Italians are increasingly looking for safe and flexible ways to try to remedy, at least in part, the current high level of inflation. One solution is the revival of deposit accounts. In recent months, more and more substantial offers have taken shape with gross rates of up to 4% per annum for amounts tied up to 5 years.
Among the latest proposals for savers, the peculiarity of that of Smart Bank should also be noted. The digital investment bank part of Cirdan Group, has launched the range of Smart Deposits, flexible deposit accounts with variable durations – 12, 24 and 36 months – and yields of 2.8%, 3.3% and 3.55% respectively.
Possibility to request up to 80% of the capital in advance
The range, accessible through the Otter Finance digital platforma European fintech, stands out for its possibility to request an advance, for a share equal to up to 80% of the deposit paid, before the natural expiry of the deposit account. While remaining in the universe of term deposits, this feature enables them to receive part of the capital in advance to meet any unexpected expenses or fill temporary cash requirements without having to disinvest valuable savings. In fact, if the investor opts for this possibility, the interest on the deposit will in any case accrue on the entire amount initially paid.
In practice, the saver goes to borrow part of his own money tied up in the deposit account. “It’s a loan pay as you go which, in essence, allows you to request advances and return them without limit of times – he explains Antonio De Negri, CEO of Smart Bank, interviewed by FinanzaOnline – . It is a method that favors the choice of long-term deposits to guarantee a higher interest rate, without however having to give up being able to use one’s savings as and when one wants during the life of the deposit itself.
On this pay loan a interest of 0.5% per month for each month in which the transferred amount is held. You can cancel the loan at any time by paying back the advance amount or waiting for the deposit to expire.
The advance request for part of the restricted money can be made immediately after signing the deposit and throughout its duration.
De Negri: ‘The advantage is the absence of penalties and tax efficiency’
In the case of sums disposed of for 80% of the total, at the end of the bond the effective yield decreases the longer the advance request period lasts. In fact, De Negri confirms how the effective return depends on the duration of the period of time in which the advance is requested and maintained. “The advantage compared to a traditional deposit is that, generally, by opting to release, you pay penalties that are not present in this case. Furthermore, the advance is tax efficient because the interest can be deducted from income tax.”
We also asked De Negri if his bank is evaluating the option of launching a deposit account that partially remodulates the rate offered on the basis of inflation dynamics. “As Smart Bank, we are working on gods structured deposits that track various financial indices including inflation. We hope to be able to present them soon on the Otter platform”, asserts De Negri.