Do you want to avoid negative interest rates? Consumer advocates have important advice for savers

Quite a few banks and savings banks are announcing the introduction of negative interest rates on account balances.

Experts explain how you as a saver can avoid such negative interest rates.

Pay

instead of interest: More and more

and

announcing the introduction of

on account balances.

Small investors are also increasingly affected.

For example, at some institutes the so-called

due from as little

as 5,000 euros

, as the German press agency recently

reported

on the occasion of a study by the comparison

.

Avoid negative interest rates?

Important note from the consumer advice center

Consumer advocates explain how those affected can react.

For example, the

in North

provides information

on its website: "Banks often use the introduction of negative interest rates as an opportunity to invite you to a personal meeting".

Because: "

cannot be introduced by adapting the General Terms and Conditions (GTC), but only through an individual agreement."

Also

Possible room for maneuver at the bank

The advice of the consumer advice center in North Rhine-Westphalia: Do not sign prematurely, but look at the documents in peace at home.

There may also be "room for maneuver, for example about the level of the threshold".

It is also conceivable that institutes are “ready to negotiate if the high amounts in the account are not permanent, but are only temporarily in the account, for example because of a paid-out life insurance policy”.

Also read:

Consider possible alternatives when investing

One possible solution to the problem would be to put the

. The consumer advice center explains: “Usually negative interest only accrues for relatively high amounts. If there is a larger sum in the current account or the poorly-yielding savings account, you should think about an alternative out of your own interest. ”But here, too, one should not act rashly. According to consumer advocates, good,

. “Under no circumstances should you rush to switch to an investment

just to save negative interest”, it continues on

. Bad investment advice or

in new products could ultimately be more expensive.

Also interesting

Avoiding negative interest rates - is it worth switching banks?

Another conceivable alternative: It could possibly pay off to distribute your own assets among different banks.

However, consumers should also

pay attention

to additional costs such as

, according to the experts.

A complete change of

could also be an

under certain circumstances

.

But watch out: "In this case, it should be noted that many financial institutions also charge negative interest rates for new customers."

The experts at Stiftung Warentest had also pointed out, however, that there are still banks that offer a small increase in interest rates for savings.