Although all EU Member States can benefit from deposit rates from the ECB, the final client rates differ a lot. The main reason for this is that the real costs of financial resources - like cost of risk, operational costs, etc. - differ from one bank to another (and not all funding comes from the ECB).
To finance themselves, states and companies can issue credit bonds. These bonds are rated by rating agencies to inform investors about the risk that the issuer won’t be able to pay the return. The main three rating agencies are Standards and Poors (S&P), Moody’s, and Fitch.
Each rating corresponds to a level of risk on a scale from AAA (meaning “the obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is extremely strong”) to D (meaning “In default”).
Depositors are considered as creditors of the bank. So the credit rating of the bank affects the deposit’s security rating.
However, depositors are not normal creditors, because the EU directive obliges every member state to have a Depositor Compensation Scheme, which covers all deposits up to 100 000€ by depositor, by bank.
For further information, see our page “Banks Ratings”
Interest rates vary significantly from country to country (see our map). For instance, a savings account in Belgium has an average rate around 0.1 % whereas in Malta you could open a saving account with a 1 % rate (see our comparator).
directive 2014/49/EU of the European Parliament.
This directive protects your savings in any Member State: in case of bankruptcy of your credit institution, the Deposit Guarantee Scheme (DGS) will pay out up to 100 000€ per person, per credit institution, whether you are a resident in the country or a foreigner.
For further information, see our page “Is it safe to save my money in a foreign European country?”
Yes, according to the EU legislation, an EU citizen can open an account in any member state. But only a few banks actually open accounts to non-residents.
For further information see our page “How can you save in Europe ?”
In order to open an account, you must be a citizen of an EU Member State. You will most often have to be over 18 years old to open an account.
You will need to provide some documents to prove your Identity, your residency address in the EU, etc. You may have to upload these documents online or to send them by email.
For further information see our page “How can you save in Europe ?”
We made sure that you can open an account in every bank in our database. If you do not know how to obtain some of the papers requested by the bank, please contact their customer service.
The minimum amount you have to deposit to open the account depends on the bank and the product. It can range from 10€ to 2.000€.
We list the minimum amount for each bank and financial product in the product sheet.
The maximum amount you can deposit to open your account depends on the bank and the product. However, if you want to benefit from the European Deposit Guarantee Scheme, keep your savings below the 100,000€ limit per bank.
We list the maximum amount in the product sheet.
Savings accounts are accounts offered by retail financial institutions (e.g. banks) that serve interest. Unlike current accounts or sight accounts, they cannot be used directly as a means of payment.
They are used by customer to save money they can use in the future.
For more information, check our article ‘What are the different saving products?
Savings accounts offer easy access to your money: most of the time, you can add or withdraw funds at any time, even though you may be charged fees. In return for higher interest rates, Term Deposits accounts block your money during the the length of their “term.” Usually the different terms are either 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, or 5 years. The longer the term, the higher the interest rates.
For more information, check our article ‘What are the different savings products?’.
Most of the time, you can add or withdraw funds at any time from saving accounts, even though you may be charged fees. However, some accounts have special conditions on withdrawing money, such as an advance notice requirement.
That’s why it is important to read the product conditions and characteristics (see our products sheets for more information on each product).
Most of the time, you can add or withdraw funds at any time from saving accounts, even though you may be charged fees. However, some accounts have special conditions on depositing funds, such as an advance notice requirement.
That’s why it is important to read the product conditions and characteristics (see our products sheets for more information on each product).
Interest rates depend on the bank and the country with very significant variations.
We compare these rates and allow you to choose the account, the bank, and the country which provides you with the best rate.
If you are interested in more remunerative products, you may look at our Term Deposit Account section.
You will receive your interest on a regular basis, which depends on the country of investment.
For more information, check the product sheet of the product you are interested in.
Yes, since the economic situation and local competition between banks evolve, rates are likely to evolve as well. This means the rate of your saving account can either increase or decrease in the future, so you need to watch it overtime.
If you are looking for fixed rates, you might want to consider a Term Deposit account.
As the interest rates may change, interest amount is recalculated on a regular basis depending on the bank and the product.
We indicate in each product sheet when and how interests are calculated and we compare them with a common methodology explained in the Methodology section
Some accounts offer a fidelity premium, which is an additional interest rate in the case that you do not withdraw money during one year.
Others offer a growth premium, which is an additional interest rate served at the end of the year if the amount on the account at the end of the year is greater than the amount at the beginning.
To see if you can benefit from a growth premium, check the product sheet of the product you are interested in.
Fees vary from a bank to another. We list all the fees for each account in the product sheet and take the fees into account in the comparator.
If you know you won’t need to access your money for a fixed period, you might be interested in the higher interest rates offered by a term deposit account. Term deposits account block your money during a set term - usually 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, or 5 years. The longer the term, the higher the rates.
For further information, see our page “What are the different saving products ?”
It depends on the account. Most often you are not allowed to withdraw your money before maturity. Sometimes you can withdraw your money but the bank will close the account or charge you significant fees.
We list the conditions for each account in the product sheet.
Yes, once you opened the fixed term account the rate get fixed and won’t change until maturity date.
It depends on the bank. Most of the time, interest isaccrued annually but can be withdrawn, with the initial capital, at maturity.
For more information, check the product sheet of the product you are interested in.
Term deposits are accounts which usually serve higher interest rate than savings accounts. In return, your money is blocked for a chosen term. Usually the different terms are 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, or 5 years. The longer the term, the higher the rates.
For more information, check our article ‘What are the different saving products?’.
Fees vary from one bank to another. We list all the fees for each account in the product sheet and take the fees into account in the comparator.
Although all EU Member States can benefit from deposit rates from the ECB, the final client rates differ a lot. The main reason for this is that the real cost of the financial resources differs from bank to bank (all funding doesn’t come from the ECB).
Unlike Savings and Term Deposit section where we list only products open to any European citizen, our ambition for Credits is to provide European residents with a "barometer" representing the cost of the credit in the different EU Member States. Unfortunately, almost all lenders accept only domestic residents.