Best savings accounts in Europe
Instead of opening a local savings account, online you can easily find higher interest rates at banks abroad. The differences between a local savings account, and a high yield savings account in another country are often significant. Brokers and p2p platforms often offer even higher rates, but there are some risks to watch out for.
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Interest on European savings accounts
Banks in other countries often offer higher interest rates on savings accounts than local banks. If you look beyond banks, the rates can be even higher. In Europe, there are many financial platforms, such as peer-to-peer lending and investment platforms. Some of these platforms offer products with fixed interest rates, which can be quite high.
Interest rates in countries like Spain, Poland or Estonia are often higher than other European interest rates. You could also start saving outside of Europe. But currency differences and economic or political developments sometimes pose risks. Therefore, we limit our overview to European banks and platforms.
High yield savings account in Europe
Online you can easily open a high yield savings account with several European banks. These often have a higher interest rate than what you receive in a local bank account. Some examples of banks with high interest rates are:
Term deposit with an interest rate of 3.4% per year for 10 years, or a savings rate of 2.7% for 5 years. Listed on the Borsa Italiana since 2015. Minimum deposit is 20,000 euro, maximum 100.000 euro. Covered by the deposit guarantee scheme. You can open your account easily through Raisin.
A small business bank based in Malta that focuses on digital and technology sectors. It offers up to 2.00 percent interest for a term of 1 years. Deposit from 20,000 to 100,000 euro. No tax and covered by EU guarantee. EU residents can open an account easily via Pickthebank.eu.
French bank, founded in 2013, it is part of a multinational car manufacturer. Offers savings products and financing or insurance for the customers (networks) of car brands such as Peugeot, Citroën, FIAT and Opel. Offers 1,91% interest per year. EU citizens can open an account easily via Raisin.com.
Klarna offers an online deposit account with six different term options. It provides a fixed interest rate up to 2,00 percent. The account is covered by the Swedish deposit guarantee scheme. Sweden operates without withholding tax.
Nordax Bank, founded in 2003 and headquartered in Stockholm, is a Swedish bank. It offers both an online savings account with variable interest rates of 1.89 percent, and deposit savings with great interest rates.
A&G Banco offers deposit savings, with a fixed interest rate of up to 4 percent per year. Durations range from 3 months to 2 years. Saving is possible with as little as 20,000 euros, with a maximum amount of 100,000 euros per account holder.
RCI Banque S.A., is a subsidiary of the Renault Group. This French bank specializes in car financing and services for Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi customers and dealers. Unlimited deposits and withdrawals whenever you want. Automatic savings possible.
Norion Bank AB of Sweden offers savings accounts and deposit accounts abroad under the Collector brand name. Sweden levies no holding tax and is covered by the European deposit guarantee act. Fixed interest rates up to 3.95 percent per year. Automatic savings possible.
Inbank is an Estonia-based bank with some 850,000 customers. It offers deposit savings, which you can easily open and manage online. It also offers a variable-rate savings account.
The banks listed above all offer good savings rates, and even as an international client it is easy to open an account there. If you are interested in getting the highest savings rates, you could also consider other institutions than banks.
Interest on investment accounts
If you are looking for the highest returns, you can also consider non-bank institutions. Besides bonds and other market products, more brokers now have their own options that allow you to earn interest on your balance or their products.
Offers various investment options for passive investors. European market leader in P2P lending with an average return of 11.3% on Core Loans. Also offers bonds, ETFs, real estate, and up to 2.25% via Smart Cash (available for instant withdrawal). Temporary a special welcome bonus for new investors.
- The editorial team's preferred platform
- 11+ billion euros funded since its launch in 2015
- European market leader in P2P lending
- 50+ loan originators from 25 countries
- Wide selection of corporate bonds
- MiFID II license
Invest through this European broker in stocks, ETFs, and crypto. Transactions in iShares ETFs and investment plans are free; other trades cost 0.99 euros. With Prime+ (4.99 per month), trades from 250 euros are free. Uninvested funds earn an expected return of 2.00%.
With the platform Trade Republic, you can invest in 10,100 stocks and ETFs. Start investing in fractional shares, ETF's or bonds from 1 euro. Deposits can easily be done by Google or Apple Pay. You can also earn 2,00 percent interest on uninvested balances.
Invest in over 1 million stocks, ETFs, bonds, and other instruments across U.S., European, and Asian markets. Explore predefined selections of high-yield ETFs and bonds with potential dividend returns of up to 6% in EUR. Utilize in-house market research and weekly investment ideas.
European p2p platforms
Both in and outside Europe, p2p lending platforms are booming. They often raise money from savers to lend out through small business and consumer loans. In return, you get a fixed interest rate on your investment. On these platforms, there is some supervision from governments, but it is not comparable to supervision that applies to banks. Popular European platforms currently include:
Offers various investment options for passive investors. European market leader in P2P lending with an average return of 11.3% on Core Loans. Also offers bonds, ETFs, real estate, and up to 2.25% via Smart Cash (available for instant withdrawal). Temporary a special welcome bonus for new investors.
- The editorial team's preferred platform
- 11+ billion euros funded since its launch in 2015
- European market leader in P2P lending
- 50+ loan originators from 25 countries
- Wide selection of corporate bonds
- MiFID II license
Debitum is a rapidly growing Latvian p2p lending platform. It allows you to invest in financing for small businesses. With the auto invest function, you can easily spread your investments across multiple loans. The annual return often exceeds 10 percent. Regulated under a MiFID II license.
- high returns (10%+)
- powerful Auto Invest features
- frequent cashback promotions
- MiFID II license
A p2p lending platform based in Estonia. Between 2009 and 2025, 1.5+ billion euros has been invested on the platform. Bondora used to offer peer-to-peer loans, but now only offers Go-&-Grow: a product where it aims for steady returns of 6 percent per year.
