How Raisin.ie works

It’s very easy, here’s how:

1. Open your Raisin Bank Account

Register online from your computer and access your client area to verify your identity and address. Once verified, we will open your Raisin Bank Account, free of charge. The Raisin Bank Account allows you to contract and manage all the products you want.

2. Choose the product that best suits you

Choose the products that best suit your needs, the amount to invest and send your application, all the process is done fully online.

3. Transfer the funds 

Send the funds you want to invest to your Raisin Bank Account and we will take care of the rest.

At Raisin Bank we work with banks based in the European Union, which implies that they are members of their respective national Deposit Guarantee Scheme (DGS). This means that your savings are protected by the Deposit Guarantee Scheme of the country in which you are contracting the product, up to 100,000€ maximum, per depositor and bank.

Following European regulations, the Deposit Guarantee Schemes have been harmonised in order to offer the same standards within the EU in the event of bank insolvency.

No, the services offered by Raisin Bank are provided free of charge. This includes opening and maintaining your Raisin Account, managing your international bank transfers (in euros), confirming your balance, sending statements, as well as our Customer Service in English. The opening and maintaining of term deposit accounts with our partner banks are also provided free of charge.

Raisin Bank receives a commission from its partner banks for the savings intermediated. This income enables Raisin Bank to offer you their services completely free of charge.

One of the main advantages is that you can access deposits and savings accounts with a wider range of returns without having to change banks or open several accounts across banks, and thus you can benefit from more competitive rates offered in several European banks. This is a common practice for savers from other European countries, who are used to invest outside their home country to get more out of their savings.

There are several possible reasons for these differences:

• Banks’ liquidity needs. All banks need to have a solid liquidity base. One way to achieve this is by offering higher interest rates and thus raising sufficient funds.
• Liquidity diversification. It can be in a bank’s interest to capture liquidity from multiple different sources and countries. Ireland has one of the lowest average interest rates on deposits with maturities up to 1 year in the Eurozone, giving other European banks plenty of room to achieve this diversification at a good price.
• Banks’ business models. Unlike larger banks, whose growth has slowed down in recent years, other sectors, such as technology or e-commerce, have seen considerable dynamism. Specialised banks participating in this growth increasingly need the liquidity which is predominantly sitting in larger banks. The former’s margins allow them to compete by offering higher interest rates to attract this required liquidity.
• Banks’ current situations. A bank may require additional funds as a result of various possible situations, such as being in a period of growth or preparing to take on new projects.
• Industry competition. The larger the number of banks in a country, the greater the competition and, generally speaking, the higher the interest rates they pay on deposits. This way, they can attract a larger number of customers, thus ensuring a greater market share.
• Interest rate differential. There are also differences between the interest rates banks charge their customers when they take out loans or mortgages and what they pay for their deposits. Higher interest rates on mortgages and loans also make it possible to offer higher rates on deposits.

As a resident of Ireland, you will have to declare the interest earned on the deposits you sign up for through Raisin Bank when filing your income tax return.

Depending on the product’s country of origin, it is possible this country will apply a withholding tax to the interest generated. However, in most European countries, you will be able to claim back this withholding tax by sending us a certificate of tax residence in Ireland. For countries where the withholding tax cannot be claimed back, you will be able to compensate for the amount when filing your annual tax return in Ireland. You will therefore never be taxed twice on the interest earned through Raisin Bank’s products.

To find out more about how the products you take out with Raisin Bank are taxed, please consult our tax guide.

No. We would like to emphasize that at no point will Raisin.ie make recommendations concerning specific products or partner banks. We do not know your personal and individual asset position nor the investment goals you are pursuing, and therefore we are in no position to provide such advice. We appreciate your understanding in this regard.

No, currently Raisin.ie and its partner banks do not offer yearly payment of interest to the Raisin Account. We are currently in intensive negotiations with other partner banks. As soon as new deposit products become available to you, we will inform you immediately on our website and via our newsletter.

The maximum investment amount may vary for each partner bank and each term deposit. Please note that some partner banks limit the maximum amount of funds that can be deposited. This is usually the maximum amount covered by the respective national deposit guarantee scheme (usually EUR 100,000 -or the equivalent in the national currency- ). In such cases, it is not possible to exceed this amount irrespective of the term and the number of term deposits. Precise details can be found on the relevant product information sheet.

The conditions for the term deposit can be found in the respective product information sheet, as well as in the terms & conditions of the respective partner bank.

Additionally, you will need to agree to the terms & conditions of Raisin Bank AG.

The security of your data is of paramount importance to us. Therefore, we strive to use the latest security standards and technology to ensure you feel protected. Our firewall prevents unauthorized external access to your data in our system and our multi-step encryption and identification system ensures that unauthorized persons can neither intercept your data nor make it readable.

If you are a resident of Ireland and are at least 18 years of age and acting on your own behalf, we will be able to open a Raisin Account for you as a single account.

In addition, it is necessary that you accept the Terms & Conditions of Raisin Bank.

A term deposit (also known as time deposit, fixed term deposit, fixed-rate savings account or fixed-rate bond) is an investment product which allows a one-time investment of a fixed sum for a fixed term at a fixed interest rate – all of which are determined at the beginning.

For a term deposit, both the repayment of the investment as well as interest payments are contractually guaranteed because neither the investment nor the interest payment are subject to price risk or interest rate risk.

As long as the term deposit is made in EUR, there will be no exchange rate risk if your savings are made in EUR. An exchange rate risk might only occur if a term deposit is made in a different currency to Euros.

An insolvency risk of the bank remains, but this risk will be protected by the respective national deposit guarantee scheme.

Normally, you cannot access funds invested in your term deposit prior to maturity. However, Raisin.ie also has products available that allow for early termination without any penalty fee – please note that in the case of an early termination, the interest rate might be reduced or could be excluded altogether (made void or cancelled).

Another advantage is the guaranteed interest you will receive on the term deposit, especially when comparing it to an overnight account. For an overnight account, a variable interest rate applies. For a term deposit, the pre-agreed interest rate remains unchanged for the entire term.

In addition, you benefit from the fact that all services provided by Raisin.ie are free of charge. There are no fees for opening an account nor for maintaining the account. Furthermore, we bear all the costs incurred for international EUR transfers from your Raisin Account to the term deposit account as well as the charges for transferring funds from the term deposit account to the Raisin Account upon maturity. Only in exceptional cases, such as currency exchanges, may additional costs be incurred. Details can be found in the terms & conditions.

This is your decision, the next step depends entirely on what you decide is best for your particular situation. At maturity you can decide whether the funds will be credited to your Raisin Account or whether they should be reinvested for a further term, in which case the same term length and the interest rate valid at that time will be applicable.

At maturity and upon retransfer of funds from your term deposit, you will receive a statement of the final account balance from the partner bank as a PDF document in your electronic mailbox in the Online Banking System.

Of course, you are free to choose another term deposit at maturity and re-invest your funds. Further information about the term deposits of our partner banks is available on our website as well as in our Online Banking System.

Interest payments will be credited to your Raisin Account. At maturity the deposit balance including interest and, if applicable, less deductible withholding tax, will be credited to your personal Raisin Account at Raisin Bank.

No. We would like to emphasize that at no point will Raisin.ie make recommendations concerning specific products or partner banks. We do not know your personal and individual asset position nor the investment goals you are pursuing, and therefore we are in no position to provide such advice. We appreciate your understanding in this regard.