Trade Republic offering 4% savings account (previously 2%)

AlmightyCushion

https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2023/0104/1344769-trade-republic-to-offer-2-interest-on-cash-balances/

It beats the 0.00000001% available on most other savings accounts. Trade republic is a German online stock broker. 2% is available on cash balances of up to €50,000 and is covered up to €100,000 by the deposit guarantee scheme.

Anjunadeep

That's good to see. I was wondering why the likes of N26 or Revolut havent made a move already

prosaic

I've tried signing up today. I got an email saying the account is activated but the app keeps showing a "registration Completed" page. This is very frustrating.

I tried contacting customer service by email but they said the email (googlemail.com) is not the one I set it up with (gmail.com)

daheff

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120065537#Comment_120065537

I also tried signing up. keeps getting stuck in a loop telling me my registration country is Germany. I get directed to a page to change it, then brought back to the same page with the same problem.

drogon.

Just signed up, no issues here. 

pummice

They dont seem to be listed with the central bank / regulator

prosaic

The signup process went through ok in the end.

Are they running through German regulator?

Edit to add from their documentation...

In the name of our partner Citibank Europe plc (CEP) we want to point out the following:

"Trade Republic has opened an account as a depositor with Citibank Europe plc, Germany Branch. CEP is a member of the Deposit Guarantee Scheme of Ireland (DGS). The DGS protects claims of depositors up to €100,000. As Trade Republic has notified CEP that CEP is holding the funds placed in the account on behalf of Trade Republic's underlying clients, CEP will mark the account as a beneficiary account on their records. Should the situation arise, it would be for the Central Bank of Ireland to investigate which underlying beneficiaries are eligible for protection."

Unknownability

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120067044#Comment_120067044

Yes, regulated by BaFin and the Deutsche Bundesbank.

you2008

Thanks OP, is this company safe to do so?

Fishy1

Having to declare the interest (for DIRT purposes) directly to Revenue is putting me off a bit. It’s easier when it’s automatically deducted at source!

AlmightyCushion

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120069255#Comment_120069255

You will just have to do it on PAYE anytime. I haven't done it but I imagine it is pretty straight forward. Hopefully someone here knows

digitalsystem

Keeps saying invalid post code when I try to sign up. Can you use the eircode for this? Is there a particular format to use?

AlmightyCushion

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120069296#Comment_120069296

I used my Eircode fine. Mine was in the format D00A0A0 no spaces or anything like that

JTMan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120069263#Comment_120069263

Yeah, it is very straight forward. Simply input the total deposit interest for the year in the return. Takes a few minutes online.

AlmightyCushion

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120069642#Comment_120069642

How do you deal with DIRT that may have been paid in the other country though? E.g. you get 1,000 interest, the country the bank account is in takes 200 (20%). You should be paying 33% in Ireland which is 330. Is there a way to inform revenue you already paid 200 and only owe 130?

Mickeroo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120069296#Comment_120069296

That was happening me but it was just because there was a space at the end I didn't notice. Worked fine once I spotted that.

AlmightyCushion

I used a referral when I signed up and just got my bonus. A fraction of a Tesla share worth €50 (although it will probably be worth a lot less soon :D). I don't think referral codes are allowed on here so not gonna post mine but it is worth finding one if you are signing up.

JTMan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120069716#Comment_120069716

Yes, there is a way and it is easy to do.

Trade Republic do not deduct German deposit interest taxes for Irish residents. Hence, there is no German deposit interest tax to deduct. You just pay 33% to the Revenue via your tax return.

Similar approach in France and Italy for deposit interest earned by Irish residents.

For other countries, such as Poland, Ireland has a double taxation agreement in place. Hence, you can deduct the Polish deposit interest tax already paid and then pay the remainder to the Revenue via your tax return.

AlmightyCushion

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120070443#Comment_120070443

Good to know. Thanks. Very informative.

Cetyl Palmitate

Is the 2% applied to any cash sitting as a deposit? Or do you need to transfer it somewhere else within the app after transferring?

gripcasey

Having a problem with confirming identity using passport. When it gets to stage to tilt passport to reveal it's security features it just doesn't pick any up. Is there a knack to this part.

ari101

I found it quite fussy to get the the light to reflect off the holograph without causing a shine before it would time out. Trial an error practicing near a window/under a light and I found the right angle and then I went back to trying to photograph it while tilting it once I'd figured out where to stand/hold it vs. the light. System to capture timed out much faster than the last time I did this process for an application.

daheff

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120069255#Comment_120069255

even when its taken at source you are supposed to declare it to Revenue.

Have to say I find the registration a PITA. I've gone through the process, still not verified. when i try to login it tries to do it all again. Not sure my sanity is worth the effort

td2008

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120072196#Comment_120072196

Spent a few minutes cursing and tilting it every which way, just pushed the picture button and it worked (it was actually quite blurry too)

Yggr of Asgard

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120071494#Comment_120071494

It's a 2% interest on the cash portion of your securities account, there is no separate savings accounts.

One might use it for cash savings, but it is not a real savings account with Trade Republic.

The cash is not even stored with Trade Republic, it's on a ring-fenced account with one of their Partners (Citibank for most, Deutsche Bank for others) and you can transfer money easy to the individual IBAN (DE...) associated with the securities account.

Plus, you can only withdraw to a single nominated account, you can use any SEPA account for that. Note that speed will depend on your receiving bank (and you first need to validate that reference account first).

All of this is to entice you to use their brokerage service (Indvidual or fractional shares, EFT, Savings Plans etc.).

Yggr of Asgard

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120069210#Comment_120069210

The Cash element on the securities account is covered for up to €100,000 per investor. 

And it's not stored with Trade Republic itself, it's stored in an escrow account with either Citibank or Deutsche Bank.

So, when either Deutsche Bank or Citibank folds than you will get your money via the appropriate protection group (if they are solvent).

Again, this is because it's an escrow account and not an account with Trade Republic, in theory Trade Republic's solvency should not have an impact on your cash element of the securities account.

All funds in the cash account are legally protected up to €100,000 per investor. They are held in an escrow account at one of our partner banks. These currently are Citibank Europe plc and Deutsche Bank. Deutsche Bank is subject to supervision by the Deutsche Bundesbank and the BaFin (Federal Financial Supervisory Authority Germany). Citibank Europe plc is supervised by the Central Bank of Ireland.

The securities in your custody account are not covered by the deposit guarantee scheme, they are your property instead. They are deposited by our custodian bank HSBC Germany in the corresponding depositories in Germany and abroad. Therefore, the securities belong to you for all purposes.

Yggr of Asgard

Also be careful when you make transfers to the account from a different account than the account you provided as reference account.

Any incoming transfer (which needs to be from an account in your own name) will set the reference account to the sending account.

So for example, if you provided your current account of your standard bank as reference account, but you make a payment from your savings account at that bank to transfer funds, the savings account now is the reference account.

To be able to change the reference account again to your current account, you need to make a transfer from it.

So only use the reference account to transfer funds in!

mp3ireland2

Am I allowed request a referral code from somebody who set up an account already? If so can somebody pm one please?

Lustrum

Pm sent there

ari101

You have two to choose from then 😁

phunkadelic

Mine is stuck on 'verifying your identity' even though I haven't scanned or uploaded my ID yet. Stuck there the past 5 days