Two products, one question
An instant-access savings account pays a variable rate and lets you withdraw at any time. A fixed-term deposit locks your money for a set period, from one month to five years or more, at a rate agreed in advance. Notice accounts sit in between. The question is always the same: how much interest, for how long, and under which guarantee.
The €100,000 guarantee
The Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive requires every EU member state to run a scheme that repays depositors if a bank fails. The cover is €100,000 per depositor per bank, so a joint account held by two people is protected up to €200,000, and two accounts at the same bank share one limit. Since 2024 the scheme must repay within seven working days. Many countries protect temporary high balances, for example from a house sale, above the limit for a few months.
The guarantee is national. A deposit at a bank licensed in Germany is protected by the German scheme, wherever you live. A branch of that bank in another EU country is covered by the home scheme as well. What is not covered: money at an electronic money institution, investment products sold by a bank, and anything above the limit.
What drives savings rates
Savings rates follow the European Central Bank's deposit facility rate, the rate banks earn on money parked at the ECB. When it rises, savings rates follow with a lag; when it falls, they fall faster. On top of that, banks that need funding pay more, which is why smaller and newer banks often top the tables. Introductory rates that drop after a few months are common; compare the rate that applies after the promotion ends.
Compare on the effective annual rate, which includes the effect of how often interest is paid and compounded, not on the advertised nominal rate. Over a year the difference is small; over five years on a large deposit it is not.
Saving in another EU country
Any EU bank can take deposits from residents of any other EU country under the single licence, and deposit marketplaces make it simple: one account with the platform, deposits spread across partner banks in several countries, each under its own national €100,000 guarantee. The platform is an intermediary; your contract is with the bank.
Two things change when you save abroad. The bank may withhold tax at source under its own rules, which you reclaim or credit under the tax treaty with your country. And the bank reports your interest to your home tax authority under the EU's automatic exchange of information, so the income must appear on your return either way.
How to compare
Line up the effective annual rate, the term, the minimum and maximum deposit, the withdrawal conditions, the guarantee scheme that applies and the currency. A slightly higher rate at a bank in a scheme you know little about is not automatically the better deal; a rate that requires a new current account is not the headline rate.
Where to compare in your country
Nordsek compares savings accounts and deposits on its country sites, in the local language, including cross-border offers available to residents of that country. Choose your country above.
