CUSTOMERS WHO KEEP their savings in demand deposit accounts with Irish banks could be missing out on a significant windfall in interest payments. 

According to figures from the Central Statistics Office, Irish customers are currently keeping a cumulative total of €140 billion in demand deposit accounts with interest rates well below those available through Raisin, a free-to-use online savings platform. 

Interest rates offered by Irish demand deposit accounts aren’t keeping pace with inflation. An analysis by savings platform Raisin found that accounts of this nature have yielded a relatively paltry 0.13% AER (annual equivalent rate) in interest on average this year. Irish bank customers lost a total of nearly €2.7 billion in purchasing power last year due to the same measly returns on their savings, and it’s likely that you are currently leaving money on the table if you’re keeping your savings in an Irish demand deposit account.

Raisin is a platform that allows users to access the interest rates offered by over 25 trusted banks across Europe with just one log-in, meaning that you can make significantly more back on the lump sum that you’ve put away for a rainy day compared to Irish demand deposit accounts. Through Raisin, Irish customers can instead hold their savings in term deposit accounts offered by European banks, including those rated AAA by Standard & Poor’s, including banks based in Germany, Luxembourg and Sweden.

Term deposit accounts have delivered much higher returns so far this year, at roughly 2.43% AER on average. On the Raisin homepage, you can see exactly the kind of interest your savings could yield if you were to hold them in a European bank for a fixed term, such as five years.

Interest rates available to Raisin users Raisin Bank Raisin Bank

For example, if you were to deposit €30,000 with German bank Aareal through Raisin Bank in a fixed-term five-year deposit account, at the end of the term you would have accumulated €4,125 in interest based on current interest rates. If you are looking at building up interest in a more short-term fashion, there are also banks which offer interest rates of roughly 2.5% on six-month term deposit accounts. 

Money held in these bank accounts is protected by the EU-wide Deposit Guarantee Scheme, which ensures that funds up to €100,000 per bank, per saver, are safeguarded. Raisin also offers access to demand deposit accounts, if you would prefer to shop around for a savings account that doesn’t hold your money for a fixed term. 

You can explore the wide array of banks, deposit accounts and interest rates that are currently available to Raisin users here. Signing up for Raisin Bank is simple, requiring only one log-in and no fees whatsoever. Explore the options available to you and make the switch from a low-yield demand deposit account to a higher rate term deposit from over 20 trusted European banks. 

Eoghan O’Hara, Irish financial expert at Raisin Bank, warned that “even with better offers out there, many are still accepting measly rates on their hard-earned savings. If you don’t need access to your money for a while, consider locking it into a term deposit to get real value.”

If you feel like your savings aren’t doing as much for you as they should, visit Raisin and find out how you can get more out of your money. 

All interest rates are valid as of 18 May, 2025.

Raisin Bank holds a full banking license under the German Banking Act (Kreditwesengesetz) under registration number 100112 and is supervised by the German Federal Supervisory Authority.