Life in the Netherlands is great, but it’s also expensive. I’m doing whatever I can to try and save money, and one important way to do that is by making sure my savings continue to grow.
So no, I’m afraid my new-found hack to saving money isn’t as simple as cancelling my HBO subscription or freezing cash. It’s by finding banks with better interest rates for my savings.
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So, I decided to try out Trade Republic
Trade Republic is an online broker based in Germany, and I first heard about it after we published an article about their interest rates.
I’m not going to lie: talking about interest rates is usually the best way to make me mentally slip out of a conversation, find a nice cosy corner in the back of my brain, and fall into a deep sleep of dissociation — *snaps fingers* — but stay with me.
The most important thing you need to know about Trade Republic is that they offer a 3% interest rate on savings to residents in the Netherlands.
This means that if you open a savings account with Trade Republic, you can store your money in an account that accrues 3% interest per year — and this is what drew me to it.
Let’s compare that to the average rates at the big banks in the Netherlands. Here’s what your balance could be after 12 months:
| Your deposit | ABN AMRO (1.50%) | Trade Republic (3%) |
|---|---|---|
| €5,000 | €5,075 | €5,150 |
| €10,000 | €10,150 | €10,300 |
| €20,000 | €20,300 | €20,600 |
| €50,000 | €50,750 | €51,500 |
I like to think of this extra cash as the cushion that protects me from the €15 increase I’ve seen in my monthly health insurance premium this year.
My experience signing up
I’m quite a noob when it comes to banking jargon, so I was worried that once I tried to create an account, I’d be faced with options that I didn’t understand. However, I found the process was quite intuitive — and entirely in English.
After downloading the app, I was asked for my details, such as my name, date of birth, and address. I then had to verify my identity by taking a picture of my government ID and sending a very unflattering video of myself for verification.
While I did have to wait until the next morning to get approved, setting up was relatively simple.
It’s worth noting that my colleague, Abuzer, also signed up for Trade Republic, and he was approved within five minutes.
The only moment where I struggled a bit was when I had to provide my ‘Belastingnummer’ or, as the app will say if you’re using it in English, “Tax number.” I had no idea which one this was.
Turns out, they meant my good ol’ BSN number. If this isn’t burned into your brain, you can likely find this in your email from when you registered at your Dutch address.
Tip: Don’t have a BSN number but still want to open a bank account in the Netherlands? There are a number of banks that will allow you to open a bank account without a BSN.
👍 What I like about Trade Republic
By opting for an account with Trade Republic, I now have somewhere to keep my savings without feeling like they’re gathering dust and losing value.
I am also a risk-averse girlie — especially when it comes to money. So, another big selling point for me was that since Trade Republic is based in Germany, my deposit is covered under the European Deposit Guarantee Scheme.
This means that should anything happen to Trade Republic (for example, if they were to go bust), any savings I had with them are guaranteed up to €100,000.
READ MORE | Dutch savings accounts: Best interest rates in the Netherlands 2024
Additionally, when choosing a bank to open a savings account with, I found that many other banks which offered similar interest rates, required me to keep my savings in that account for a fixed term.
So, while I could opt for a Swiss bank with the same interest rates, unlike Trade Republic, I wouldn’t be able to withdraw anything from that account for two years.
You should note that with Trade Republic, there is no minimum fixed term, and I can withdraw my money as and when I need it.
What I also like about Trade Republic is how easy it is to use.
I open the app, type in my passcode, hit the big button that says cash, and voila, there’s my money.
If I want to know how much interest I have earned, I just scroll down, tap the interest button, and there it is. (I like to tap this particular button when I’m in need of a dopamine hit).
The interest is also deposited into my account on a monthly basis, so I can reap the benefits as I go. No need to wait for a year!
I’d also like to point out that the app does offer other features, such as the opportunity to invest. So, while it’s simple, this app does have a lot of functions (I just haven’t tried them yet!).
👎 What could be improved
Of course, nothing is perfect. There were also a few things that I felt could be improved when using Trade Republic.
One handy feature that I came across when setting up my account was that I could put money into the account by selecting Apple Pay as the payment method — but I can’t use it.
When I went to select this option to send money from my Dutch card to my Trade Republic account, I was met with a message saying this card wasn’t accepted.
I’ve never had this issue before with Apple Pay and my Dutch bank card, but given that Dutch cards tend to be a bit awkward in every country other than the Netherlands, I’m not entirely sure this one’s on Trade Republic.
It’s also worth noting that unless you want to have major anxiety, you shouldn’t try to transfer your beloved savings between bank accounts on a weekend.
Trade Republic operates during the working week and working hours, so if you decide to transfer money on a Saturday morning, your money won’t show up in your account until after the weekend.
READ MORE | The best banks in the Netherlands for internationals in 2024
And if you’re planning on transferring money during public holidays, all I can say is good luck.
I tried to transfer some savings from my Trade Republic account to pay my rent for April. However, I forgot that Easter Friday and Easter Monday were a thing. This meant that I had to wait five days before I actually saw my transfer go through — not fun.
This was just a rookie mistake by me, but it certainly had me stressing.
I also found that the Trade Republic app sometimes glitches when I try to carry out a transfer. While travelling abroad, I wanted to transfer some money. However, the verification code I needed in order to complete the transaction wasn’t being sent to my number.
After a day or two, the verification code was sent again, and I could transfer money, but regardless, it was quite frustrating.
This could have been because I was in a different time zone and some extra layer of security prevented the code from being sent — but I’m not sure!
All this being said, my money has ultimately been transferred safely between my accounts, and I continue to use Trade Republic.
I want to see for myself, how can I sign up?
That’s my two cents! What you want to do with it is up to you. Interested in signing up? Nice! The process is clear and simple.
Want to share your experience with Trade Republic with us? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
Good action to go for more interest, but a few notes on your post:
TR itself is registered in Germany, but you savings are put in escrow with a few different banks in either Ireland or Germany – no way to know up front which, so you need to check which country’s DGS (Deposit Guarantee Scheme) applies once registered (The EU DGS is only the guideline – each country has it’s own implementation/executor).
While you are covered under the DGS for up to €100K, you only get interest on max €50K.
After registration you need to actually activate the interest (with the same button where you later check) – or you get none …
Friendly warning from personal experience (22 aug 2024).
While opening an account at Trade Republic you must provide a screenshot of a Legal ID document. Based on that document Trade Republic will automatically name your account.
If you want to transfer funds to or from your Trade Republic account from another bank account, the other bank account MUST have the exact same name that Trade Republic chose for you. If it does not, your money transfers will be declined.
Trade Republic will pick “John Doe” as a name for your account and “J. Doe” on the other account is not the same according to Trade Republic.
The ‘solution’ Trade Republic offers you is to change the name of the other account to match theirs or to request an official name change at your local government from ‘John’ to ‘J.’ and provide proof.
There are other companies that provide the same but better services!
Hi Mike,
Thanks for sharing your experience! We have contacted Trade Republic regarding this and here is what they had to say:
“Trade Republic only offers bank transfers from and to bank accounts held by the client. Therefore we pay very close attention to the regulatory requirements and the data on a customer’s official documents.
While I’m not aware of such a case as described, bank accounts usually display all names as shown on IDs.”