Best Worldwide Rates For Regular Savings?

T

TheJackal

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I know Irish savings rates have been quite good lately (7% +) but surely there are better rates worldwide? With online banking one could easily transfer money to any bank around the world.

So does anyone know of banks outside Ireland with much better rates? I tried googling a list of the best worldwide but no joy. Is there one out there or should we use this thread to gather a list of all the top rates members have seen.

For instance, I recently heard New zealand has great rates but not what NZ bank(s)...
 
What about the small matter of currency fluctuation risks? And the possibility that deposit interest from offshore accounts may be assessable for income tax rather than just DIRT?
 
ClubMan said:
What about the small matter of currency fluctuation risks? And the possibility that deposit interest from offshore accounts may be assessable for income tax rather than just DIRT?
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I thought about currency fluctuations but the euro is pretty strong against most currencies. It would depend on which currency used by the bank you chose.

Not sure about the possible income tax liability? Perhaps someone could
clarify this?
 
Is it that easy to open an account in another country? Don't you need proof of address and suchlike?

Sprite
 
WaterSprite said:
Is it that easy to open an account in another country? Don't you need proof of address and suchlike?

Sprite
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Well for Rabobank (who only offer online banking in Ireland) you just apply online, fill in some documentation and post it off to them! No need to do it in person.
 
When you apply online for Rabo, you have to send in proof of identity and address with your documentation if you are a new customer - no? You do for Northern Rock. Would be stunned if the same wasn't true for Rabo.

Sprite
 
WaterSprite said:
When you apply online for Rabo, you have to send in proof of identity and address with your documentation if you are a new customer - no? You do for Northern Rock. Would be stunned if the same wasn't true for Rabo.

Sprite
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You're most likely correct but that's easy to do! Takes a few days; surely not a reason to stop you from looking for the best worldwide deal!
 
TheJackal said:
Well for Rabobank (who only offer online banking in Ireland) you just apply online, fill in some documentation and post it off to them! No need to do it in person.
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Where? Are you sure that no terms & conditions apply that might restrict the availability of such accounts?
 
Why would banks restrict foreign customers from lodging savings with them?! The main issues are:

1 - How high the rate offered is
2 - Are savings made subject to taxes other than DIRT in Ireland?
3 - If saving in a currency other than Euro, are savings likely to be reduced due to fluctuations?
 
The point about proof of address is that you have to be resident in the country you are opening an account. For e.g. you can't open an account in AIB in Ireland if you live in Germany. Don't know about other countries though but would imagine that you need a residential address in the country in which you are seeking to open a bank account. One "exception" I know of is that you can open a US$ (and presumably other currencies) account here but you will only get US interest rates, which are significantly lower than here. Never heard of e.g. opening a NZ$ account with a bank here, although I realise this is prob not what you are hoping to do.

Sprite
 
Overlapped on your last post - the banks insist on you being resident here for anti-money-laundering requirements. I'd be really amazed (and am prepared to be amazed!) if you could open an account in a foreign country for a normal savings account without being resident there.

Sprite
 
WaterSprite said:
The point about proof of address is that you have to be resident in the country you are opening an account. For e.g. you can't open an account in AIB in Ireland if you live in Germany. Don't know about other countries though but would imagine that you need a residential address in the country in which you are seeking to open a bank account. One "exception" I know of is that you can open a US$ (and presumably other currencies) account here but you will only get US interest rates, which are significantly lower than here. Never heard of e.g. opening a NZ$ account with a bank here, although I realise this is prob not what you are hoping to do.

Sprite
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I see your point. Bloody stupid that you can't at least open an a/c anywhere in the EU just by being an Irish resident!

I'm pretty sure you can set up sterling accounts aswell so that would open up the UK market (though the issue of currency fluctuations arises & their rates are currently around 6%)
 
Have you thought about Zimbabwe. I think overnight rates are decent at around the 8500% mark.
 
WaterSprite said:
the banks insist on you being resident here for anti-money-laundering requirements. I'd be really amazed (and am prepared to be amazed!) if you could open an account in a foreign country for a normal savings account without being resident there.

Sprite
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Thought more about this last night. There are a lot of countries which let you open an account even if you don't live there. For example, my parents have a Spanish account. Also, see this link for Switzerland
HTML: 
http://www.swissbanking.org/en/home/faq-kontoeroeffnung.htm
. Basically says that you can open an account no matter where you live but must open it in person or have your ID (eg: passport) verified by a 3rd party the bank trusts
 
Whatever about whether or not you can open a foreign or foreign currency denominated bank account do you accept the cons involved in chasing higher interest rates in foreign currency denominated bank accounts as outlined above?
 
ClubMan said:
Whatever about whether or not you can open a foreign or foreign currency denominated bank account do you accept the cons involved in chasing higher interest rates in foreign currency denominated bank accounts as outlined above?
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There are always going to be cons! Hopefully you could find a bank in the euro zone to avoid the whole currency fluctuation issue but it's not the end of the world if not.

But do you accept my premise that there must be higher rates out there, and depending on the rate, how much you can lodge per yr, currency used, etc, such a foreign account would be worth investing in?

I'm surprised there isn't a list of great worldwide rates anywhere...
 
TheJackal said:
But do you accept my premise that there must be higher rates out there, and depending on the rate, how much you can lodge per yr, currency used, etc, such a foreign account would be worth investing in?
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I suspect that the cons and risks will outweigh the pros in most or all cases. Have you checked out the tax issues?
I'm surprised there isn't a list of great worldwide rates anywhere...
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Feel free to collate and maintain such a list yourself and we can stick it up as a key post.
 
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