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Boursobank, Hello Bank!, Monabanq, or even Fortuneo… Capital has carried out a comparison of the online banks offering the most savings services to their customers. Livret A, LEP, LDDS or even life insurance, discover the most complete establishment on this level.
© Illustration Capital/Freepik
In a country of savers – 17.5% of gross household disposable income is not used to finance purchases but to put money aside – it is better to be a comprehensive bank to satisfy its customers. In a study carried out in partnership with retirement.com, Capital has established a ranking of online banks offering the most choice of savings products. At a time when these establishments are on the verge of becoming mass players – online banks already account for 18% of French customers and neobanks 8%, according to Colombus consulting -, offer investment products, beyond bank account management will be necessary for them to continue their growth. The customer will thus be able to make these establishments his main bank, without having to open an account in another bank.
To establish this ranking, we weighted the importance of each product. The Livret A and its little brother the Sustainable and Solidarity Development Booklet (LDDS) being massively deployed – with 57 and 26 million holders respectively -, a coefficient of 4 was assigned to them. Life insurance and the retirement savings plan (PER) – 18.7 and 9.6 million holders at the end of 2022 – also come with a large coefficient of 3. The rest of the products – Popular savings booklet ( LEP), term account, housing savings account – being less subscribed, they are only counted with a coefficient 2. In total, each bank obtains a score, with 27 points maximum. The study is not qualitative – we do not analyze the performance of the products – but quantitative, that is to say it is based on the extent of the choice offered to the individual.
As you can see in the table above, BoursoBank, with its 6.5 million customers, is leading the way. The Société Générale subsidiary obtains a score of 23 out of 27, because it markets 9 of the 11 savings products in our list. Only the LEP and the regulated youth booklet are missing. “It was a hole in the racketrecognizes Xavier Prin, the commercial and communications director of BoursoBank. LEP should be available to our low-income customers in December.” And other investment vehicles, such as SCPIs, could appear in 2025. “BoursoBank is not only the cheapest bank on the market, but its product development unit is also above the marketagrees Ludovic Herschlikovitz, the founder of retirement.com. Hello bank!, try to catch up».
BoursoBank and Hello Bank! (very) well positioned
Behind, precisely, Hello Bank! – and its million customers – accumulates 21 points. “Becoming the main bank for our customers requires an expanded offering of savings products”explains Bertrand Cizeau, general manager of Hello Bank!. The BNP Paribas online bank does not yet market life insurance for minors or PER, because the latter produces “requires special support from its customers”. However, it stands out by being the only establishment to offer an LEP. Especially since the subscription is done entirely online.
Behind this unbreakable duo, it is another tandem which is doing well. The subsidiary of Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale, Monabanq, distributes mass products such as LIvret A, LDDS and life insurance, but neither PER , LEP or PEL. It is a short head ahead of Fortuneo, the online bank of… Crédit Mutuel Arkéa this time, which does not offer term accounts, although they are useful in these times of still high rates. “We plan to complete this range, but not immediately. The goal is to address all products that meet the needs of our customers.explains Basile Duval, Fortuneo spokesperson. The establishment can no longer count on its super savings account, whose boosted rate, which peaked at 5.5% last spring, has fallen to 2%.
“Neobanks” lagging behind
Ultimately, it is BforBank, the online establishment of Crédit Agricole, which displays the least diversity of savings products among full-service banks. Fortunately, it can count on the indestructible Livret A, LDDS and PER to satisfy its customers, but the panel pretty much stops there. The establishment even stopped marketing its life insurance. A strategy assumed by its leaders: “We do not seek at all costs to be exhaustive, explains Jean Bernard Mas, the general director of BforBank. Too intense an effort in France would harm our ability to develop internationally“. But, he promises, managed life insurance will arrive in March 2025.
Still perfectible, French online banks still market a much wider range of products than that of “neobanks”. Only a savings account is provided by these new financial players. The Dutch Bunq offers a gross rate of 3.36%, or around 2.3% net interest. The German bank N26 serves, depending on the offer chosen by the client, between 1 and 3% gross. A maximum of 2.1% net, less than the A booklet. As for the Lithuanian Revolut, it relies on monetary funds to provide up to 5.4% gross return with its “flexible” account. The French unicorn Lydia skips a savings product per se and relies on a current account bearing 2% interest.
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