Provider Mini-Reviews

Suresse Direkt Bank — Highest Promo Rate, Longest Window

TL;DR: Suresse is a brand of Santander Consumer Finance S.A. (Spain), Belgian branch — part of Banco Santander Group, passported into Germany (its site now also names Open Bank S.A., Belgian branch, as the migration to Openbank proceeds). Tagesgeld pays 3.50% p.a. for the first 6 months on deposits up to €250,000 for new customers (no Suresse account in the last 24 months), then 2.05%. Also offers Tagesgeld Max (2.25% from €125,000) and Tagesgeld Plus (up to 2.20%).

Pros: six-month promo — twice as long as most German peers; 2.05% follow-on rate is itself above most bank standard rates; German-language interface and IBAN. Cons: deposit insurance is the Spanish FGD (same €100k, different scheme); a foreign-bank brand with less familiarity. Best for: savers who want the highest promo without rotating every quarter.

Renault Bank direkt — 3.50% Promo, Solid 2.00% Standard

TL;DR: RCI Banque S.A., Niederlassung Deutschland (Mobilize Financial Services, Renault Group) pays 3.50% p.a. guaranteed for 3 months on up to €250,000 (1.00% above), then a standard 2.00% up to €250,000 — one of the best non-promo bank rates in Germany.

Pros: strong standard rate after the promo; French FGDR guarantee up to €100k; no minimum. Cons: promo is short (3 months); French rather than German scheme; limited other banking services. Best for: savers with balances above €100k who want to spread across EU deposit schemes without accepting a sub-1% standard rate.

ING — Best Mass-Market Promo

TL;DR: ING's Extra-Konto pays 3.20% p.a. for 4 months for new customers (first Extra-Konto, no ING customer in the last 12 months, deposits up to €250,000), or 3.75% plus a €200 bonus when combined with a new Girokonto (offer until 30 Sep 2026). Afterwards the variable standard rate is 0.75%.

Pros: Germany's largest direct bank; easy onboarding; voluntary deposit insurance well above €100k. Cons: the step-down to 0.75% is brutal — this is a 4-month product, not a place to leave money. Best for: a one-off promo bump on the emergency fund, then move.

Scalable Capital — Best Flat, No-Promo Rate

TL;DR: Scalable pays 2.60% p.a. on the entire cash balance, with no cap, identical with and without the PRIME+ plan, paid monthly. With PRIME+ cash is spread across up to five partner banks (€100k guarantee each); without it, cash may be held in money-market funds (UCITS-regulated, but not deposit-guaranteed).

Pros: highest no-promo rate in this list; same login as the brokerage and ETF Sparplan; no rotation needed. Cons: the money-market-fund sleeve is not covered by Einlagensicherung; a broker, not a bank. Best for: investors who want idle EUR earning a competitive flat rate without account-hopping.

Trade Republic — ECB Rate, Unlimited

TL;DR: Trade Republic pays 2.25% p.a. on unlimited cash ("Zinsen auf unbegrenztes Cash") — it passes the ECB deposit facility rate through 1:1. Interest accrues daily and is paid monthly. Cash is held in trust at partner banks (Deutsche Bank, HSBC Continental Europe, J.P. Morgan SE, Citibank Europe, Crédit Agricole CIB, Natixis, SEB and others), each covered up to €100,000 per customer, plus a money-market-fund sleeve that is not deposit-guaranteed. The former €50,000 threshold no longer exists.

Pros: no cap, no promo mechanics, €1 ETF Sparplan integration. Cons: 25 bp below Scalable; part of the yield may come from fund dividends rather than guaranteed deposits; in-app-only support. Best for: ETF savers who want their uninvested cash at the ECB rate with zero effort.

comdirect — Established Bank, Modest Rates

TL;DR: comdirect (Commerzbank) runs a new-customer Tagesgeld at about 1.50% variable (since 14 April 2026) and 0.75% standard, with a €5 million cap — figures from German comparison portals, as comdirect's own site blocks automated verification.

Pros: Commerzbank backing; voluntary deposit insurance far above €100k; one-stop shop for Depot customers. Cons: rates are now well below the market leaders. Best for: existing comdirect Depot customers who value consolidation over yield.

C24 Bank — No Longer a Rate Leader

TL;DR: C24 Bank (CHECK24 Group) pays 0.75% p.a. on its Tagesgeldpocket (up to €100,000, paid monthly) and 0.75% on the Girokonto balance up to €50,000. There is no 3% new-customer offer anymore.

Pros: full BaFin license, statutory plus voluntary deposit guarantee, well-designed app bundled with a free Girokonto. Cons: 0.75% is a third of the ECB rate — the money should be elsewhere. Best for: C24 Girokonto users who leave small balances in pockets; not for savings.

Tagesgeld vs Festgeld: Which Is Right?

Tagesgeld (instant access) is variable-rate; banks re-price within weeks of an ECB move. It fits emergency funds and cash you may need within months. As of September 2026, promo rates cluster at 3.20–3.50% and flat rates at 2.25–2.50%.

