savings account v bank account

gillian1983

i want to find out how keeping your money in a bank account like differs from keeping it in a savings account. why dont people just save in their bank accounts?

Liam Byrne

A savings account is (generally) a bank account.

I presume that you mean current account vs savings account ?

Generally, the savings account has a higher rate of interest because you should - in theory at least - have the money in there longer because it's not required for day-to-day stuff (which is what a current account is for).

optogirl

gillian1983 wrote: »

i want to find out how keeping your money in a bank account like differs from keeping it in a savings account. why dont people just save in their bank accounts?

I guess because for a lot of people having a separate account to save in is easier. If I tried 'saving' in my current account, there would be feck all saved. Instead I have a certain amount transferred monthly into a savings account , for which I do not have a pass card - in other words, to take money out of the savings account I have to actually go into the bank and therefore and much less likely to do that. You usually also get better interest rates on savings accounts.

Banned Account

Hi Gillian, this is possibly more suited to the banking insurance and pensions forum - Biz -> Consumer -> Banking.

The main reason for saving in a savings account is that it pays interest. Current accounts do not usually do this (not in any meaningful way at least)

A savings account will not allow direct debits, chequebooks or debit cards - so most people have two accounts one for day to day use and one for savings. All banks have savings accounts so many peoples savings accounts are with banks.

Hope this helps.

mailforkev

Interest rates.

For example, my current account has a low interest rate and no interest at all paid on balances over €2.5k.

So I only use it for day to day expenditure and direct debits such as bills/mortgage etc.

I then have a regular savings account with a high return (only up to a 5k balance though) and a lump sum account with the bulk of my savings at a slightly lower rate.

gillian1983

optogirl wrote: »

I guess because for a lot of people having a separate account to save in is easier. If I tried 'saving' in my current account, there would be feck all saved. Instead I have a certain amount transferred monthly into a savings account , for which I do not have a pass card - in other words, to take money out of the savings account I have to actually go into the bank and therefore and much less likely to do that. You usually also get better interest rates on savings accounts.

yes i mean a current account
what sort of interest would you get on say €100 kept in a savings account for a year?
also is your money safe in a savings account and are there any charges?
finally, do you have to deposit a fixed amount monthly to a savings account or can you deposit irregularly- even just depositing €100 in a year. would you earn say €10 when the year is up or would it go down due to charges?

Banned Account

gillian1983 wrote: »

yes i mean a current account
what sort of interest would you get on say €100 kept in a savings account for a year?
also is your money safe in a savings account and are there any charges?
finally, do you have to deposit a fixed amount monthly to a savings account or can you deposit irregularly- even just depositing €100 in a year. would you earn say €10 when the year is up or would it go down due to charges?

There are loads of different savings accounts with differing terms and conditions. Look for the AER on all of them (annual equivalent rate) and compare them. For €100 if the AER was 3% it would mean that you would have made €3 at the end of the year, you would then lose 25% of the €3 in DIRT tax.

You will get a more competitive rate with a regular saver account but you will have to save a fixed amount regularly or you will default to a nominal rate which will not be good at all.

davidv426

hi
this site has loads of information about different savings accounts with differing terms and conditions and it is quit useful and more helpful. i am glad to visit this forum. thank you...............

Best Interest On Savings