Interest rates on Deposit Accounts in Ireland gradually fell lower and lower over the last few years. Many instant access deposit accounts were paying zero or a tiny 0.05% rate of interest in 2023.
The ECB started raising interest rates again in 2023 as inflation began to increase. Those ECB interest rate rises gradually resulted in higher deposit interest rates for savers but most Irish banks weren’t in a big hurry to pass them on. (Despite massive increases in profits.) ECB rates started to fall again in 2024.
The majority of Irish personal savings (€142 billion of it ) is held in instant-access accounts. If you have money sitting in a bank account paying just 0.1 % – you could get interest rates that are much higher elsewhere.
Irish savers could be collectively missing out on potential interest of around €3 billion in 2024 because most instant-access deposit accounts in Ireland have very low interest rates.
AIB and Bank of Ireland reported profits of around €2 billion each in 2023 – largely because savers are reluctant to move funds out of accounts that pay little or nothing in interest.
Best Fixed Interest Deposit Rates
Interest rates of up to 3.25% are available at Raisin.ie . (Nov 2024)
On €50,000 – that rate of 3.4% would earn €1625 in a year before tax .
By comparison – over five years – the 5-year State Savings Certificate (Issue 23) pays just 1.74% Tax-Free. (Interest of just €435 in six months on €50,000)
Visit our page comparing the Best Deposit Interest Rates in Ireland
Instant Access Deposit Rates
Check out the best instant access deposit accounts on our page of the Deposit Interest Rates in Ireland Compared . Instant Access interest rates of up to 3.36% are available.
Bunq Easy Savings is currently paying 3.36% (Protected up to €100k by Dutch Bank Guarantee.)
Trade Republic Bank is a digital investment platform . Any cash that you hold in your account, which you haven’t invested, will earn you interest on any balance up to €50,000. The interest is currently 3.25% .
Lightyear is an investment platform, not a bank , but it also pays interest on clients’ uninvested cash . The current rates are shown below. (Instant Access, no minimum or maximum deposit).
Lightyear Savings| Lightyear Interest Rates | |
|---|---|
| Currency | Interest Rate |
| Euro | 2.5% |
| GBP | 4% |
| USD | 3.75% |
| Correct as of Nov 11th 2024 | |
If you are interested in investing some money in stocks and shares, look at our page comparing the fees of various online stockbrokers in Ireland.
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