The live Swiss-franc-to-yen rate, updated every minute. Book CHF→JPY with SummitFX on WhatsApp — same-day yen settlement when you transact during the European morning.
Use the tabs to view the last week, month, year, or five years of daily closing rates. The shaded band shows the high-low range for the period — a quick visual read on volatility.
Type in either box — enter a CHF amount to see what you'd get in JPY, or enter a target JPY amount to see how many Swiss francs you'd need. Calculated at the live mid-market rate shown above.
Note: The rate shown is the live mid-market rate. Your actual executable rate includes a small spread — typically 0.5–1.0% at SummitFX vs 2–4% at a UK high street bank. We'll always show the full breakdown before you book.
CHF/JPY is the cross between the world's two premier safe-haven currencies. Both Swiss francs and yen strengthen during global stress episodes, but the timing and triggers differ — CHF responds primarily to European stress (eurozone debt crises, banking sector issues, geopolitical tension affecting Europe), while JPY responds to global carry-trade unwinds and broad risk-off episodes. CHF/JPY is one of the more volatile major crosses because both currencies move sharply on safe-haven flows, sometimes amplifying each other and sometimes diverging based on which crisis is driving sentiment.
Swiss National Bank policy: The SNB sets Swiss interest rates and is one of the most interventionist major central banks. Decisions, FX reserves changes, and statements from Chairman Martin Schlegel are the biggest scheduled CHF events. The SNB-BoJ policy gap is structurally narrow given both economies' history of low or negative rates.
European safe-haven flows: CHF strengthens on any eurozone-specific stress — debt crises, banking sector issues, geopolitical tensions affecting Europe. The 2011-2015 EUR/CHF cap was specifically designed to prevent excessive CHF strength against EUR.
Eurozone correlation: EUR/CHF is the most-watched cross for the franc. Eurozone stress drives CHF buying. CHF/JPY often follows EUR/CHF dynamics indirectly — when eurozone stress drives EUR/CHF lower, CHF typically strengthens against JPY too unless Japanese-specific factors counterweigh.
Swiss inflation: Switzerland has structurally low inflation. Swiss CPI surprises (rare) move CHF disproportionately because they shift SNB policy expectations meaningfully.
SNB FX reserves and intervention: The SNB holds vast FX reserves accumulated through years of intervention to prevent CHF strength. The 2015 'francogeddon' (CHF surged 30% in minutes when SNB removed EUR/CHF cap) is a reminder of how dramatically CHF can move on SNB action.
Bank of Japan policy: The BoJ has historically run the world's loosest monetary policy. Slow normalisation under Governor Kazuo Ueda is now under way; every BoJ meeting is closely watched for hints of further policy shifts. Decisions and the post-meeting press conference are the biggest scheduled JPY events.
Global safe-haven repatriation: Japanese institutional investors hold trillions in foreign assets. In stress episodes they repatriate capital home, generating massive JPY buying. This makes JPY one of the world's premier safe-haven currencies — alongside CHF — though responding to different stress triggers (global rather than primarily European).
MoF intervention threat: Japan's Ministry of Finance has a history of FX intervention. Verbal warnings ('excessive moves', 'speculative behaviour') often precede actual intervention. Intervention typically targets USD/JPY but affects CHF/JPY through the broader yen complex.
Japanese inflation: Japan emerged from chronic deflation only recently. Sustained inflation above 2% justifies BoJ normalisation; soft prints push expectations the other way. CPI moves the yen disproportionately because it's such a meaningful policy signal.
Fiscal year-end (March): Japanese institutions rebalance around 31 March. Repatriation flows in February-March often strengthen JPY; April typically sees yen weakness as new fiscal-year outbound flows resume. This is a predictable seasonal pattern in CHF/JPY.
Switzerland and Japan share a substantial bilateral economic relationship, particularly in pharmaceuticals, watchmaking, and luxury goods. Bilateral trade is worth around CHF 11 billion annually, with Swiss exports to Japan dominated by pharmaceuticals (Roche, Novartis are major exporters to the Japanese market), watches and clocks (Swiss watchmaking has Japan as one of its largest markets), specialty machinery, and chemicals; Japanese exports to Switzerland include automobiles, machinery, and electronics. Beyond trade, the corridor depth comes from institutional flows — Japanese life insurers and pension funds (GPIF) hold meaningful Swiss government bond and equity positions; Swiss private banks manage substantial yen-denominated wealth for global clients. The Switzerland-Japan EPA (Economic Partnership Agreement, in force since 2009) facilitates this trade.
CHF→JPY settles via SWIFT, with the actual yen leg routing through Japan's Zengin clearing system. Japan is 8-9 hours ahead of Switzerland, so Japanese banking hours align with European overnight — same-day settlement requires European morning bookings.
Three things most commonly cause CHF→JPY transfers to slip past same-day:
Late CHF funding. Our cutoff is 12:00 UK time for same-day yen settlement — earlier than most pairs because Japanese banks close in the European morning. CHF wires from Switzerland typically arrive in the UK quickly given the same time zone, but late-morning Swiss bookings can miss the cutoff.
Japanese intermediary bank routing. SWIFT wires to smaller Japanese banks may route through a Tokyo correspondent (Mizuho, MUFG, SMBC are the typical hubs). This adds processing time. Major Japanese megabanks credit fastest.
