PostFinance Crypto: bank trading, custody costs and flexible ETH staking

PostFinance Crypto brings cryptocurrency dealing into e-finance and the PostFinance App. Customers open a crypto portfolio alongside their banking relationship, buy or sell supported coins and can establish a recurring savings plan. The service is intended for customers making their own investment decisions.[12]

The execution policy separates crypto from securities: its crypto section does not apply the Financial Services Act execution framework used elsewhere in the document. Selected OTC counterparties determine the available prices. That distinction matters when comparing the service with an exchange where customers post bids and offers themselves.[3]

A USD 2,000 trade at 0.95% costs USD 19. Constant CHF 20,000 holdings at 0.15% imply CHF 30 annual custody before VAT, excluding spreads, conversion, value changes and banking charges.[2]

For staking, USD 100 of quarterly rewards implies a USD 20 fee. USD 2 of rewards would produce a percentage charge of USD 0.40, so the USD 1 quarterly minimum would apply. These are dollar-value illustrations, not forecasts of token returns. The charge is debited quarterly to the reference account in its currency.[6]

The staking contract expressly says no staking fee is charged if no rewards accrue. Reward amounts are variable, and the bank can exercise network voting rights at its discretion. A reward percentage therefore describes one source of return before the customer considers token-price changes and the contractual charges.[8]

After an unmet exit deadline, the bank can sell holdings; unsaleable residual amounts may be written off without compensation.[4]

PostFinance arranges the custody relationship. Its risk disclosure explains that protection in a bankruptcy depends on meeting the legal conditions for segregating cryptoassets. This is not a promise that every operational loss will be reimbursed. Cyber incidents, lost keys, disrupted access and weak market liquidity can still affect the value or availability of a holding.[5]

Since mid-August 2026, Ethereum staking has no fixed contractual term and rewards are automatically reinvested. The change replaced the earlier fixed-term arrangement. It did not eliminate processing delays: the product description says blockchain entry and exit can take hours to weeks. A sell decision should account for that unavailable period.[7]

Staking orders are processed twice a week, with a countdown shown in the app. Customers can request unstaking themselves, but the request and the eventual return of tradable ETH are separate events.[6]

The staking risk statement also distinguishes receipt of rewards from access to them: reinvested rewards follow the staking arrangement and associated release process. Congestion, validation rules or service-provider disruption can prolong that process. There is no dependable cash-interest equivalent or assured exit price.[9]

The business page allows individual or collective-signature administrators, but crypto terms require individual authority and an Approve profile, overriding ordinary collective-debit and approval limits. Confirm staff dealing authority with the bank.[4][13]

The scheduled-interruptions page is the bank’s public place to check planned digital downtime. It showed no scheduled interruption when inspected on 21 October 2026. That observation is a point-in-time notice, not an uptime measurement or assurance that crypto execution will remain available.[18]

FINMA’s bank list dated 21 October 2026 identifies PostFinance AG in Bern as a bank, category 2. Its English customer documents use PostFinance Ltd. The register supports the banking identity; it does not transform crypto holdings into guaranteed bank deposits or establish an independently licensed matching exchange.[15]

The staking agreement has its own fiduciary structure and third-party conditions. In a provider failure, it contemplates assigning claims to customers, who may have to pursue them at their own expense. Bank supervision and a customer’s route to recovering particular assets are separate matters.[8]

Operator

PostFinance Ltd (PostFinance AG)

Exchange model

Centralised

Service scope

Bank-integrated spot trading, crypto savings plans and Ethereum staking through e-finance and the PostFinance App.

Client types

Retail clients; Institutional clients

Pricing publication

Public pricing

Funding scope

PostFinance reference account. Routine external crypto deposits and withdrawals are unavailable.

Custody and asset handling

Bank-arranged custody, including third parties; customers do not manage wallet keys.

Client eligibility

Swiss-domiciled customers; US persons excluded.

Support

Bank hotline and digital support; exceptional telephone order handling is documented.

Authorisation and registration scope

FINMA lists PostFinance AG as a Swiss bank. This is bank-provided crypto dealing, not a separate exchange licence.

Exchange metadata checked 21 Oct 2026Source 1Source 2Source 15Source 3

Asset statements are issued quarterly.[2]

An annual overview supports preparation of the customer’s tax return.[1]

The displayed portfolio return uses time-weighted return: it links returns over separate periods to reduce the effect of deposits and withdrawals. It can differ in both amount and sign from a simple calculation of profit divided by net money invested. A positive chart percentage therefore does not necessarily mean the account’s money profit is positive. Use transaction records and the relevant valuation date when reconciling the two.[14]

A portfolio block does not cancel existing orders. Separately address outstanding instructions and savings plans. No crypto-specific inactivity charge or automatic inactivity closure period was established.[4]

No customer crypto API, copy trading or order-authorized AI was established.[1]