Where to park cash in France or Germany: savings, funds and T-bills compared
None of the modelled 12-month examples exceeds the latest trailing inflation rate under the stated tax assumptions. This is a dated, non-exhaustive comparison, not a forecast.
The ECB deposit rate has been 2.50% since 16 September 2026, and the sampled offers pay close to it. ECB On €10,000 held for a year, the gap between the selected offers and average deposit rates is roughly €100 to €200 after tax.
Tax wrappers, promotion end dates and the €100,000 deposit guarantee often matter more than the rate shown in an advert. This guide compares six options for money you may need within months: France's regulated livrets, bank savings accounts, interest on broker cash, term deposits, money market ETFs and euro-hedged US Treasury bills.
It then lists who offers them in France, in Germany and across Europe. Each option has its own article in this series; this page brings the results together.
Key takeaways
Tax changes the rate comparison. A taxable product needs about 2.48% gross to match the Livret A’s 1.7% after France’s 31.4% flat tax. Eligibility, protection and access conditions still differ.
In Germany, the sampled non-promotional rates of 2.5% to 2.6% leave about 1.9% after tax, below October's 2.8% inflation.
The issuer NAV examples use a common period: 1.75% and 1.80% for two hedged Treasury bond funds over the year to 30 September 2026, against 2.06% for compounded €STR. Fund units have capital risk and no deposit guarantee. Amundi · Invesco
Six options compared
The table compares the options on what matters for money you may need soon: how fast you can get it back, what protects it, what it pays now and how it is taxed. Rates are gross unless stated and were checked on 4 November 2026.
Option
Access
Rate now
Tax
Protection and main risk
Livret A, LDDS, LEP (France)
Same day, any amount
1.7%; LEP 2.5%
Tax-free
State guarantee; rate revised each February and August
Bank savings account or Tagesgeld
Usually same or next day
0.5% to 2.6%; promotions above 4%
France 31.4%; Germany 26.375% above allowance
€100,000 per bank; promotional rates expire
Interest on broker cash
Usually same day
2.5% to 2.6%
As for savings accounts
Bank protection limits apply; fund portions carry capital risk and no deposit guarantee
Term deposit
Locked until maturity
About 2.4% to 3.3% for 12 months
As for savings accounts
€100,000 per bank; no early access
Money market or €STR ETF
Sale settles in about two business days
About 2.4% before tax
France: gains on sale, distributions when paid; Germany: advance-tax rules
No deposit guarantee; fell slightly in negative-rate years
EUR-hedged short Treasury bond ETF
Sale settles in about two business days
About euro cash, minus costs
As for money market ETFs
Hedging costs and residual FX/interest-rate risk; no deposit guarantee
The pattern is consistent: rates cluster around the ECB deposit rate, and what separates the options is tax, conditions and the type of protection. Overnight funds track the euro short-term rate (€STR), 2.445% on 3 November 2026, minus costs. €STR Deposits are guaranteed up to €100,000 per person and bank; fund units are not deposits and carry no such guarantee.
What €10,000 earns after tax
The two charts apply each country's tax to €10,000 held for 12 months at the rates shown on 4 November 2026. They assume rates stay unchanged for a year, which they may not: the Livret A is revised on 1 February 2027 and bank rates are variable.
Treat them as a comparison of today's terms, not a forecast of what you will earn.
In France, the tax-free LEP left €250 and the Livret A €170. BforBank's 12-month new-client rate of 3.50% left €240 after the 31.4% flat tax, and the sampled 12-month term deposit listed on Raisin left €224. An €STR ETF in a securities account left about €161, and Distingo's standard rate €154.
