Most Irish Savers Unaware of Their Interest Rates, New Research Shows

Look, we need to talk about your savings account. Not in a judgy way. More in a 'your money is literally just sitting there doing absolutely nothing while you're out here grafting' kind of way.

New research from Bankinter has dropped some pretty eye-opening stats about how Irish people handle their hard-earned cash. We have to say, it's giving financially avoidant energy. The kind where you know you should probably check your bank app but you'd rather just… not.

The numbers don't lie (even if we'd prefer they did)

Here's the thing. A whopping 30% of Irish adults have less than €1,000 tucked away in savings. And 11% have literally nothing saved at all. For those of us with a bit more squirreled away, that money isn't exactly working overtime. We're talking €146 billion sitting in accounts earning less than 0.2% interest. Some accounts are giving absolutely zero return. Your savings are essentially on a permanent lunch break.

The survey of over 1,000 adults also found that only one third of us actually know what interest rate we're getting. Men are slightly more clued in at 39% compared to just 26% of women.

Why aren't we switching things up?

So what's stopping us from moving our money somewhere it might actually grow? The excuses are varied but relatable. About 26% reckon rates are too low to bother with anyway. Fair. Another 14% said it's just too much hassle. Also fair. And 27% are nervous about not being able to access their cash in an emergency.

That last one hits different when you consider what emergencies people are thinking about. Household repairs, medical needs, job loss. You know, the fun stuff that keeps us up at 3am.

Ciaran Byrne

Ciarán Byrne, Head of Everyday Banking at Bankinter, put it pretty simply: "With so many people keeping money where it feels 'safe', they're missing out on what that money could be doing for them."

He added that the key insight here is that Irish savers don't need to take risks. They just need more flexible, transparent options.

The confidence gap is real

Only about 36% of Irish adults feel confident about their savings situation. Men are more likely to feel in control (41%) versus women (31%). One in five of us feel properly anxious about it all. And over a third admit they know they should be doing more but just… aren't.

It's giving 'I'll start that budget spreadsheet next month' vibes. We've all been there.

Bankinter is launching Deposit Plus today to try shake things up a bit. It's a range of fixed-term deposit accounts offering 2.62% AER for six months and 2.30% AER for twelve months. The big selling point? You can access up to 25% of your funds after eight weeks. So you're not completely locked out if life decides to throw something unexpected your way.

"Most savers want the reassurance of accessibility and the confidence of a fair return," Byrne explained. "Deposit Plus was designed with that in mind. It gives people the flexibility they value while rewarding them for the money they've worked hard to save."

What this actually means for you

The takeaway here isn't that you need to become some sort of finance guru overnight. It's more that your money could genuinely be doing more for you without much extra effort on your part. That rainy day fund? It could be growing a little while it waits for the rainy day.

Bankinter has a team of over 300 people across Dublin and a Customer Contact Centre in Co. Leitrim if you want to look into it further. More details are available at bankinter.ie.

Your savings deserve better than sitting there earning absolutely nothing while inflation does its thing. And so do you.