- founded in 2009
- only consumer loans
- almost 500,000 users
- minimum investment of 5 euro
- active volume: 500+ million
With over 3 billion euros in invested capital, PeerBerry, founded in 2017, is one of the largest P2P platforms in Europe. It mainly offers short-term consumer loans, with Poland, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine as the top three markets. Average interest rate is around 10 percent.
- often short-term loans
- focus on Eastern Europe
- stable, high returns
- over 3 billion euros funded
Lendermarket is a P2P platform where you invest in short-term consumer loans. It works with multiple loan originators, but most loans come from partner Creditstar, which operates in 32 countries. It offers interest rates of up to about 15 percent and a buyback program.
- over 500 million euro funded
- over 20.000 registered users
- offices in Germany, Spain, France and Estonia
- ECSP license (Ireland)
The P2P platform Esketit was launched in 2020, and is based in Zagreb (Croatia) sinds 2025. With the Auto Invest feature you invest in consumer and business loans. The platform reports an average annual return of 10 to 10.5 percent. In 2025 AvaFin stopped offering its own loans through Esketit.
- both business and consumer loans
- early withdrawal (under conditions)
- minimum investment: 10 euros
- over 25,000 investors
- part of AvaFin
- no ECSP-license!
Hive5 is a p2p platform from Croatia where investors can invest in small- and medium-sized businesses. The platform is active across Europe and connects investors and loan originators. Most loans have an interest rate of 15 percent. Investing is possible from 10 euros and up.
Robocash is a p2p lending platform from Croatia. Investing on the website is fully automated according to your preferences. In 2021, Robocash had funded over 300 million euros in loans. The average annual interest is around 11 percent. Most loans are very short-term, lasting up to 60 days.
Viainvest is an online investment platform from Latvia. On the website you can invest in both consumer and business loans. To date, over 500 million euros has been invested. Viainvest has an average interest rate of 10 percent.
Bondster is a peer-to-peer lending platform from Czech Republic that is active in 20 countries. The broker offers individual and business loans that last up to 120 months. Since 2017, over 100 million euros has been funded by more than 15 thousand investors. The interest is 5 to 16 percent.
International platform Monefit automatically spreads your investment across p2p loans, with an average annual return of 7 percent. According to the platform, it has already paid out 83 million euros in interest to investors.
TWINO was founded in 2009 in Latvia. Currently, it is active in 6 countries. It has over 58 thousand registered users, who have invested around 1 billion euros. According to the platform, investors are earning a total of 12 million euros in interest.
IUVO is based in Estonia and offers individual loans. In 2022, over 265 million euros was invested to date. The platform has more than 30 thousand registered users from 166 countries worldwide. The majority of loans last 6 to 24 months, with an average interest between 5 and 15 percent.
The European platform Lonvest offers p2p loans in cryptocurrency. This involves buying crypto coins and lending them to other users. The average return is 13 percent.
Pros and cons of international savings accounts
Saving money abroad can have both advantages and disadvantages. These differ by bank, platform, country or (savings) account. Some advantages are:
Higher interest rates: Interest rates on savings abroad are often higher than at local banks.
Exchange rates: Do you conduct a lot of business in another currency? By keeping your savings in the same currency, you will not run currency risks. Conversely, a different currency can sometimes generate additional returns.
Financial privacy: Money abroad can offer financial privacy, although the rules for this vary widely.
Some disadvantages of saving abroad are:
Fraud and security: There is a risk of fraud or a security breach at any financial institution, and this risk may be greater at foreign banks with which you are less familiar.
Currency Difference: The currency of the country where you open a savings account may depreciate against your own currency.
Political and economic instability: The money you store abroad may be affected by political and economic events in that country.
Regulations: Countries have different rules and regulations for foreign bank accounts, and these can change. You may face legal risks, and many foreign platforms are not covered by the European deposit guarantee scheme for bank accounts.
Access to your money: Sometimes it can be more difficult to access your money quickly, especially if you have to deal with time zones and other logistical issues.
Taxation on savings abroad
If you open a savings account at a foreign bank, this can create complex tax issues. You may have to pay taxes in both your home country and the country where you save.
Savings products from foreign financial institutions are not always recognized as savings. For example, tax laws in some countries view savings at a p2p platform as an investment. It taxes the returns on this in a similar way as investments you purchase with an investment account at an online broker.
A foreign savings account at an unauthorized bank is taxed as an investment for income tax purposes.
Withholding tax
In addition, you face an assessment of withholding tax in many countries. This means that you also pay taxes in the country where your money is placed. Sometimes you can avoid or reduce double taxation with a statement showing that you pay your taxes in your home country.
You can also make sure your savings account is without withholding tax, by opening one in a country without such a retention tax, like Germany, Estonia, France, Italy or Sweden.
Frequently asked questions
Some frequently asked questions about the best high yield savings accounts in Europe are:
Which foreign bank has the highest savings rate?
In Europe, Renault Bank, Inbank and Nordax bank offer high savings rates. Interest rates can vary from day to day, making it difficult to say which bank offers the highest interest rate today. In addition, with some banks you run a currency risk or you may not be able to access your savings for long periods of time.
Are you considering other financial platforms in exchange for higher interest rates? With some large European p2p platforms, you can receive above 10 percent interest per year.
How can I open a savings account in another country?
Through Raisin Bank, you can easily open an account with many European banks. Both via desktop and an app on your mobile. You can also save abroad on p2p platforms. Please note: on some p2p platforms, you risk losing your deposit, and your money is only covered by the deposit guarantee scheme with an authorized bank from the European Union.
