Is This The Best FREE Bank Account in Europe? (3% Interest & 1% 'Cashback')
episodePreviously titled “Is This the Best Free Bank Account in Europe? (3% Interest & 1% 'Cashback')” — renamed by the publisher on Aug 4, 2026
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Why do the hosts consider Trade Republic the best free bank account in Europe?
Okay, welcome back to another episode of Banking Without Borders. So today we're going to look at an account that we believe might just be the best bank account in Europe. It's not Revolut, it's not Wise, in fact it's Trade Republic. And Jan, you've been recommending this account for a long time, so why do you think it's so good?
Johnny, it's an excellent bank account with a market-leading interest rate, debit card that's almost free to use anywhere in the world. You're getting some sort of cash back as well, and you get access to cheap investing. So it literally ticks all boxes if you think about what a good bank account needs to offer. And that's why I recommend them so much. Might be worth mentioning that they've initially started as a brokerage platform. Banking business, basically, is just a side feature they've launched in 2023, I believe, where they became licensed as a bank. And it's obviously a way to bring people into the door. I mean, that's sure we know that for a fact. It's a clever strategy because they want people to use their investment products.
But, you know, it doesn't change the fact that their bank account is just extremely good. And that's also one of the reasons why these guys have 10 million customers now available in 18 countries and hold about 150 euros worth in customer assets. 150 billion. Impressive. 150 billion euros in customer assets. It's impressive.
It is impressive. It is impressive. We've seen this playbook from the likes of Trading212, haven't we, where they offer this really compelling travel card, for example, or this compelling rewards card where you can earn 1.5% cash back. And that is ultimately to get you in the door of Trading212. And Trade Republic are doing the same thing as Jan just mentioned. But what is their equivalent, Jan, to the Trading212 1.5% cash back?
They have something that they call safe back. which is a similar concept. They offer 1% of safe back on whatever you spend. There's a cap of 15 euros per month. So you can only earn safe back on up to 1,500 euros worth of spending every single month.
How does Trade Republic’s “Safeback” cashback program actually work?
What I dislike a little bit is the fact that you have to commit at least 50 euros into a savings plan within Trade Republic in order to take advantage of this. And then whatever safe back you generate will be invested into that savings. That savings plan. So it's nothing like a, it's not an unconditional cashback. And I guess that's why they have probably, you know, legal reasons to call it a safe back instead. But it's still a decent side feature, right? It's a nice thing, in my opinion.
It is, it is. But I would ask the question, what if you're not interested in investing? Does that take away from this being the best bank account in Europe? Does the bank account deteriorate in terms of quality?
Maybe slightly, but it's still very, very compelling. worth mentioning are the interest rates, which really stand out with this account. And you still get them even if you choose not to invest any money on their platform. What they do is they provide a full ECB deposit rate, and they're probably one of very few, if not the only bank that does that. And as an example, that rate was upped Last week from 2 to 2.25 percent June 2026 and Trade Republic immediately followed and also offered 2.25 percent to the customers. That's excellent, Johnny. Not just good. That's excellent. What else do you want? I mean, you're literally getting what the central bank provides to them. Everything else would be a promotional rate, which they're also offering at the moment for new customers as a marketing expense, I assume.
Excluded are German customers. So if you're in Germany looking to open up an account, you cannot take advantage of these 3% of interest the Trade Republic offers as a promotional rate. But everywhere else, to my understanding, you can. And that's literally insane. 3% within the Eurozone. absolutely unheard of um i don't think you can get that on a current account anywhere else is that limited to a certain threshold there's no max account limit at least i couldn't find one on the website literally researched that because i was also asking myself the same thing only information i found on that was that the interest accrues daily and is paid out monthly and there's also no minimum deposit required but they do not mention any any sort of maximum account balance
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why do the hosts consider Trade Republic the best free bank account in Europe?
0:00–1:53
2
How does Trade Republic’s “Safeback” cashback program actually work?
1:53–4:03
3
What interest rates does Trade Republic offer and who is excluded from the 3% promo?
4:03–5:53
4
Are there any fees for international card spending or ATM withdrawals?
5:53–7:36
5
How does Trade Republic generate revenue without charging banking fees?
7:36–9:39
6
What improvements have been made to Trade Republic’s customer support?
9:39–11:47
7
How does Trade Republic compare to Revolut and Trading212 on fees and limits?
11:47–13:16
8
Can Trade Republic’s generous fee‑free structure survive long‑term growth?
13:16–15:07
Speakers
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