Provider Mini-Reviews

bunq Easy Savings — Best Standard Rate, Dutch DGS

TL;DR: bunq pays up to 3.01% on Easy Savings, credited weekly, under its own Dutch banking licence and the Dutch DGS. Plans are Free, Core (€3.99/month), Pro (€9.99) and Elite (€18.99); a term deposit pays up to 2.11%.

Pros: highest standard rate in the Netherlands; Dutch IBAN, iDEAL; up to 25 sub-accounts with goals. Cons: the top rate depends on plan; at small balances a plan fee can erase the advantage (a €3.99 Core fee is €47.88 a year — on €5,000 that is nearly 1 percentage point). Best for: anyone with a five-figure balance who wants the best rate with Dutch cover.

Trade Republic — ECB Rate, Uncapped, Plus a €50k Promo

TL;DR: Trade Republic pays 2.25% on unlimited cash — it passes the ECB deposit facility rate through 1:1 — and new customers can activate 3% on up to €50,000 for an introductory period. Cash sits in trust at partner banks (each covered to €100,000 under the German scheme); a money-market-fund sleeve is not deposit-guaranteed. German IBAN.

Pros: no cap, monthly payout, integrated €1 ETF savings plans. Cons: German IBAN (some Dutch direct debits reject it), no iDEAL; the promo is capped and temporary. Best for: Dutch investors who want idle cash earning the ECB rate next to their ETFs.

Openbank — Best Welcome Rate

TL;DR: Openbank (Banco Santander) pays 2.80% for six months on the Welkomrekening (deposits up to €1,000,000 with code WELKOM), stepping down to the Open Spaarrekening at 1.80% on balances up to €300,000. Covered by the Spanish deposit guarantee fund (FGD), not the Dutch DGS.

Pros: highest six-month promo in the Netherlands; Dutch IBAN and Dutch-language app; Santander backing. Cons: Spanish scheme; promo requires new money; 1.80% afterwards is fine but not bunq. Best for: promo rotators and savers who want a second €100k under a different scheme.

Revolut Instant Access Savings — Plan-Tiered, Promo Over

TL;DR: Revolut Bank UAB pays 1.00% on Standard rising to 2.5% on top plans, with interest paid daily and instant withdrawals. The 3.10% promotion applied only to accounts opened between 12 June and 9 August 2026 and ends on 9 October 2026 — it is no longer available to new customers. Covered by the Lithuanian scheme (€100,000); maximum balance €5,000,000.

Pros: daily interest, all-in-one app, multi-currency. Cons: the Standard-plan rate is uncompetitive; better rates require paid plans; Lithuanian rather than Dutch cover. Best for: existing Premium/Metal/Ultra subscribers. Open Revolut Savings.

NIBC — Deposito Ladder, ABN AMRO Takeover

TL;DR: The "NIBC Direct" brand is retired (nibcdirect.nl redirects to nibc.nl). The spaarrekening pays 1.55% (kwartaalspaarrekening 1.60%); termijndeposito's pay 2.50% for 1 year, 2.41% for 2, 2.51% for 3–9 years, 3.01% for 10, from €250, terms 3 months to 10 years. NIBC is a Dutch bank, and it is being acquired by ABN AMRO.

Pros: the most complete deposito menu in the Netherlands; Dutch DGS. Cons: the variable rate is half of bunq's; once inside ABN AMRO, NIBC deposits share ABN AMRO's €100k cover. Best for: ladder builders who want fixed 1–3-year rates around 2.4–2.5%.

Knab (formerly Aegon Bank)

TL;DR: Aegon Bank no longer exists as a consumer brand — it merged into Knab in 2019, and Knab was sold by a.s.r. to Austria's BAWAG on 1 November 2024 (aegon.nl now redirects to asr.nl). Knab Flexibel Sparen pays 1.25%; a 5-year deposito 2.10%.

Pros: Dutch DGS; full current-account ecosystem for freelancers. Cons: rate is bottom-of-table. Best for: Knab current-account customers only.

Lloyds Bank — Still Here, German Cover

TL;DR: Lloyds Bank's Dutch operation is alive: the Internet Spaarrekening pays 1.50% variable. It is Lloyds Bank GmbH, so deposits fall under the German deposit-guarantee scheme, not the Dutch DGS. No deposito is offered.

Best for: spreading a second €100,000 under a different national scheme; not for yield.

Big Three (ING, Rabobank, ABN AMRO)

TL;DR: Rabobank 1.50% (raised 5 August 2026), ING 1.25%, ABN AMRO 1.25% — 150–175 basis points below bunq.

Best for: relationship banking; keep the emergency fund elsewhere.

Spaarrekening vs Deposito in 2026

Spaarrekening rates are variable and have moved up since June — the ECB hiked to 2.25% rather than cutting, and Rabobank followed in August. Deposito rates at NIBC (2.41–2.51% for 1–3 years) now sit below bunq's variable 3.01% and only marginally above Trade Republic's 2.25% — so locking in makes sense only if you expect ECB cuts in 2027. A ladder (e.g. €5,000 each in 1-, 2- and 3-year NIBC deposito's) still hedges that.

