# Raisin.ie Has Launched with Some Market Leading Rates



## Lightning (20 Sep 2019)

Irish Times article here.

Raisin is a marketplace for deposits that facilities the placing of deposits with other European banks.

Raisin.com previously tried to launch in Ireland but fell foul of CBI rules.

Raisin now has a banking license so it can offer services, via passporting, into Ireland.

Irish Times says that rates on offer are expected to be between 0.3 per cent and 1.35 per cent AER.

No mention of the banks that will offer products on Raisin.ie, but they will be probably be similar to those offered via Raisin.com.


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## Lightning (30 Sep 2019)

The Raisin.ie homepage still displays "coming soon" but if you click around you the various links you can eventually find details. 

As these details, may not be the final details, I will wait until they are confirmed before updating the best buys. 

J&T offer the best rates. 

Details here. 
- 3 banks offered. 
-->  1. Banca Farmafactoring. Italian bank but offered via their Spanish subsidiary. Rates here. 0.50% AER for a 1 year term deposit. 
-->  2. Euram Bank. Austrian bank. Awful rates here. 0.12% AER for a 1 year term deposit. 
-->  3. J&T Banka. Check Republic bank. Rates here. 0.65% AER for a 1 year 6 months term deposit. Rates up to 1.17% AER. 

One cannot sign up to these products just yet.

Irish Times report said that rates would be up to 1.35% AER. I wonder if a bank pulled out or if the details are yet to go on their website.


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## MugsGame (30 Sep 2019)

Disappointing that the Irish portal offers fewer and lower rates than those through the main Raisin portal. I don't see much to interest me above, although I suppose they're marginally better than some of today's Best Buys. 

Was particularly galling a few years back to see AIB offering better rates on Raisin than domestically, and not be able to access them.


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## Lightning (30 Sep 2019)

J&T do have some market leading term deposit rates relative to the Irish banks.

It is disappointing that the marketplace seems to limited to 3 banks (A small number of Irish people still have access to all the offers on the main Raisin portal who registered for Raisin after they launched and before the CBI told Raisin that they cannot accept further Irish customers).


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## Lightning (1 Oct 2019)

The offers are now all on Raisin.ie. 

I have updated the best buys thread with the rates.


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## Andrew365 (1 Oct 2019)

It is a fantastic idea and on the way to making banking more open and breaking down the restrictions in place by borders. There is a similar German firm Deposit Solutions offering similar products.


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## tomdublin (1 Oct 2019)

Raisin seems to be using its Ireland-only portal to offer products dramatically inferior to what it offers in other European markets.  Seems to have degenerated into yet another suboptimal treatment of Irish consumers.


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## MugsGame (1 Oct 2019)

They seem to be offering a welcome bonus of up to €100 which raises the effective interest rates slightly. Unclear if this is or should be subject to DIRT.


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## MugsGame (1 Oct 2019)

There is also the time cost of the more complicated tax treatment, needing to present residence certificates (at the appropriate time) from Revenue to avoid withholding tax at the foreign bank, and then manually return the DIRT here. See https://www.raisin.ie/tax/

Hopefully if you mess up the admin you can offset any foreign withholding tax deducted against your DIRT liability?

Anyway, unless the rates increase I don't see Raisin being very successful here, given the admin involved for the return.


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## Lightning (1 Oct 2019)

tomdublin said:


> Raisin seems to be using its Ireland-only portal to offer products dramatically inferior to what it offers in other European markets.  Seems to have degenerated into yet another Irish consumer ripoff.



The rates that Raisin Bank are offering via Raisin.ie are the exact same as Raisin.com for the 3 banks offered. 

The limitations on the number of banks is probably simply the fact that the other banks choose not to be listed on Raisin.ie due to the lack of a need for more deposits. 

Other regional variants of Raisin also have less products that the main Raisin.com portal.


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## Lightning (1 Oct 2019)

MugsGame said:


> They seem to be offering a welcome bonus of up to €100 which raises the effective interest rates slightly. Unclear if this is or should be subject to DIRT.



DIRT / foreign deposit interest tax is not deduced at source from the bonus. 

KBC offer bonuses to students which are not subject to DIRT.


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## Lightning (1 Oct 2019)

MugsGame said:


> There is also the time cost of the more complicated tax treatment, needing to present residence certificates (at the appropriate time) from Revenue to avoid withholding tax at the foreign bank, and then manually return the DIRT here. See https://www.raisin.ie/tax/
> 
> Hopefully if you mess up the admin you can offset any foreign withholding tax deducted against your DIRT liability?



The admin is heavy if you do not already file a tax return. However, if you already file a tax return it does not add a lot of work. 

In some cases, you need to ask the Revenue for a certificate of residency. This needs to be done close but before the maturity of the term deposit. Exception: Banca Farmafactoring due to zero tax in Spain for deposit interest. This can be requested via My Account on the Revenue website. 

You need to declare the gross deposit interest and any withholding tax already paid, you then need to pay Revenue the difference between DIRT and any withholding tax already paid.


