You have the greatest cryptocurrency idea since bitcoin? Having trouble getting a Swiss bank account? finews.com lists your options.

If cryptocurrencies have taken off in Switzerland, banks haven’t yet gotten the memo. Only a handful have thrown open their doors to doing business with digital assets, as finews.com reported last year.

The reticence of Swiss firms has paved the way for Liechtenstein to swoop in. finews.com compiles the banking options for the hundreds of crypto providers in Zug, Lucerne, Geneva, and Lausanne.

Bank Frick

One of the first banks to fully embrace crypto business doesn't have an office in Switzerland: the Liechtenstein-based firm offers corporate or private accounts to those involved in digital assets. Frick also provides storage and transactions, and can act as a custodian for crypto instruments such as funds.

Frick detractors argue that the bank, which has roughly 30 people or one-quarter of its total staff, working on crypto full-time, is overloaded with inquiries and slow. Crypto providers point out that Frick as the first mover may not be the cheapest option.

Hypothekarbank Lenzburg

The rural lender’s CEO, Marianne Wildi, grew up in information technology and seems to have recognized the potential for crypto business early on. «Hypi» opens corporate accounts for crypto firms, but admits that crypto accounts take longer than regular corporate accounts: «Due to a high number of request, the process will take several weeks,» Hypi Lenzburg says on its website. Swiss firms only need apply.

The bank also plans to launch a more extensive offering for cryptocurrency and blockchain-focused clients later this year, Wildi told finews.com. «Thanks to our account offerings for corporate clients, we have seen what services crypto and blockchain firms want,» she said. «We are currently working out how specifically we will expand our offering».

Banca Zarattini

The Lugano-based lender arguably has jumped deepest into the crypto pool, setting up a initial coin offering, or ICO, desk to cater to crypto firms last year. Zarattini, founded in 2005, acts as a financial intermediary on behalf of ICOs, offering traditional banking services like current accounts for fiat. ICO desk head Daniela Rosa says her team of three had onboarded roughly 15 ICOs in the last 13 months, together with Tokengate, a third-party platform.

Zarattini is as aggressive as Frick in winning digital assets business. Separately, the Swiss bank is ensnared in a Venezuelan oil scandal; Swiss regulatory scrutiny of the bank's overall business could complicate Zarattini’s crypto push.

Falcon

The Abu Dhabi-owned private bank set cryptocurrency at the heart of its strategy including a bitcoin ATM in its lobby in 2017 and a «Goldfinger»-themed advertising campaign. The full rollout took longer than expected when the bank lurched into the 1MDB crisis. Falcon teamed up with Bitcoin Suisse two years ago for coin trading, later adding ether, litecoin, and bitcoin cash offerings. Last year, it began taking wealth made from crypto business if it had been converted into fiat. Falcon recently unveiled an offering for private and institutional clients to transfer cryptocurrencies to and from Falcon wallets directly. The bank will also help clients convert their crypto holdings into fiat.

Vontobel

The Zurich-based bank said recently it would join the race to offer custody for digital assets. Vontobel teamed up with Geneva-based Taurus for the digital equipment to do so. A prominent issuer of structured products such as warrants, Vontobel was among the first to issue bitcoin-based certificates. A spokesman said the family-controlled firm would also look at banking wealth made in crypto – provided the funds meet regular compliance and origin requirements and tests.

Quiet Contenders

Maerki Baumann said last year that it is prepared to bank wealth made through crypto, including trading or mining profits. Other wealth managers including Reyl and Union Bancaire Privée had privately signaled they are willing to take crypto-sourced wealth, albeit in legal tender and not as digital assets. 

«The risk appetite in the area of cryptocurrencies is very low and we are extremely cautious with the regulatory environment,» UBP’s risk and compliance senior adviser Pierre Besson told finews.com. «If we have any uncertainty either on the risk or the regulatory side, or if there is any lack of clarity, we do not proceed with the opening of the account.»