What is a multi-currency account?

• Multi-currency account: what’s it all about and how does it work?
• Why our unique approach makes Yuh the Swiss lord of multi-currency accounts
• How this account type is convenient for payments, transfers, etc.

Multi-billionaire, multi-asset fund, multi-million budget: “Multi” is a common prefix in finance, and when it comes to money, “more than one” is usually a good thing, right? But what are we supposed to think about multi-currency accounts? Counting the money at the end of the month, making transfers and paying all those bills is already nail-biting in one currency, but how to handle several? Stick with us, and we’ll help you get your head around it.

Forbes Advisor, a true expert in finance, describes the topic as follows: “A multi-currency account allows you to send, hold and receive various currencies in one place. In other words, you make and receive payments in foreign currencies without needing to open several foreign accounts. An account holder can easily make transactions between different currencies with a single account number.” In a sleepless and 24/7 interconnected world like ours, this comes in quite handy, don’t you think? But no two eggs are the same, especially for this account type. Yuhlia, Yuh’s one and only money guru, has summarised why you should care about the Yuh multi-currency account:

The day you decide to open an account at Yuh is the day you’ll automatically become the owner of a multi-currency account. Any Yuhser gets 13 of the most popular and hyped currencies already waiting and raring to go on their account. You can manage CHF – USD – EUR – GBP – JPY – AUD – CAD – SEK – HKD – NOK – DKK – AED and SGD via one common dashboard, and you can always see how much of each currency you have in your wallet.

Just in case IBAN doesn’t ring a bell, it means “International Bank Account Number”, a system that many countries around the globe use to make the processing of cross border transactions easier while also reducing the risks. The number consists of up to 34 alphanumeric characters, starting with a country code (CH for Switzerland).
But let’s bounce right back to your Yuh multi-currency account:
When you send any of the above-mentioned currencies to your Yuh account, they will land exactly in their dedicated place. Euro will land in the EUR folder, Dollars in the USD folder, and so on. These currencies are part of the package and don’t need to be exchanged. Subsequently, they will not incur any fees.
If you transfer any currency other than the 13 pre-installed, it will be automatically exchanged into your respective main currency, e.g., CHF. In this case, some fees might apply (a 0.95% Yuh fee, plus some fees may be charged by third party banks).
There are no transaction fees when you pay in any of the 13 currencies. This means that if you transfer euro to your Yuh account and then pay with those euro, we charge 0 fees.

You’ll quickly realize that Yuh’s multi-currency account has been designed to be a walk in the park: easy, free and a breath of fresh air compared to regular banks. It’s common for regular banks to not offer accounts with multiple currencies. Sometimes, the best you can get is CHF and EUR. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you can’t get a multi-currency account elsewhere. But remember us when you’re about to curse over the fact that each currency comes with its own separate account and IBAN, which is exactly the opposite of what you get with Yuh: 13 currencies and 1 IBAN, instead of maybe 13 currencies, 13 accounts and 13 IBANs.

Imagine a world where you shop till you drop abroad and aren’t then shocked at home when you see the account statement. While regular banks will make you shiver with the fear of fees, no additional charges will make you gasp at Yuh! And now imagine you’ve just left the Swiss border but don’t have any euro. With Yuh’s multi-currency card, you don’t need any euro to pay in euro. Your CHF (or whichever is defined as main currency in the app) will automatically be converted to EUR, and the currency exchange fee of 0.95% will apply on the amount you’ve paid – simply and transparently!
On weekends, the currency exchange markets are closed, but no need to fret! The currency will be exchanged on Monday when the markets are open again.
13 currencies in your Yuh app, but you’re in a country where none of them are suitable to pay with? In this case, you can just go ahead and pay in the local currency. And you guessed it: the exchange into your main currency will be done automatically in the Yuh app. By the way, this is also valid for when you withdraw cash from an ATM; the money will be debited from your main currency. But be extra careful not to get fooled by certain ATMs – some of them are crooks in disguise. Read more about money scams in our dedicated article.

As you learned above, it doesn’t matter whether you already hold a currency in your account or not, because you’ll always be able to pay in the local currency (which is almost always better). If you want to come prepared and prefer to get ahead of your spending, the Yuh app allows you to exchange currency before you need it. If you plan to spend 200 EUR, simply exchange them in the app ahead of time. When D-Day has finally sprung, the euro will automatically be taken from your euro Money Bin in the app. (Smart hint: always ask to pay in the local currency when prompted by the terminal). Quite cool, isn’t it?

• Bank transfers in Switzerland and Liechtenstein in 13 currencies: FREE
• Bank transfers in Europe (SEPA) in EUR: FREE
• Bank transfers in Europe (SEPA) in other currencies: 4 CHF (plus intermediary bank fees may apply)

We recommend sticking to EUR/CHF for local Swiss payments, and EUR for payments in Europe. However, peer-to-peer payments to other Yuhsers are free in 13 currencies, and did you know you can even send cryptos? With the target exchange rate you can set your desired – and of course, more favourable – exchange rate in the near or far future.
Enjoy your multi-currency Yuh account and always remember: 13 is a lucky number! 🙂