WIR Bank Genossenschaft

WIR Bank Genossenschaft is a Swiss cooperative bank headquartered in Basel, founded in 1934 and supervised by FINMA, with deposit protection via esisuisse up to CHF 100,000 per client; it serves both SMEs and private clients in Switzerland and markets its retail offering under the “Bank WIR” brand. The institution operates a dual model: conventional banking in CHF (and, in practice, also EUR accounts for payments) alongside the WIR system, a closed-loop, book‑money complementary currency used primarily by member businesses; the WIR unit is accounted for at parity to the Swiss franc for invoicing but is not legal tender and is generally non‑convertible to cash, so WIR balances are spendable only within the network and often used to settle part of transactions alongside CHF. Products include current and savings accounts, payment services (SIC/SEPA, Swiss QR‑bill, eBill), debit and credit cards issued with partners, e‑banking and a mobile app with two‑factor authentication, as well as mortgages (fixed and SARON‑linked), SMEs loans, and WIR credit lines that may be combined with CHF financing and collateralized. The bank’s footprint centers on Basel with advisory offices in German‑, French‑, and Italian‑speaking regions; cross‑border services are limited, and onboarding generally targets clients domiciled in Switzerland. As a cooperative, ownership rests with members who exercise governance rights, and the bank publishes audited annual reports and Pillar 3 disclosures; major-agency public credit ratings are limited. The balance sheet is focused on customer deposits funding a loan book concentrated in Swiss real estate and SME exposures connected to the WIR network, with no investment banking activities. Practical considerations for clients include liquidity and acceptance constraints of WIR book money versus CHF, standard KYC/AML requirements, Swiss banking secrecy as limited by international exchange of information, IBAN‑based payments, and availability of a SWIFT/BIC for international transfers.