It is not always possible to reach your bank in Switzerland in an emergency, according to the German consumer defense organization. She tested the services of the ten largest banks in the country. The result is disappointing.
To contact the emergency service of his bank, in the event of a scam in QR Code for example, it is better that it is for hours of offices. For problems via payment of Twint or E-Banking, only three banks out of the ten tested can be reached permanently, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.
It is in this case the Cantonal Bank of Vaud, Postfinance and UBS. You can also add the Geneva cantonal bank, which was not part of the German test, but which also offers continuous service for e-banking and cards.
Bad students are Migros, Raiffeisen, Valliant or even the Cantonal Zurich Bank, who do not have an emergency service reaching any time.
Act
For consumer defense organization, it is not eligible. She believes that in 2025, with payments that are mostly made with bank cards, Swiss banks must imperatively acquire a modern emergency service so that customers can address them at any time in the event of fraud. Acting quickly allows you to avoid financial damage.
In some cases, it is possible to block certain services yourself, for example by deactivating a card from your e-banking account or even blocking e-banking access by seizing voluntarily and three times an erroneous connection code.
Several risks
During this vacation period, in addition to fraud in QR code, there are other risks. You have to pay attention to the use of unsecured wifis, for example during purchases with a credit card. In general, the sites using a secure connection display the prefix “HTTPS”, placed before the address of the website, which prevents fraudsters from intercepting cards data.
If in doubt, it is better to avoid making payments online using public wifi in a coffee or airport. In addition, during contactless payments, it is advisable to check the amount displayed by the terminal.
Finally, experts advise to be very vigilant with distributors, especially those located outside in isolated areas. We then risk a ‘skimming’ type attack, or when fraudsters use techniques to steal the information from the cards. Distributors must be favored inside the banks.
Loïc Delacour/Asch
