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It’s been a while since I created my first Zak review, here on InvestingHero, and since then a lot has changed – both in the world around us and also with some functionality in the app.
The app scored an impressive 4.7 stars out of 5 last year, and I rated it ‘Best Digital Bank’. But digital banking in Switzerland is a fast-moving space, and new players such as Yapeal and Credit Suisse ‘CSX’ have since entered the market.
So, I thought it worthwhile to see what’s up with Zak since my last review.
Are they still competitive? And what new features have arrived?
Let’s find out.
🎁 Reader Bonus: I’ve partnered with Zak to bring Investing Hero readers (that’s you!) a 50CHF welcome bonus when you open a free account. No strings attached and no BS. Just use the code HEROCH to claim your 50 bucks.
Readers of this blog will know: I’m a fan, and continue to use Zak on a regular basis.
Still today, the app is clean and simple to use, and despite very few app crashes, it has been a solid and reliable addition to my smartphone the last 12 months. And that’s still the case today.
A few things that caught my interest…
I was an early adopter of the Zak app when they first launched, and their roadmap was chock full of new and exciting things for future releases. Such features that are now fast becoming a ‘standard’ for the competition and newcomers entering the digital banking space, and have been available in the Zak app for a while.
Here are a few of my personal highlights.
Apple Pay
Like ‘using the internet’ or ‘buying an SBB train ticket on my phone’, it’s hard to remember the time before using these technologies – and Apple Pay is in the same camp.
What was life like in those distant, old-fashioned days?
Did I really take out my wallet, find a plastic card, swipe/tap said plastic card, and enter a pin number? All while holding my phone in my other hand?
Apple Pay has been an obvious evolution of leveraging the smartphone to make life a little easier. And in today’s sanitary focused world, it makes even more sense.
I’m glad Zak supports Apple Pay, and I wouldn’t go without it.
Fully Digital Onboarding
Ok, since I’m an existing customer and already ‘onboarded’, I can’t unfortunately take advantage of this new and enhanced customer onboarding experience☹
But for newcomers yet to open an account, this is a massive win.
The onboarding process with Zak was never bad or slow, but there were some steps which could’ve been optimized a little better.
For example, you had to connect with a third-party agent to validate your identity. Which was a bit clunky as you had to leave the app, and wait to be connected.
Which meant if you tried opening an account in the evening, like I did, you had to wait until the next morning.
And now?
Thanks to Online Ident, it’s fully digital. No video calls. Available 24/7. Account activation in 7mins.
= Slick onboarding for new users.
Win.
Higher transfer limits
This might not impact too many of us, but for those who are moving money around and investing large chunks of your income, this weekly limit increase is a welcome addition.
The old cap was 5,000 CHF a day or 10K CHF a week, and while for day to day banking and bills this was fine, when talking about the larger amounts (pensions, mortgages, investing…) it became a little cumbersome.
Requesting exceptions to authorise higher amounts was an unnecessary restriction, and friction, which just got in the way.
The good news is, this cap has been increased to 25K a week – which is plenty enough to play with – without running into restrictions.
Closing thoughts
So, there you have it – a few of my highlights using the Zak app for the last year. There are plenty more and I look forward to seeing how things develop in 2021. With so much competition in this space we’ll no doubt see more innovation and interesting functionality come to life in the months ahead.
Thanks for reading and here’s to 2021 😊
Mr. IH
🎁 Reader Bonus: I’ve partnered with Zak to bring Investing Hero readers (that’s you!) a 50CHF welcome bonus when you open a free account. No strings attached and no BS. Just use the code HEROCH to claim your 50 bucks.
*Update Feb 2021
You can still use the zak promo code HEROCH to claim your welcome bonus.
1 – Wait for your account to be activated after registering. Takes 2-3 days.
2 – Go to your ‘Profile’ and tap ‘Code eingeben’ and enter the Zak code HEROCH
3 – That’s it! Enjoy 🙂
About me
I’m a British expat who’s been living in Switzerland for the last 10 years. I’m a digital marketing professional by day, and anonymous investing blogger by night. I cover investing basics, robo advisor reviews and epic how to guides. You can call me ‘Mr. IH’ for short, and read more about me here.
