Juleskitoo

Hello, I have around 3- 10K in Euros (it fluctuates) - I'm wondering if there are any Portuguese accounts which pay interest on such a modest amount?

I'm currently with Santander and they charge me for a current account.

Thank you everyone!

Jules

chislenko

I did have an interest paying savings account with Millennium but it was peanuts. I opened it as they said if you have a savings account your current account would be free of charges.

Three months later they moved the goalposts and started charging again on the current account.

I don't think the "free banking" we have in Britain exists in Portugal, certainly every time I do a transfer I am charged plus a monthly fee for the account and a yearly fee for the pleasure of a debit card.

I feel sure more savvy people will come along and give better experiences but that is where I am at.

SgtTroy

I'd suggest you switch to OpenBank, which is also Santander, but a much more user-friendlier version.
No charge for the c/a or for the debit card.
Some savings options with miserable rates, as everywhere.
https://www.openbank.pt

GrahamF

Do you submit tax returns? On advice (over the counter) from Finances, we don't bother with them as we don't have any taxable income in Portugal. However she did point out that even an interest bearing savings account would then require a return. With interest rates as they are, not worth the bother.

SgtTroy

Not (entirely) true.

Interest is taxed at source at 28%.
In the tax return there are two options:
a) do not declare the interest and leave it as it is, including the tax charged. That is beneficial if the global income is charged at 28.5% tax bracket and above.
b) opt for englobamento, in which case the interest is added to the total income, and the tax at source is also accounted for. In that case you may even be due a refund if the global income does not exceed 26.5% tax bracket.

ARCNET

And, in the case of non-resident taxpayers, they are only required to file tax returns when earning Portuguese sourced income not subject to withholding tax at the applicable flat rates.

Red Eric

This could only possibly be informative in the context of knowing your fiscal residence status.



And assuming the poster who raised the question is not fiscally resident in PT, that makes the advice given by the Finanças attendant incorrect.

Juleskitoo

Thanks - I guess just avoiding charges is a step in the right direction. Cheers

Juleskitoo

Many thanks - I will take a closer look at that.

1Steve

Openbank does not give access to the Portuguese Multibanco, I have an account with them but I do not use it. It was easy to open online though. I also have an account with Activobank and that has Multibanco available but it is a lot more difficult to open. I had to visit a branch with all the required documentation. It has zero fees for debit cards and no maintenance fees for the current account. The only fee I have paid in a year was for an instant transfer which was 1.60 euros. There are some fixed term savings option but the interest rates are poor.

Juleskitoo

Thanks Steve, non-access to MB shouldn't be an issue - I just want to park for a while - and yes, interest rates are pants atm.

macliam

Multibanco is far more integrated into the Portuguese way of life than an ATM system elsewhere - no least for its use in paying official bills and for utilities, etc.- so don't dismiss it so fast. All the "new" accounts seem to have aspects that make them less appropriate as direct competitors to the high-street banks - which is a shame, because I'm sure we'd all like to get away from the bloodsucking charges levied to access out own money!

Juleskitoo

I use the MB function to pay my bills using my Santander account - which I'll continue to use. I want this account purely for saving.

Score76

How did you manage to open an account? The app only allows opening an account in Portuguese, there are no branches to visit.

1Steve

If you are referring to Openbank the account was opened online and you have to have a video call with an agent who will scan all required documents using your camera. I opened it in December 2020 and would think the process would still be the same. The app is in Portuguese and the interview in the video call is also only in Portuguese so if you do not speak the language you will need an interpreter. The Activobank account was opened by visiting a branch and IMHO the account and app is far superior to Openbank.