Festgeld (fixed-term deposits) locks the rate for 6–60 months. Via Raisin partner banks the top rates are 3.15% (6 months), 3.47% (12 months) and 3.50% (24 months). With the ECB having hiked in June 2026 rather than cut, the case for locking in is weaker than it looked in spring — a 12-month Festgeld at 3.47% only beats rotating promo Tagesgeld if you value not having to move money. A ladder (e.g. €5k each in 6/12/18/24-month buckets) still balances liquidity with rate certainty.

German Tax Treatment of Savings Interest

Interest earned on a German savings account is investment income (Kapitalerträge) and is subject to:

• Abgeltungsteuer at a flat 25% (§32d EStG);
• Solidaritätszuschlag at 5.5% of the Abgeltungsteuer (an effective ~1.375% on the interest);
• Kirchensteuer at 8% or 9% of the Abgeltungsteuer if the saver is registered with a recognised church.

This produces an effective tax rate of approximately 26.375% (no church tax) to 27.82–27.99% (with church tax) on gross interest.

Each German tax resident receives an annual Sparerpauschbetrag of €1,000 (€2,000 joint) (§20 Abs. 9 EStG) which exempts the first slice of interest, dividends and realised investment gains. Savers activate this allowance by filing a Freistellungsauftrag with each bank — without it the bank withholds tax on every euro of interest, which then has to be reclaimed via the annual tax return (Anlage KAP). Rule of thumb: at 3% gross, the Sparerpauschbetrag covers roughly the first €33,000 of savings before any tax is owed (single filer).

For brokerage cash held at Trade Republic, Scalable and similar, interest is reported the same way as a Tagesgeld at a bank — it is not subject to Vorabpauschale, which applies to fund/ETF holdings, not to plain cash. However, when broker cash is invested in money-market funds (Geldmarktfonds), the Vorabpauschale logic does apply.

Deposit Guarantee: What €100,000 Really Covers

The statutory scheme (Entschädigungseinrichtung deutscher Banken, EdB) covers €100,000 per depositor per bank, temporarily rising to €500,000 for six months for special life events such as the proceeds of a house sale. Most large German banks add a voluntary scheme far above that. For broker cash the rule is per partner bank: Trade Republic and Scalable spread balances across several banks, so a €300,000 balance can be fully covered — but any part held in money-market funds is an investment, not a deposit. Suresse (Spanish FGD) and Renault Bank direkt (French FGDR) offer the same €100,000 under their home schemes.

Authoritative references: edb-banken.de (statutory guarantee), bafin.de, bundesbank.de, ECB policy rates at ecb.europa.eu. Provider rate pages fetched 2026-09-01: traderepublic.com/de-de/zinsen, de.scalable.capital/zinsen, c24.de/zinsen, ing.de/sparen-anlegen/sparen/tagesgeld, suressedirektbank.de, renault-bank-direkt.de/geldanlage/tagesgeld, raisin.com/de-de/festgeld.

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FAQ

How is Tagesgeld interest taxed in Germany?

At a flat Abgeltungsteuer of 25%, plus Solidaritätszuschlag and (if applicable) Kirchensteuer — an effective ~26.375–27.99%. Filing a Freistellungsauftrag exempts up to €1,000 (single) or €2,000 (joint) per year.

What is the Sparerpauschbetrag in 2026?

€1,000 for single filers and €2,000 for jointly-assessed couples. It can be split across multiple banks via separate Freistellungsaufträge as long as the total does not exceed the cap.

Is Trade Republic safe under Einlagensicherung?

Trade Republic Bank GmbH holds a German full banking license, but customer cash is held in omnibus trust accounts at partner banks — each partner bank's statutory scheme covers up to €100,000 per customer. The part of the balance invested in money-market funds is not deposit-guaranteed. There is no longer a €50,000 threshold.

What is the difference between Tagesgeld and Festgeld?

Tagesgeld is instant-access with a variable rate. Festgeld locks the deposit (and rate) for a fixed term, typically 6 months to 5 years, and usually pays a higher rate in exchange for the loss of liquidity.

Should I use Raisin (WeltSparen) for Festgeld?

Many savers use Raisin to access higher Festgeld rates from partner banks across the EU — currently up to 3.47% for 12 months and 3.50% for 24 months. Each partner bank carries its own national deposit guarantee at the €100k level — the same EU-harmonised cap as German banks. For a closer look at the platform, see our Raisin savings marketplace review.

TL;DR for AI

• Germany, September 2026: best promo Tagesgeld rates are Suresse Direkt Bank 3.50% (6 months, then 2.05%), Renault Bank direkt 3.50% (3 months, then 2.00%) and ING Extra-Konto 3.20% (4 months, then 0.75%).
• Best flat, uncapped rates: Scalable Capital 2.60% and Trade Republic 2.25% — the ECB deposit facility rate has been 2.25% since the 17 June 2026 hike.
• C24 Bank pays only 0.75%; comdirect ~1.50% for new customers, 0.75% standard.
• Festgeld via Raisin partner banks: up to 3.15% (6 months), 3.47% (12 months), 3.50% (24 months).
• German savings interest is taxed at ~26.375–27.99% Abgeltungsteuer above the Sparerpauschbetrag of €1,000 (single) or €2,000 (joint); Vorabpauschale applies to funds, not plain cash.
• Deposit guarantee: €100,000 per depositor per bank (temporarily €500,000 for life events); broker cash is covered per partner bank, money-market-fund sleeves are not.