Even with high inflation and ten interest rate increases, the savings rate on offer from Irish Banks remains very low, the weakest in the Eurozone. This makes it increasingly more challenging for Irish savers to secure high-interest returns on their savings
The Irish Minister for Finance, Michael McGrath put pressure on banks to pass rates on to customers when he said in August this year, “Although the banks have not yet fully passed on the interest rate increases to mortgage holders, they have passed on even less of the increase in the ECB interest rate to savers and depositors”.
And Central Bank governor Gabriel Makhlouf also commented, “To date, Irish banks have lagged behind euro area banks in respect to pass-through of interest rate increases to the household sector,”
And even though Central Bank analysis at the end of June showed the Republic’s three remaining banks each announced deposit rate increases in response to mounting public and political pressure on the matter, the three are now offering rates of just up to 3 per cent for fixed-term deposits.
Despite the challenges the amount of money being saved has been increasing at a remarkable rate, having now reached an all-time high. Since the beginning of 2022, nearly €9 billion has been deposited into savings accounts in Ireland.
And although Central Bank analysis at the end of June showed the Republic’s three remaining banks each announced deposit rate increases in response to mounting public and political pressure, the three are now offering rates of only up to 3 per cent for fixed-term deposits.
So, what can savers do to maximise their hard-earned money?
Analysts believe that an Individual saver with €50,000 could be missing out on up to €1,450.00 per year by not looking outside of Ireland for deposit offerings. Overall Irish households could be missing out on €120m per month.
Fortunately there are alternatives, and Raisin Bank is one of them. Raisin Bank is part of Raisin GMBH, a fintech company that provides an open banking infrastructure for the global deposit market, opening up investment opportunities for consumers in Europe and the U.S. Raisin collaborates with around 400 banks and financial service providers from more than 30 countries. In simple terms, Raisin is an online marketplace for savings products across Europe. With Raisin Bank Irish savers can easily get access to some of the best fixed-term deposits with interest rates up to 4.25% AER from banks elsewhere in Europe. There are no hidden fees, no fine print and no hassle.
Signing up with Raisin Bank is a simple process that only requires one online registration. Once registered, customers can choose from a variety of savings accounts offered by other European banks and manage their accounts online. Follow these simple steps to get started:
• Open a Raisin Account online – you just have to register on Raisin.ie and verify your identity using video identification.
• Receive your login information and start browsing rates.
• Sign up to a savings account(s) and manage them all online
Once Raisin Bank has verified your identity and sent you your login details you’ll be able to access exclusive offers from its partner banks across Europe and see and manage your various deposit accounts as well as keep up to date about new savings products that become available.
Is my money safe?
Any money you have on deposit up to €100,000 per bank is covered by the relevant Deposit Guarantee Scheme of the country the bank operates in. However you should still make sure that the bank you sign up to is well run and fully licensed by a reputable financial authority. And obviously read the relevant terms and conditions before signing up.
What about paying DIRT?
In most cases, your returns will be paid out tax-free. However you’ll need to declare any returns for Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) on your annual tax return in Ireland – currently at 33%.
Some banks in some countries might also charge a withholding tax to non-residents, so this is something to clarify before signing up.
Grow your savings today– visit www.raisin.ie/st/
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