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## Lightning (2 Oct 2019)

Raisin Bank say that there will be at least 3 banks joining the platform over the next few months. 



> “There are currently 26 products available on Raisin.ie [and] given the number of banks that are interested in the market, we see this number doubling in the following months with at least three more banks slated to join the platform in the short term.



Good news to hear that it will be expanding the number of deposit products on offer.


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## RedOnion (2 Oct 2019)

CiaranT said:


> DIRT / foreign deposit interest tax is not deduced at source from the bonus.
> 
> KBC offer bonuses to students which are not subject to DIRT.


The Raisin bonus is dependent on depositing funds (and the amount of bonus depends on the amount of deposit) so my understanding is it should be subject to DIRT.

The KBC bonus is only dependent on opening and using an account, not on depositing funds.


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## Lightning (2 Oct 2019)

Interesting perspective. 

Through the years, multiple banks have offered bonuses, with various terms attached, and none have been subject to DIRT. 

On one token, the bonus is not deposit interest in the traditional meaning of deposit interest linked to a rate. On the other token, as you say, it is linked to the amount you deposit.


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## Lightning (3 Oct 2019)

A 4th bank has joined the Raisin.ie platform. Alior Bank, a Polish bank, has joined. 

The Alior rates are almost as rubbish as AIB and BoI.

One advantage is you can close the term deposit early if required.


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## James Raisin (21 Nov 2019)

Hey guys! I am James from Raisin. Saw this thread and thought i should introduce myself. Happy to answer any questions you may have. FYI The rates with Banca Farmafactoring have increased to 0.70% AER on 1 year deposits - take a look


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## Lightning (21 Nov 2019)

Hey James, 

Welcome to Ask About Money. I have updated the best buys with the new Banca Farmafactoring rates. 

Will more banks be joining the Raisin.ie platform over the coming months?


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## James Raisin (21 Nov 2019)

Hi CiaranT

Thanks for the welcome! There are currently 3 additional banks planned to go live by Januray 1st.
I'll be sure to post updates on this thread (unless you feel a new thread would be more appropriate?).


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## Lightning (21 Nov 2019)

That's great that 3 additional banks will likely join shortly. 

Posting on this thread for now is probably best.


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## tomdublin (23 Nov 2019)

Hi James Raisin,
I have a factual question for you.  Why doesn't the Irish Raisin portal feature most of the offers you make available to consumers in other countries throughout the EU? As you know, Raisin offers vastly more choice and much better interest rates to consumers elsewhere.  This includes 2-year fixed deposits with several Scandinavian banks offering around 1% annual return.  Is there a legal reason for these offers being withheld from the Irish market?  Or is it just a reflection of the fact that the Irish market is so uncompetitive that our choice is being restricted to products you might find it difficult to sell in your other markets?  I look forward to your reply. Thanks!


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## James Raisin (26 Nov 2019)

Hi tomdublin,

At Raisin.ie we strive to bring the best offers possible from banks across the Eurozone. In the end, though - we do not control the offers that are available through our platform. These products and rates are set by the partner banks and are usually reflective of:
A) Their appetite for funding from a specific country
B) Their perception of local pricing dynamics

With regards to which banks are available to Irish consumers from our portfolio of partners - this is totally up to the banks themselves. We are always working to bring new banks to the platform, but it is ultimately up to these institutions whether or not they passport their services into a new market and offer products there. They may choose not to do so in some cases because their funding need is met elsewhere, or they do not currently have the bandwidth to take on another market.

We wish it was as simple as getting all 85+ Raisin partners and putting them live across all our markets with the same rates at the flick of a switch. But alas, the world of cross-border banking is not quite so simple! Nonetheless, the offers on Raisin.ie are set to grow and the product mix will continue to evolve over time. Already we have some market-leading rates across various maturities which provide a great alternative to the frighteningly low rates on offer from local institutions.

Hopefully this response has managed to clear up a few doubts. Don’t hesitate to reach out with any further questions


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## James Raisin (2 Dec 2019)

Hello all, just popping in to inform you we have a new bank live on the platform. BlueOrange bank is now live and offering the strongest rate on 1 year fixed term at 0.85% on 1 year and rates as high as 1.14% 3 year term deposits.
Additionally, BlueOrange bank's process is 100% online, no need to send in any paper account-opening forms.
There was also an article published in the Irish Times today that details a couple of additional banks that will be going live in the near term - take a look!


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## Lightning (2 Dec 2019)

Thanks for the update James.

I will update the best buys later.

Good to see that there is a new highest 1 year rate.

Blue Orange are based in Latvia.


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## RaisinIE (21 Jan 2020)

Hello all,

Just a heads up that Younited have launched on raisin.ie with a 3 year product. This is our first French bank live on the platform. They also have a fully online process. 

All the best,

Raisin IE Team


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## Lightning (21 Jan 2020)

Thanks for the update. This new offering is added to the best buy thread.


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