Chasing higher deposit rates via Raisin...

Brendan Burgess

Brendan Burgess

Founder
Messages
52,079
Two questions for people chasing higher deposit rates

1) From this thread, it looks as if the customer service can be very frustrating.

Raisin Bank customer service

From the pure frustration of trying to deal with Raisin, I've decided its not worth my sanity and i've cancelled application and withdrawn funds. With other banking problems at the minute (SVB) Raisin having appalling and uncontactable customer service makes me very nervous to use them...
www.askaboutmoney.com

Is it worth it for the extra interest you get?

If you have €100,000 on deposit , you might get an extra €1,000 a year in interest or €700 after tax.

2) But a bigger question is why do you have so much cash on deposit in a high inflationary environment?

You might get 3.5% from Raisin but if inflation is 7%, you are losing 3.5%.

By comparison, a long-term investment in equities will probably beat inflation.

If you are saving the deposit for a house purchase, then it may make sense. But how much would you need on deposit to justify the additional hassle?

Brendan
 
Last edited:
Most of the problems reported in the above thread were for people opening accounts.

What happens when you try to withdraw the money?

Has anyone had problems withdrawing money?

Brendan
 
Brendan Burgess said:
By comparison, a long-term investment in equities will probably beat inflation.
Click to expand...
'Probably' is the key word here. A guaranteed grand can be worth a lot more to lots of people than the risk of losing 25k, even if they might forego the possiblility of gaining a lot more than a grand. There are huge risks with investing in equities, not to mention costs, and its all about the timing of when you need your money and for what.
 
I have w/d money and had no probs whatsoever. In general im happy with raisin. Theyre rates are very good but, yes, their customer service is lacking. Thankfully i havent really needed to contact them in a long time.
 
Brendan Burgess said:
Most of the problems reported in the above thread were for people opening accounts.

What happens when you try to withdraw the money?

Has anyone had problems withdrawing money?

Brendan
Click to expand...
Agreed - it was the usual admin (a bit painful but not too bad - just followed their processes carefully) opening a Raisin account. I found it very similar to the pain levels of dealing with Revolut and Bunq for account opening. (and not a million miles from the considerable pain I've had with BoI recently for something).

I recently withdrew a big percentage of what I had, when one of my accounts matured - was very easy and fast, without any issues at all.
 
I can only speak for myself I watched my pension deflate madly last year and it still makes my stomach churn but how and ever thats how it goes.

It would matter less if I had longer until retirement but my pot is not great and I am maxed on contributions to try to make some headway. The point I suppose is that I personally am not familiar with financial products and services, it is easier for folks who understand it all better and what knowledge I have gained has come from this forum. Therefore it means I have to trust somebody when they sell me x and my natural tendency is to dislike that type of situation. I did not even know that apart from charges pension contributions may not be allocated 100% bid share until reading here. I think for me it is being risk adverse but I am going to try and see if I can find a medium risk product that might have a better return.
Back in the day of the SSIA’s I had a product with Zurich that I kept investing in after the government contribution ended and we managed to build an extension on the house with the product. My brother tells me to do EFT’s with Degiro and its double Dutch to me not everybody is savvy but you have kind of given me a kick to properly see what better options are available to me Brendan.

My experience with Raisin has been fine I put 100K into an account and will leave it there for the 3 years. I just do not have enough knowledge to confidently invest thats my personal reason but I guess it is up to me to change that because it is in my own interests.
 
In our case the alternative is to leave it on deposit with mainstream Irish bank at practically 0%. We were burned with shares during the last crisis and have our ARF/PRSA in equities with Zurich. Don't think we can go into more equities at our ages. I will add that the account opening process is a pain, posting application form to Berlin!!
 
Slim said:
I will add that the account opening process is a pain, posting application form to Berlin!!
Click to expand...
Yeah this was most painful part for me but yet all it really entailed was printing a form, signing, Driving to post office. The inconvenience of it all.

ThomasAquinas said:
I have to trust somebody when they sell me x and my natural tendency is to dislike that type of situation.
Click to expand...
Same.