Japanese public holidays. Japan has more public holidays than most major economies — including Golden Week (late April/early May), Obon (mid-August), Silver Week (September), and the multi-day New Year period in early January. Japanese banks close entirely on these days.
For tight yen deadlines — Japanese property completions, supplier payments, large corporate transfers — book the day before or use forward contracts. Forwards are particularly useful for CHF/JPY given the pair's volatility from dual safe-haven dynamics.
CHF/JPY is the corridor for Swiss residents and businesses with meaningful yen-denominated obligations, plus anyone with Japanese property, business interests, or family ties. Common use cases:
Japan is one of the largest export markets for Swiss watchmaking (Rolex, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Omega, Swatch Group), pharmaceuticals (Roche, Novartis, Lonza), and luxury goods. Treasury teams at these firms use forward contracts to hedge predictable JPY revenue exposure across financial years.
Swiss multinationals with Japanese subsidiaries — particularly in pharmaceuticals, machinery, financial services, and luxury retail — funding Japanese operations, paying staff, or settling Japan-side supplier invoices. Treasury teams use forwards to hedge predictable CHF-JPY exposure.
Swiss buyers purchasing Japanese property — Tokyo apartments, Kyoto traditional homes, Niseko ski properties (popular with Swiss skiers given Japan's distinctive powder snow). Forward contracts protect deal economics from currency moves during the typical few-weeks-to-months conveyancing window.
Japanese families with children at elite Swiss boarding schools (Le Rosey, Aiglon, Beau Soleil, Institut auf dem Rosenberg) — Switzerland is one of the most popular boarding school destinations for wealthy Japanese families seeking international education. Predictable termly payment schedules suit forward contracts to fix the JPY-equivalent CHF cost.
Japanese institutional investors (life insurers, pension funds, GPIF) hold meaningful Swiss government bond positions given Switzerland's safe-haven status. Topping up or rebalancing these positions generates regular JPY-CHF flow at scale, even though this is largely institutional rather than retail.
Swiss luxury exports to Japanese consumers — chocolate (Lindt, Toblerone), watches, jewellery — generate consistent corridor flow at the wholesale and retail import level. Tight spreads on regular high-volume payments protect margin.
You can convert Swiss francs to yen through your bank, through a transfer app, or through a broker. CHF/JPY is moderately liquid given pharma, watchmaking, and institutional flows, but bank markups remain wide for retail customers — making broker access valuable.
Everything clients typically ask about sending Swiss francs to yen. Still have questions? Message us on WhatsApp — a real dealer, not a bot, will reply.
We never forecast — but the chart above puts today's rate in context. CHF/JPY is volatile because both currencies are safe-havens responding to different stress triggers — CHF to European stress, JPY to global risk-off. The pair amplifies in dual-crisis episodes and diverges when only one side has stress. Rate alerts let you set a target and wait passively.
Swiss and Japanese banks typically mark up CHF/JPY by 2–4% for retail customers. SummitFX spreads are 0.5–1.0% depending on size. On a CHF 500,000 corporate transfer that's a saving of CHF 10,000–CHF 25,000 in your favour.
Book and fund by 12:00 UK time on a business day and yen typically lands in your beneficiary's Japanese account the same Japanese business day. The early UK cutoff exists because Japanese banks close in our morning. Late bookings settle T+1 in Japanese terms.
Yes — and it's particularly valuable for this pair given CHF/JPY's volatility. A forward contract fixes today's rate for delivery up to 24 months ahead. You pay a deposit (typically 5–10% of the trade) upfront and settle the balance at delivery. Common for Niseko property purchases, Japanese supplier contracts, and ongoing pharma sector treasury operations.
No hard minimum — we handle trades from CHF 500 to CHF 5m+. Below around CHF 5,000 the spread widens slightly to cover fixed execution costs. For recurring smaller payments to Japanese schools or family, market orders or standing arrangements work better than ad-hoc bookings.
The rate shown on Google, XE, or the chart above is the mid-market rate — the midpoint of interbank buy and sell quotes. Nobody gets exactly that rate; providers add a margin. Banks typically 2–4%, Wise 0.7–1.0%, SummitFX 0.5–1.0% — with our clients also getting a named dealer and WhatsApp access.
Both currencies are safe-havens — capital flows to them during global market stress. But the triggers differ: CHF strengthens primarily on European stress (eurozone debt crises, ECB-related concerns, banking sector issues affecting Europe), while JPY strengthens on broader global risk-off (carry-trade unwinds where investors who borrowed yen at low rates to buy higher-yielding assets are forced to repurchase yen, plus Japanese institutional repatriation). When both stresses occur simultaneously, CHF/JPY can become highly volatile in either direction depending on which side the stress hits harder.
Your rate is locked the moment you reply CONFIRM on a quote. Even if SNB or BoJ intervention or a risk-off episode sends CHF/JPY sharply in either direction before your CHF wire reaches us, the rate you receive stays exactly as booked. Both CHF and JPY can move dramatically on central bank action; locking in advance is essential for any time-critical payment.
Message us on WhatsApp and we'll have a live executable rate back in seconds.