Bank Now Leasing Experiences
What we like about Bank Now
- No ties to specific car brands allows wide choice
- Detailed leasing rate calculator
- Different financing solutions (personal loan and leasing)
What Bank Now Could Improve
- Interest rates are rather high at 5.4% and 6.6%
- Restrictive instalment insurance
- Quotes must be requested via dealers, resulting in lack of transparency regarding rates
- Moderate customer service ratings
Positive and Negative Aspects of Bank Now
| Positive | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| Product Offering | Different Financing Options (private Credit and Leasing) Vehicles: Free cgoice of cars | Leasing: rather high interest rates,(5.4% and 6.6%), no all-inclusive leasing options |
| Website | Short, concise, informative | No direct online check-out |
| Process | Leasing rate calculator allows for price overview | No guarantee on actual leasing rates, need for a quote to attain actual leasing rates Mediocre customer reviews |
| Interest Rates | Residual values can be customised (paying off vehicule through monthly rate) | 5.4% and 6.6% (higher than competition) |
Your Questions about Bank Now: Answered!
- Who is Bank Now?
- What is LEASE-now?
- Which cars does Bank Now offer?
- How can I get a leasing with Bank Now?
- How does the Bank Now Website work?
- Calculate your monthly leasing rate on Bank Now?
- How can you contact a Bank Now advisor?
- What are the interest rates with Bank Now?
- Does Bank Now offer additional services?
- What does the Bank Now instalment protection include?
- Bank Now Experiences: What do customers say about Bank Now?
- Bank Now compared to gowago.ch
- How does Bank Now do in our test?
Bank Now is a traditional bank that focuses primarily on consumer finance. Since it is a non-captive leasing bank, there is no commitment to certain car brands. Theoretically, any car can be leased, as long as it is not older than a certain age and does not exceed a certain number of kilometres. The vehicle price must also be between CHF 7,000 and CHF 250,000.
Leasing is a strong part of the Bank Now business model. This can be seen on the website, which provides a brief but comprehensible overview of leasing. However, no cars can be viewed directly on the website, as Bank Now is only the financing partner for leasing, but does not otherwise engage with the automotive market.
You always need to get a quote to see the actual monthly lease rate at Bank Now - despite the detailed leasing rate calculator on the website.
The interest rates at Bank Now are slightly higher than those of competitors such as AMAG Leasing, Emil Frey, or gowago.ch. The interest rates at Bank Now range between 5.4% and 6.6%. There is no possibility of all-inclusive leasing. You can only purchase a fairly restrictive instalment insurance. No other insurances are offered.
Bank Now has moderate online ratings. On Google Reviews, the bank scores 3/5 stars, on Trustpilot 2/5 stars - criticisms include poor customer service, longer waiting times and lack of accessibility.
Who is Bank Now?
Known for its advertisement with a white and purple dog, Bank Now is a consumer finance bank headquartered in Horgen, Zurich. It is a subsidiary of Credit Suisse and was created in 2006 from a merger of the credit and leasing business of CS and City Bank AG.
As a consumer finance bank, Bank Now focuses on so-called consumption financing, specifically personal credit and leasing. The bank handles a credit volume of CHF 2.038 billion and loans for the leasing business of CHF 2.003 billion (as of the end of 2021).
Despite the decrease in new enrolments due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bank Now was able to increase its leasing volume by 21.9% in 2021. In addition to leasing and lending, Bank Now also offers credit and leasing insurance options. Clients are consulted throughout 17 branches.
What is LEASE-now?
In its mobility financing options, Bank Now offers either loans or leasing solutions for cars, motorbikes or camper vans. As Bank Now is a non-captive leasing bank, it is not tied to any specific brands and you can get a leasing for any vehicle.
The basic condition is that the value of the desired car must be between 7000 and 250,000 Swiss francs. The age and number of kilometres of the selected car must also be eligible for leasing. The length of a leasing contract with Bank Now can be between 12 and 60 months. Bank Now offers private and business leasing (i.e. fleet leasing).
Which cars does Bank Now offer?