The average ordinary bank livret, at 0.81% in September 2026 according to the Banque de France, left €56. BdF
In Germany, Openbank's four-month 4.00% promotion, followed by its current 2.00% rate, left about €196 after 26.375% tax. Scalable Capital's 2.60% left €191 and Trade Republic's 2.50% left €184. An €STR ETF left about €173, DKB's Tagesgeld €74, and the average German household overnight deposit, at 0.52%, €38. MIR
The German figures assume the €1,000 saver's allowance is already used; within it, interest is untaxed. Inflation sits above every bar in both charts. At 3.4% in France and 2.8% in Germany, €10,000 needs €340 and €280 a year just to keep its purchasing power. INSEE
Checks before moving money
The right place for cash depends on when you may need it and how much of it there is. These checks separate a real improvement from a headline rate.
Sort the money by purpose. Spending money for the next weeks, an emergency reserve and long-term capital need different places.
Count the deposit guarantee per bank. Cover is €100,000 per person and bank; brands sharing one banking licence share the limit.
Read the promotion terms. Note the end date, the cap, new-client rules and the rate afterwards, then calculate a blended 12-month rate.
Compare tax treatment and eligibility. France’s Livret A, LDDS and LEP have different limits and conditions; Germany’s saver’s allowance is €1,000, or €2,000 for joint filers.
Check how fast money comes back. Deposits are usually available the same or next day; a fund sale settles in about two business days; a term deposit is locked.
Ask what "interest" holds. Trade Republic and Scalable Capital may place part of cash balances in money market funds, which deposit insurance does not cover.
What cash cannot do
Deposits can protect nominal balances within guarantee limits; fund units can lose value and access can be delayed. Under the stated rate and inflation assumptions, the modelled balances lose purchasing power over the hypothetical year.
Money with a long horizon can be assessed separately, with its own risks and spending needs. Long-term investments can grow faster than prices, but they can also fall sharply, and a forced sale during a fall can lock in the loss. A cash reserve sized to near-term needs reduces that risk; it is not a substitute for long-term capital.
The lists below show who offers each option, with the terms on their pages on 4 November 2026. They are not recommendations, and rates change often: check the provider's current terms before opening an account.
In France
BforBank, Livret Bfor+: 3.50% for 12 months, then 1.50%. New clients, current account required; opening 19 October–3 December 2026; rate cap €300,000; deposit protection €100,000 per person and bank.
Distingo Bank, Livret Distingo: 4.5% for 3 months, then 2.25%. First opening; rate cap €200,000. Apply by 30 November 2026, 16:00 Paris; complete file and first payment by 11 December, 16:00; account open on 31 March 2027. Deposit protection €100,000 per person and bank.
Ramify, Livret Ramify+: 4.05% for 6 months, then 2.05%. New subscriptions through 15 December 2026; rate cap €200,000. CFCAL-Banque deposit with a shared €100,000 protection limit; no CFCAL livret promotion in the previous 12 months through any distributor.
Fortuneo, Livret +: 5.50% for 3 months, then a variable 1.80%. First opening 8 October–8 December 2026; rate cap and deposit protection €100,000. MoneyVox also reports a required Fortuneo current account and retention of the livret until 31 December 2027; these two conditions were not confirmed on the retrieved provider page.
BoursoBank, Livret Bourso+: 1.50%, or 2.50% with the paid Metal offer, no ceiling; deposit guarantee €100,000; checked 4 November 2026.
Raisin, term deposits: up to 3.27% for 12 months at EU partner banks, locked until maturity; partner bank's home-country guarantee of €100,000; checked 4 November 2026.
Trade Republic, interest on cash: Advertised 3%. New clients up to €50,000; promotion duration and standard French rate not verified. Cash may include liquidity funds, with capital risk and no deposit guarantee on that portion.
Scalable Capital, savings account: 2.60%. Variable rate, no cap; without PRIME+, all cash may be in money market funds, with capital risk and no deposit guarantee on that portion.
Amundi PEA Euro Court Terme ETF: tracks €STR since October 2024, 0.25% fees; PEA-eligible according to Amundi’s 31 July 2026 factsheet; broker availability still requires checking; no deposit guarantee; checked 4 November 2026.
