 12: age from which Zak is available, according to the bank.
- 100 francs offered for 500 francs paid into a Zak retirement provision account, by the end of the year.
- 0.70%: rate on the Savings Plus account in the first year, according to the page consulted on 29 October 2026.
- 100,000 francs: deposit insurance ceiling, per customer and per bank (esisuisse).
- Just over 2.4%: share of digital banks as main bank (HSLU, 2026).
What we don't know yet
- The number of Zak users, which Bank Cler does not disclose on its homepage.
- The details of the fees: card, withdrawals, foreign-currency payments, investments.
- The card network and whether TWINT or eBill are available in the app.
- The documents required for account opening and the rules for minors from age 12.
- How Zak and Cler assets are treated with regard to the deposit insurance ceiling.
- Whether Basler Kantonalbank's state guarantee might extend to its subsidiary.
Sources
- Bank Cler: cler.ch homepage, consulted on 29 October 2026
- FINMA: FinTech licence and circular 2016/7, based on the 2clics overview "Swiss neobank: licence, deposit insurance and differences"
- esisuisse and Wikipedia: deposit insurance and state guarantee, based on 2clics, "State guarantee of cantonal banks: what it covers"
- HSLU and finews.ch, 26 October 2026, based on 2clics, "Cantonal bank: weight, clientele and differences with UBS and Raiffeisen"
- Neon and Yuh websites, consulted on 27 and 28 October 2026, based on the 2clics pages
