Consorsbank review

The savings account pays a headline rate of 3.6% and the rate is variable, so it can move with the wider market. Nothing has to be locked away to get it: the balance can be drawn at any time. The account is an easy-access one, aimed at euro savers.

The savings account has a monthly fee of €0, so holding it costs nothing month to month. The provider runs a no monthly fee model. Fees to watch sit elsewhere, with currency conversion on the current account listed at 2.1%.

Deposits are covered by EU DGS up to EUR 100,000, the EU scheme rather than a national one. The account is provided by BNP Paribas S.A. Niederlassung Deutschland, and the German operation is supervised by BaFin, with Banque de France listed for the French side.

The balance is available at any time in any amount, and this is an easy-access account rather than a notice or fixed-term product. The rate is variable, so it moves with the market instead of being fixed for a term. Anyone needing a locked rate would need a different product.

Cash machine withdrawals on the current account are free, with a listed allowance of €0 and free atm on the account. This belongs to the current account rather than the savings product, so anyone only saving would not use it.

A currency conversion fee of 2.1% applies on the current account. Across the wider savings field the median conversion fee is 0.5%, so this sits well above the middle. Anyone spending regularly in another currency should weigh that cost first.

Support runs on email, phone and help centre, so there is a help centre alongside direct contact by phone and email. The provider is based in Germany and has traded since 1994, so enquiries are handled by the German operation.

At 3.6% the savings rate sits above 3% for the wider field. In the savings ranking the brand holds position 179 of 473, so plenty of higher rates sit elsewhere on the list.