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.
01The €100,000 limit applies to the bank, not the account. Two accounts at one bank share it; two banks give you two limits.
02Each holder has their own €100,000, so a joint account of two people is covered to €200,000.
03A house sale or an inheritance is covered above the limit for a limited period, set by each country, of at least three months.
04The scheme of the country that licensed the bank repays you, in euros, without you having to claim.
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.
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.
