Relai bitcoin savings app from Zurich

Swiss angle

Relai AG has its office at Hardturmstrasse 161 in Zurich and an entry in the Zurich commercial register, according to Relai's legal notice, which names VQF as its supervisory body. The Swiss terms and conditions describe Relai AG as a financial intermediary under the Anti-Money Laundering Act, affiliated with the VQF self-regulatory organisation. Relai is an SRO member for anti-money-laundering duties and holds no bank licence.

The app sells bitcoin and nothing else. The same terms say Relai never holds your keys: your phone creates the wallet and its seed, and Relai "does not have access to" them.

You pay in CHF. The Relai home page lists bank transfer, credit or debit card, Apple Pay and Google Pay; TWINT is not on the list. The Swiss pricing policy, last updated 31 December 2025 and read on 4 October 2026, charges a 1.0% service fee per buy plus a price spread, and takes 10% off that fee for users who signed up with a referral code. The same policy adds 3.0% per card transaction, sets a CHF 50 minimum per trade, and waives the service fee on the first CHF 100 a month you buy through a monthly savings plan.

Relai holds no balance for you, so you get no custody statement at year end. You declare the year-end value yourself in the wealth tax section of your return; the Swiss Bitcoin tax guide walks through it.

Who it is for

Swiss residents who want a fixed monthly CHF amount turned into bitcoin and sent to a wallet they control. The fee-free first CHF 100 a month on a savings plan, set in Relai's pricing policy as of 4 October 2026, keeps small standing orders cheap. If you plan around regular buys, read the dollar-cost averaging guide first.

It also suits you if you are new to self-custody and want the app to set up the wallet, with a move to a hardware wallet later. The self-custody guide covers that step.

Who it is not for

Card buyers who compare total cost. The 3.0% card surcharge in Relai's pricing policy, read on 4 October 2026, comes on top of the 1.0% service fee, so you pay four times the fee of a bank transfer when you use a card.

Anyone who wants a custodian and a bank statement, or coins other than bitcoin. Relai holds nothing for you and sells nothing else.

Large single buys. The same pricing policy sends those to Relai Private, a separate service with a CHF 100,000 minimum and its own fee table. For the Swiss options side by side, see how to buy bitcoin in Switzerland.