Fortuneo and BoursoBank offer securities accounts; the availability of each €STR ETF and any fee waiver was not verified. Market risk and trading fees apply.
In Germany
Scalable Capital, interest on cash: 2.60%. Variable rate, no cap; without PRIME+, cash may be in money market funds, with capital risk and no deposit guarantee on that portion.
Trade Republic, interest on cash: 2.50%. Variable rate, no cap; cash may include money market funds, with capital risk and no deposit guarantee on that portion.
Openbank, Tagesgeld: 4.00% for four months on up to €100,000, then currently 2.00%; deposit guarantee €100,000; checked 4 November 2026.
Renault Bank direkt, Tagesgeld: 3.50% for four months on up to €250,000 for new customers, existing customers 2.00%; French deposit guarantee of €100,000; checked 4 November 2026.
Klarna, Flexkonto: 2.20%, variable; Swedish deposit guarantee of €100,000; checked 4 November 2026.
growney, Tagesgeld: 2.60%. Variable rate, no fees advertised; identify the deposit bank and applicable protection limit in the offer terms.
DKB, Tagesgeld: 1.00% from the first euro, no cap; deposit guarantee €100,000; checked 4 November 2026.
Raisin, Tagesgeld: offers from EU banks of 2.46% to 2.60% at the top of its list; partner bank's home-country guarantee of €100,000; checked 4 November 2026.
Pan-European
DEGIRO, ETF core selection: includes the Xtrackers €STR ETF (XEON) at €0 commission plus a €1 handling fee; securities, not deposits; checked 4 November 2026.
Interactive Brokers, interest on cash: on euro balances in IBKR Pro, 0% on the first €10,000 and 2.034% above; checked 4 November 2026. The full rate requires account NAV of at least USD 100,000 equivalent; below that NAV, it is reduced proportionately. Cash custody and protection depend on the account entity.
N26, money market fund: a Fidelity fund from €1, quoted at up to 2.57% net of fund costs on 8 October 2026, with an N26 fee of 0.20% to 0.30% from 2027 on some plans; a fund is not a deposit; checked 4 November 2026.
Rates on provider pages were checked on 4 November 2026; where a page could not be read, the source is named in the text. The ECB deposit rate and €STR come from the ECB; average deposit rates from the ECB Data Portal and the Banque de France.
Inflation comes from INSEE and Destatis; regulated savings terms from service-public.fr. The worked example uses simple interest on €10,000 for 12 months at rates held constant. French tax is the 31.4% flat tax: 12.8% income tax plus 18.6% social levies; the Livret A, LDDS and LEP are exempt. service-public.fr
German tax is 25% plus the 5.5% solidarity surcharge, 26.375%, without church tax and after the saver's allowance. The hypothetical accumulating fund uses a rounded 2.35% gross return for one year, not an observed or promised fund return. €STR
Performance and fund terms use the issuer documents linked beside the tables; historical performance ends on 30 September 2026. Individual broker availability requires confirmation for the account and ISIN.
How do tax and eligibility change the French examples?
On €10,000 held for a hypothetical year at unchanged rates, the LEP example gives €250 tax-free for eligible households, BforBank’s 3.50% promotion about €240 after 31.4% tax, and Livret A €170. Eligibility, promotion conditions and deposit limits differ; future rates and inflation are uncertain.
How do a money market ETF and a savings account differ?
An ETF has market, counterparty and liquidity risks and no deposit guarantee. A bank deposit can have statutory protection within its limits. Compare current indicative rates with current rates, or historical returns over the same dates; a past ETF return cannot be compared directly with today’s advertised deposit rate.
What does the comparison establish about inflation?
None of the modelled 12-month examples exceeds the latest trailing inflation rate under the stated tax assumptions. This is a dated, non-exhaustive comparison, not a forecast. The German examples assume the €1,000 saver’s allowance is already used. French CPI was 3.4% and German CPI 2.8% in October 2026, both provisional.
