Earn interest on your savings

If you’re a new N26 customer who’s eligible for N26 Instant Savings, you might need to wait for your tax ID to be verified. The verification process usually takes 24 hours, but it can take up to 5 business days.

Instant Savings is available to eligible customers who have a personal N26 bank account, German IBAN, German T&Cs, a verified German Tax ID, and a legal residence in Germany. If you don't see Instant Savings in your Finances tab, you might not meet some of the eligibility criteria. New customers might need to wait for their tax ID to be verified. The verification process usually takes 24 hours, but it can take up to five business days.

To create a savings account, customers need to have a personal N26 bank account, German IBAN, German T&Cs, a verified German tax ID, and a legal residence in Germany. New customers might have to wait up to 5 business days for their Tax ID to be verified. Other eligibility criteria may also apply.

No, N26 Instant Savings is available to all eligible customers — new and existing. The interest rate may differ for new and existing customers.

The interest you earn is automatically calculated and paid out to your Instant Savings account on the first day of the following month. You’ll see separate transactions: the deposit of the gross interest into your account and the deduction of the taxes that are withheld from the interest you earned.

Your interest is calculated daily based on your account balance. For example, if you maintain a daily balance of €15,000 in your Instant Savings account for 12 months and you have a Metal membership, you’ll earn a total of €600 in gross interest, before taxes. Similarly, if there are 30 days in a month and your Instant Savings account balance remains at €15,000 for the whole month, you’ll earn a total of €49.32 (€15,000 x 4% x 30/365) in gross interest for that month.

Whether you have a free N26 account or a premium one, you can find Instant Savings in the Finances tab of your N26 app. If you’re an eligible N26 customer but can’t see the Instant Savings option, please make sure that you have the latest version of the app.

You may deposit as much money as you like into your savings account: you’ll earn interest on the total balance of your Instant Savings account. The sky’s the limit.

N26 Instant Savings is a fully flexible, easy-access savings account, so there are no penalties for withdrawing part — or all — of your funds before the end of the month. You won’t lose any interest that was already paid out or the interest you’ve accrued over the previous days of the current month.

Yes, the interest you earn in your N26 Instant Savings account is taxable by the German government. But no stress — we’ll automatically withhold and transfer this tax percentage to the authorities on your behalf every month, when you receive your earned interest. If you've received interest during the calendar year, the annual tax certificate will be sent to you in the first quarter of the following year via the app.

In Germany, 'withholding tax' (Abgeltungssteuer) is the tax deducted from the money you make from financial investments. This includes the interest you earn on your savings. This tax is automatically calculated, withheld and transferred by N26 to the authorities on your behalf every month, when you receive your earned interest.

The current withholding tax rate in Germany is 25% and, if applicable, a 5.5% solidarity surcharge and a church tax of 8% or 9%. These percentages may change according to new tax laws or personal circumstances.

At the moment, only customers with a personal N26 bank account are eligible to open an Instant Savings account.

Yes. With N26 Instant Savings, there are no deposit limits and no penalties for withdrawals — you're free to save at your own pace.

It’s a savings account without a strict commitment and without a fixed length of deposit. That means you can deposit and withdraw money at any time, without reducing your interest rate or paying penalty fees for early withdrawals.

At N26, each customer can have one Instant Savings account. There's no limit to the number of savings accounts you can have with different banks.

Your main account is the one you use for everyday transactions and payments, but the money in it doesn't earn interest. A savings account allows you to earn interest on the money you deposit in it, but can't be used for everyday payments or be linked to a card.

With a flexible savings account, you can deposit and withdraw money at any time, without reducing your interest rate or paying penalty fees for an early withdrawal. With a fixed-term savings account, you have to lock your money away for a certain period of time — usually, at least one year. If you decide to withdraw money from a fixed-term savings account during this period, you won’t get the earned interest and may have to pay a fee, depending on the T&Cs.

No, you'll need to move money from your N26 Instant Savings account to your main account first.

To create your tax exemption, go to 'Tax information' in your savings account settings. Once there, select ‘Exemption orders’. Then, select the year and the taxable income base for which this exemption should be applied to. You can also choose if you want your exemption to be auto-renewed for next year or not. Finally, you’ll need to confirm the update and verify your identity before this change can be processed. If your exemption implies a correction of previously withheld taxes, you should receive a refund in two business days.