On June 15, the European Central Bank (ECB) raised interest rates again (which already reach 4%) to combat inflation.
In addition, its president, Christine Lagarde, recently confirmed in Sintra, Portugal, that they will rise again at their next meeting on July 27.
This approach of the ECB has made banks take different strategies to attract money from new customers, as an alternative to the bonds offered by the states.
“European banks are betting on paying good interest on their fixed-term deposits. The alternative proposed by some online banks and more traditional entities in Spain is to remunerate bank accounts”, explain the experts from the financial comparator HelpMyCash.com.
Most banks have improved the profitability of their accounts and there is currently a wide offer to choose how to earn money with savings without the need to keep them locked in a deposit.
Among the best offers is the N26 Savings Account, which pays interest of 2.26% APR up to 50,000 euros, so you can earn 1,130 euros of gross profit in one year.
In addition, it does not ask for any requirement, such as direct deposit of a salary or any other income, to achieve this profitability. In order to acquire it, you first have to open a free checking account and then sign up for a savings account through the app.
“When choosing a remunerated account, it is very important to look at the maximum amount that it remunerates, since it is what can make the difference with the rest. The fact that the N26 Savings Account pays interest up to 50,000 euros makes it much more competitive compared to those of other banks that set a maximum of around 5,000 euros”, the experts point out.
The EVO Welcome Smart Account is another interesting alternative if you do not have or do not want to put so much money in the same account. It offers a return of 2.5% APR up to 30,000 euros. The benefits in the first 12 months could reach 750 euros.
Unlike N26, which can be accessed by people who already have products contracted at the bank, the EVO promotion is only for new customers.
As a similarity, it does not ask for any link in order to benefit from this profitability.
Another method widely used by entities is to improve the conditions of their accounts if a periodic deposit is domiciled.
This is the case of the Sabadell Online Account, which in addition to offering a return of 2.5% APR of up to 30,000 euros during the first year, gives away an extra 200 euros for taking payroll, pension or unemployment from 700 euros. Therefore, in a year you can earn 950 euros.
In addition, they have recently added a new promotion in which they return 3% of all purchases made until September 30.
Abanca is committed to a similar strategy with its Cuenta Clara in which it offers a 300-euro gift for direct deposit of the salary and a remuneration of 2% APR up to 15,000 euros the first year. In this case, the maximum benefits in 12 months would be 600 euros.
The difference with the Sabadell account is that, while it does offer profitability even if it does not take any income, Abanca does ask for it to start paying interest.
“When you accept a gift from a bank for running a payroll or other similar type of promotion, you have to read the fine print of the contract carefully. In the case of Abanca, for example, accepting the 300 euros implies a stay of two years with the income domiciled in the entity ”, they point out from HelpMyCash.