- Any vehicle permitted by its age (+/- 10 years) and mileage (depending on the vehicle).
- Mazda (under the mantle of Mazda Finance)
How can I get a leasing with Bank Now?
To access a leasing offer from Bank Now, one initially has no contact with the bank. Since Bank Now only handles the financial aspect of the leasing transaction, accessing a leasing with Bank Now is done with the help of a car dealership or garage.
So the process would be as follows: You go to a dealership of your choice and find the car you want, or look for it online through a marketplace like AutoScout. After you have found the right car, you can tell the dealership that you would like to lease the car and choose Bank Now as the leasing bank - in the same way as you can mention gowago.ch as a leasing solution.
Of course, this depends on whether the dealership also cooperates with Bank Now. The dealership or garage will then submit a leasing application to Bank Now. As soon as this process is completed, you will receive an offer from Bank Now.
How does the Bank Now website work?
Since Bank Now is not specialised in car trading or exclusively offers leasing, one cannot view any cars on the website. You can only find out about the bank's various financial products.
Under "Our products" you can choose from the categories 'Credit', 'Leasing' and 'Insurance'. In the case of leasing, you will find the most important information on this financing option of Bank Now. This page gives you an overview of the most important key data of Bank Now leasing, such as the possible vehicle value, nominal interest rate, or other bite-sized information.
If you click on 'Insurance', you will find information on Bank Now's instalment insurance. There is also a short FAQ page on bank-now.ch that will answer your most basic questions on the subject of leasing. The very detailed leasing calculator that Bank Now makes available to interested parties is particularly useful.
Here you can either start an enquiry for an offer (after you have already been in contact with the car dealership) or simply get an idea of the residual value and the price of the monthly leasing rates for your chosen car.
Calculate your monthly leasing rate on Bank Now?
On bank-now.ch/en/products/leasing#/ you can use the leasing rate calculator to find out the approximate cost of your personal leasing. By entering information about the vehicle (make, age, mileage, catalogue price and purchase price) and the desired leasing parameters (annual kilometres, leasing period, down payment), you get an estimate of the monthly leasing rate and the residual value.
However, the results are only assumptions and are not binding. Unlike other non-captive leasing banks, the residual value can be somewhat adjusted to fit your needs. Of course, this is then reflected in the monthly leasing rate. A lower residual value means higher leasing rates.
If you aim to buy the car after leasing, this may be worth it. In effect, you pay off the car over a longer period of time, similar to a loan.
How can you contact a Bank Now advisor?
Although it is possible to contact a Bank Now advisor either via a free 0800 number (for calls from Switzerland) or in person at a branch, this only makes sense for initial questions. It is the customer's responsibility to look for a vehicle and then arrange the lease through the dealership. Nevertheless, when we called Bank Now, all our questions were answered in a professional and friendly manner.
What are the interest rates with Bank Now?
The nominal interest rate for leasing with Bank Now is between 5.4% and 6.6%, depending on the vehicle and the leasing parameters. You will only be given the official interest rate when you receive the offer. The interest rate indicated in the leasing calculator should not be regarded as definitive.
Does Bank Now offer additional services?
Bank Now does not really offer any additional services that are directly linked to leasing. However, you can add a so-called instalment insurance or instalment protection to your leasing.
An all-inclusive offer does not exist. However, it might be possible that certain dealerships where you lease a car through Bank Now offer all-inclusive packages. Nevertheless, this must be discussed directly with the garage in question.
What does the Bank Now instalment protection include?
In order to protect yourself against unforeseeable life circumstances that may make it impossible to pay the leasing rates, you can take out an instalment protection with Bank Now. For this service, Bank Now cooperates with Helvetia Insurance. Two options are available: cover in the event of death and cover in the event of unemployment/disability. This means that you always remain solvent, come what may.
Unfortunately, the insurance options are relatively restrictive compared to, for example, Cembra's instalment insurance. For instance, it is no longer possible to take out instalment insurance with Bank Now after the leasing contract has been signed. The insurance must be taken out at the same time as the leasing.