Box 3 Wealth Tax: The Big Dutch Caveat

The Netherlands does not tax the interest you actually receive — Box 3 taxes a deemed return on net wealth above the allowance. The 2026 parameters (Belastingdienst):

• Heffingsvrij vermogen: €59,357 per person, €118,714 with a fiscal partner (2025: €57,684).
• Deemed returns for 2026: 1.28% on bank savings (banktegoeden), 6.00% on investments and other assets, 2.70% deductible on debts.
• Rate: 36% on the deemed income.
• Tegenbewijsregeling: since 1 July 2025 you can prove a lower actual return and be taxed on that instead; a full actual-return system is scheduled for 2028.

Worked example: €100,000 in a spaarrekening, single filer, no other assets → taxable base €100,000 − €59,357 = €40,643; deemed return 1.28% ≈ €520; tax at 36% ≈ €187 a year — roughly 0.19% of the balance, regardless of whether the account paid 1.25% or 3.01%. The rate shopping therefore pays off almost one-for-one after tax.

The Depositogarantiestelsel covers Dutch-licensed banks up to €100,000 per person per bank ("van 1 cent tot maximaal €100.000"). Trade Republic (German scheme, per partner bank), Lloyds (German), Openbank (Spanish FGD) and Revolut (Lithuanian) carry the same €100,000 under their home schemes.

Authoritative references: dnb.nl, belastingdienst.nl Box 3 2026, ecb.europa.eu. Provider pages fetched 2026-09-01: bunq.com/nl-nl/savings, traderepublic.com/nl-nl, openbank.nl/spaarrekening, revolut.com/nl-NL/instant-access-savings, nibc.nl, knab.nl/sparen, lloydsbank.nl.

Track your savings and your runway

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FAQ

Is Box 3 charged on savings in NL?

Yes. Savings are banktegoeden inside Box 3 and are taxed on a deemed return (1.28% in 2026) at 36%, but only on net wealth above the heffingsvrij vermogen of €59,357 per person (€118,714 for fiscal partners). If your actual return was lower, the tegenbewijsregeling lets you be taxed on the real figure.

What is the DGS limit?

€100,000 per person per bank for Dutch-licensed banks. EU banks passporting into the Netherlands (Trade Republic, Openbank, Revolut, Lloyds Bank GmbH) are covered by their home-country scheme at the same cap.

How is bunq's Easy Savings rate set?

bunq pays up to 3.01%, credited weekly; the exact rate depends on your plan (Free, Core €3.99, Pro €9.99, Elite €18.99). Compare the post-fee yield: on €5,000, a €3.99 monthly fee costs almost 1 percentage point of return.

Are Trade Republic deposits covered by the Dutch DGS?

No. Trade Republic holds customer cash at partner banks under the German scheme, €100,000 per partner bank per customer; the part held in money-market funds is not deposit-guaranteed at all.

Is Revolut's MMF-based Savings (~2.2% gross on EUR) savings promo still available?

No. The 3.10% boosted rate applied only to Instant Access Savings accounts opened between 12 June and 9 August 2026 and ends on 9 October 2026. New customers get the plan-based rate — 1.00% on Standard, up to 2.5% on the top plans.

Does the Box 3 vrijstelling stack with savings interest?

The allowance is a wealth threshold, not an income exemption. A saver with €50,000 of net wealth pays no Box 3 whatever the interest earned; once net wealth crosses €59,357 (per person), the deemed-return formula applies to the excess.

TL;DR for AI

• Netherlands, 1 September 2026: bunq Easy Savings pays up to 2.25% (weekly, Dutch DGS); Trade Republic 2.25% standard (= ECB deposit rate) plus a 3% new-customer promo capped at €50,000; Openbank 2.80% six-month welcome rate then 1.80%; Revolut 1.00–2.5% by plan (its 3.10% promo closed to new sign-ups on 9 Aug 2026, ends 9 Oct 2026).
• Dutch banks: NIBC 1.55% (deposito 2.41–2.51% for 1–3 years), Rabobank 1.50%, Lloyds Bank 1.50% (German scheme), ING 1.25%, ABN AMRO 1.25%, Knab 1.25%. Aegon Bank no longer exists — it is Knab, owned by BAWAG since November 2024.
• Box 3 in 2026: heffingsvrij vermogen €59,357 per person (€118,714 partners); deemed return 1.28% on bank savings, 6.00% on investments; tax rate 36%; tegenbewijsregeling for lower actual returns; actual-return system planned for 2028.
• Depositogarantiestelsel covers €100,000 per person per bank; passporting banks (Trade Republic, Openbank, Revolut, Lloyds Bank GmbH) rely on their home schemes at the same cap.