Foreign exchange guide to Liechtenstein and the Swiss Franc (CHF)
Contributing to roughly 5% of the foreign exchange market daily turnover, the Swiss franc (ISO: CHF) is the world’s seventh most traded currency.
The Swiss franc is traditionally considered Europe’s safe haven currency due to factors including Switzerland’s traditional position as a politically neutral country, its reputation for stability, impressive financial system, historically low inflation and its ability to consistently run a trade surplus. For this reason, the franc is likely to increase in value during periods of economic uncertainty or when global geopolitical risk is elevated, or during bouts of high market volatility.
To prevent unwanted currency appreciation, between September 2011 and January 2015 the franc’s value was pegged to the euro at a rate of Fr. 1.2. When Switzerland’s central bank unexpectedly abandoned the peg in 2015 it caused significant market turmoil.
Since 1995, against the world’s reserve currency, the US dollar, the Swiss franc’s lowest valuation came in October 2000 when CHF/USD traded at just 0.5465. Its post-1995 high came in August 2011 at 1.4152.
The Swiss National Bank continues to reaffirm its commitment to an ultra-loose monetary policy, which includes negative interest rates and a willingness to intervene in FX markets, as part of an effort to spark inflation in the economy.
The SNB will be unhappy, therefore, with the franc’s strength in May.
Between April-23 and May-24 (the day of this report), the franc was the best performing G10 currency; it gained 2.2 percent against the euro, taking EUR/CHF back towards Fr1.12 and close to long-term lows (franc highs).
May’s strength reflected worsening sentiment towards the global economy, driven by a significant escalation in US-China trade tensions. As a safe haven, the franc typically gains value during tough times and sinks when investors gain confidence.
The below interactive chart shows the USD to CHF exchange rate, trend and recent alerts for the last 90 days.
| USD/CHF rate | Change | Period |
|---|---|---|
| 31 Jul 2020 : 0.9135 | 0.1% ▼ | 1 Week |
| 08 Jul 2020 : 0.9383 | 2.7% ▼ | 30 Days |
| 09 May 2020 : 0.9710 | 6% ▼ | 90 Days |
| 08 Aug 2019 : 0.9741 | 6.3% ▼ | 1 Year |
| 09 Aug 2015 : 0.9834 | 7.2% ▼ | 5 Years |
| 10 Aug 2010 : 1.0541 | 13.4% ▼ | 10 Years |
Converted at USD/CHF wholesale exchange rate, compare foreign transfer and spend/travel exchange rates.
The domestic currency in Liechtenstein is the Swiss Franc.
The three letter currency code for the Swiss Franc is CHF — symbol is Fr.
It is the domestic currency in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
No, the Swiss Franc is freely available and convertible. See guide: What is a closed currency?
Save money and time by Ordering your Swiss Franc online from Travelex, you get better rates and can pick up the CHF cash locally or even on travel day at the airport.
Another popular option is to use a Pre-paid Travel Card. Your Debit/Credit Card provider will charge you 2% from market mid-rate, but your bank may also charge an extra 3% as an “Overseas Transaction Charge” plus “Overseas ATM” fees for withdrawing cash.
For card purchases if offered a choice of currencies always select to Pay in Swiss Franc otherwise you may get much worst exchange rates.
When searching around for information on how to get a good exchange rate when sending money to Liechtenstein you need to start with finding out the latest Swiss Franc exchange rate for foreign-transfers, which can be very different to the wholesale rate.
Then compare your bank's exchange rates to several licensed FX providers exchange rate and fees to see how much you can save - we make that calculation easy in the below table.
When sending money to Liechtenstein it’s important to compare your bank’s rates & fees with those we have negotiated with our partner money transfer providers. To get a better deal you should follow these 4 simple steps :
Use the above Send to Swiss Franc calculator to compare the exchange rates of FX specialist providers rates versus your bank's standard rates you can hopefully save around 5% and maybe more - end result is more Swiss Franc deposited into the recipient bank account and less margins and fees kept by the banks!