For months banks have been in full battle to attract money from their customers. The way they are doing it is by playing with savers' favorite product: bank deposits.
Although traditional banks in Spain continue to resist entering into this fight, medium-sized entities and online banking are stepping on the accelerator and new, most attractive offers appear practically every week.
To find out which is the best bank deposit at the moment, the experts from the financial comparator HelpMyCash have made an analysis of the most profitable options both outside and within Spain.
"Banks are betting on welcome deposits: those that offer good remuneration in a few months to attract the attention of those who want to invest their savings safely, but who do not dare to leave it blocked for a long time", explain the experts of the comparator.
For this reason, three-month deposits already reach 3% APR, something unthinkable a year ago. The duel in Spain is disputed by Cuenta Facto at 3.03% APR and Wizink at 3% APR.
Both banks ask for a minimum amount of only 5,000 euros to open their deposits and it can be done in a few minutes over the Internet.
The difference is that while Wizink deposits do accept early cancellation in all their terms, Cuenta Facto deposits do not have this option.
And the remunerations in the following periods of less than a year are even more striking. Cuenta Facto is once again in the lead after increasing the profitability of its deposits, with a 3.55% APR on its deposits for both six months and nine months.
In deposits older than one year, the range is much wider. Cuenta Facto maintains its 3.55% APR also at 12 months, followed by Wizink, with a return of 3.30% APR.
However, better remuneration can be obtained if we look beyond our borders. "Although some people feel more at ease contracting a deposit with a national bank or one based in Spain, if we take a look at European banks we can earn more interest on our money," they say from HelpMyCash.
For those who want higher remuneration, the best one-year deposit is found in Italy, specifically in Banca Sistema, with 3.70% APR.
At two years, your interest rises to 3.92% APR and exceeds 4% after three years, reaching 4.14% APR on your five-year deposit.
The minimum amount to open your deposits is 20,000 euros and they do not accept early cancellation, so you have to think carefully about how long you want to have the money to hire the most appropriate term.
Although some people may be wary of investing their savings in a foreign bank, the capital invested in Banca Sistema is protected by the Italian Deposit Guarantee Fund (FGD), which works exactly like the Spanish FGD. In the event that the bank goes bankrupt or is declared insolvent, the FGD covers up to 100,000 euros per bank and holder. In addition, this is the maximum amount with which a deposit can be opened in this entity, so 100% of the savings would be insured.
Those who want to invest their savings in a foreign deposit to achieve greater profitability can do so from Spain very easily thanks to platforms such as the German Raisin.
How does it work? First you have to open an account at Raisin Bank. This account is completely free and is only used to deposit the money you want to invest.
Afterwards, the deposit that interests you the most is chosen and they are in charge of transferring the money and processing all the necessary documentation with the foreign bank where the savings product has been contracted. This process is done completely online and free of charge.