Raisin products are great as part of a portfolio. Im 100% in equities through a pension that I max out. No appetite to invest in more shares outside the pension wrapper.

For me its a case of whats my options for funds sittin in irish bank. I have a mortgage but the rate is low and inflations high and may want access to those funds. The answers Raisin, hands down
 
Brendan Burgess said:
Two questions for people chasing higher deposit rates

1) From this thread, it looks as if the customer service can be very frustrating.

Raisin Bank customer service

From the pure frustration of trying to deal with Raisin, I've decided its not worth my sanity and i've cancelled application and withdrawn funds. With other banking problems at the minute (SVB) Raisin having appalling and uncontactable customer service makes me very nervous to use them...
www.askaboutmoney.com

Is it worth it for the extra interest you get?

If you have €100,000 on deposit , you might get an extra €1,000 a year in interest or €700 after tax.

2) But a bigger question is why do you have so much cash on deposit in a high inflationary environment?

You might get 3.5% from Raisin but if inflation is 7%, you are losing 3.5%.

By comparison, a long-term investment in equities will probably beat inflation.

If you are saving the deposit for a house purchase, then it may make sense. But how much would you need on deposit to justify the additional hassle?

Brendan
Click to expand...
I have money in stocks, gold, bitcoin.
I even have a few short positions on some stocks.

Im in the process of putting some money into Raisin. I see if as a safer place to park some cash, I dont want to have everything in risky assets in current environment.

In my opinion 3.5 is a decent rate, when compared to what the miserable Irish banks will give you. And 3.5 percent of 100k is 3,500, not 1,000.
Money Id rather have than hand over to Irish banks.
 
A few points on what has been raised in this thread:
- A lot of the customer service issues occurred towards the end of last year when term deposit rates soared and Raisin did not have the staff to cope. i.e. Not indicative of service in general and I have had zero issues with their customer service.
- It's not frustrating opening a bank account via Raisin Bank with the online applications. In fact, I found it very easy and I have done it multiple times.
- No issues with withdraws. Very straight forward with a good online portal.
- I think it is kudos to anyone who opens accounts with Raisin or Lightyear or Interactive Brokers or Trade Republic. You are standing up against pathetic deposit rates from the Irish banks.
 
Last edited:
Slim said:
I will add that the account opening process is a pain, posting application form to Berlin!!
Click to expand...
I don't remember having to do that for opening the general Raisin account. I had to do it in the case of one of the banks I started a fixed term deposit with *within* the Raisin account (but like @jim said, even that letter posting part is very straighforward). I find the remaining Irish banks pretty rubbish, slow and awkward in the case of any vaguely non-standard queries/issues.
 
My experience relates to opening individual deposit accounts, sending off the form, them not seemingly getting the form, them cancelling the order and returning the money to my bank account, demanding a signed application form for a deposit that clearly states that application is online(they did acknowledge the error when I queried it), requesting an application form that is nowhere to be found on the app etc. However, the decent rates keep bringing me back!!‍
 
Long term investment in diversified equities or ETFs/ITs should beat cash, however it's more likely an inexperienced investor will edge towards managed funds. Managed funds in Ireland are often a side business to the main business of pension funds - where tax relief and employer contributions mask a multitude of sins.

BOI tried to sell me a 100% guaranteed fund just this year with a maximum return of 30% after 5 years 11 months - before taxes- so about 3% a year. I had to move quickly as the offer would be closed soon. And once my money is in - exit penalties if I needed to take it out early.

There are better funds out there but it's a little revealing how poor the options are that BOI even think it's worth flogging such a fund. Sure it's better than their 0% on cash - but that's not they should be competing with.
 
Wise also offers a very good deposit rate for dollars, something like 3.5% by my recollection? I'm holding a few quid in dollars, mostly down to current USD/EU currency fluctation, so it's nice to see the top-up come in every month and they also handle withholding taxes.
 
Hi, Can anyone advise on how long it takes to get verified with Raisin? Did the video checks today and thought it was instant.....
 
I did the video verification on Sunday and it’s still not open so I have no idea how long it will take
 
Why don't the banks that offer these rates just offer them directly to consumers? Just curious.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top