Here is an overview of the conditions and benefits:
Insurance in the event of death:
| Conditions | Benefits |
|---|---|
| No specific conditions | Protection of bereaved persons during the term of the contract |
| No proof of health needed | Benefit withdrawal immediately after death |
| In the event of death, coverage of all leasing instalments until the end of the contract and coverage of the residual value (max. CHF 100,000) | |
In the event of unemployment or disability:
| Conditions | Benefits Unemployment Coverage | Benefits Disability Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Age: Min. 20 years at signing or max. 65 years at end of contract | Cover of monthly rates (max. 12 rates of max. CGF 2000 per unemployment case). Max. 24 rates per entire contract | Temporary: Cover of monthly rates (max. 12 rates of max. CHF 2000 per unemployment case). Max. 24 rates per entire contract |
| No knowledge of an pre-existing condition or injuries from an accident | Permanent disability: Coverage of debts up to 100'000.- | |
| No absence from work of more than 20 days or hospitalisation of more than 10 days in the last year | ||
| No knowledge of impending layoff or early retirement | ||
| Permanent contract/Not Unemployed with min. 25 hours per week | ||
| Mainly residents of Switzerland | ||
Bank Now Experiences: What do customers say about Bank Now?
Bank Now has no customer reviews listed on its own website. It is therefore up to the customer to find out more about the bank. In fact, you can find several reviews about the bank and its general activity, but unfortunately only a few that deal specifically with the leasing offer. Most of the reviews deal with Bank Now's credit offers.
Bank Now's 17 branches achieve ratings on Google ranging from 1 star (Oerlikon branch) to 4.2 stars (Zurich City branch). The average rating is around 3 stars.
Customers had the following feedback:
| Positive | Negative |
|---|---|
| Professional | Bad customer service |
| Simple | Long waiting time |
| Good interest rates | Reachability |
| High hurdles to get credit | |
On Trustpilot, Bank Now only receives 2 stars. The same points are criticised as on Google.
Bank Now compared to gowago.ch
| Bank Now | gowago.ch | |
|---|---|---|
| Cars | All cars | Cars of all mass-market manufacturers |
| All-inclusive Leasing | No | Yes |
| Used Car Leasing | Yes | No |
| Residual value calculation | Definitive only after quote But Customisable | Yes |
| Process | Physical through dealership | Mainly online |
| Interest rates | 5.4% and 6.6% | always 3.99% |
| Google reviews | 3 stars | 4.7 stars |
How does Bank Now do in our test?
Bank Now is a bank that focuses primarily on consumer finance. Part of this is the leasing business. Since leasing is a large part of the bank's business, the website provides sound information on this financing option.
The FAQ and the bite-sized information are sufficient to provide basic details on the subject of leasing. The leasing rate calculator is comprehensive, but only gives customers an overview of the possible rates. Definitive prices can only be obtained through quotes.
To actually get a quote, you should only ask Bank Now directly if you already have a specific car in mind. Bank Now is only the financial provider of a lease. To get a car, you should ask the dealership where you find the car you want. The dealership will then submit a leasing application to Bank Now. The advantage here, however, is that you can lease all cars that are on the Swiss market - the bank is not tied to any brand.
The interest rates at Bank Now are slightly higher than at other leasing banks and range between 5.4% and 6.6%. With Bank Now you cannot get an all-inclusive lease. This means that you have to pay and organise insurance, tyre changes, service, maintenance and taxes yourself.
Bank Now, together with Helvetia Insurance, only offers instalment insurance for your leasing, which covers the monthly instalments up to CHF 2000, should you be unable to afford them due to unforeseen circumstances such as illness, unemployment through no fault of your own, or disability. However, the conditions are restrictive - existing illnesses, hospital stays, or possible job insecurities can influence the contract.
Bank Now is rated online with around 3 stars.
How do we evaluate Bank Now Leasing?
To write this review, we took a detailed look at the website and the information available there. We attempt to simulate the experience of a potential customer as objectively as possible in order to capture the positive and negative aspects of Bank Now. Inevitably, some subjective biases will play a part in the evaluation.
