unflat, Trade Republic, N26 and Revolut: how saving works in each

Trade Republic, N26 and Revolut pay interest on cash; unflat lends savings in a DeFi lending market. Before you compare them, it helps to know how each one works: who holds the money, who sets the rate and which deposit guarantee applies.

Where does the interest on savings come from?

From one of three places. A deposit at a bank, which lends the money on. A money market fund, which buys very short-term debt such as government bills and bank deposits. Or a lending market, where borrowers pledge collateral and pay interest. Each app routes your balance into one or more of these.

Knowing which one is behind the rate you see is the first question worth asking. It changes the risk, the coverage and what happens to your money when rates move.

How does saving work at Trade Republic?

Trade Republic, a German bank, pays interest on uninvested cash at a rate in line with the ECB deposit facility rate, so it moves with ECB decisions. Your cash is spread across escrow accounts at partner banks, each covered to €100,000. Larger balances can go into money market funds, which no deposit guarantee covers.

The partner banks Trade Republic lists are Citibank Europe, Crédit Agricole CIB, Deutsche Bank, HSBC Continental Europe, J.P. Morgan, Natixis CIB and SEB. Cash goes into the money market funds only if you have activated your Trade Republic IBAN, and it sits in a segregated custody account, apart from Trade Republic’s assets. In some markets the interest is paid only on balances below a cap: check Trade Republic’s interest page for yours.

How does saving work at N26?

N26, a German bank, has two savings products. Instant Savings is a savings account at N26: N26 sets the rate, which depends on your plan and can change, and the German deposit guarantee scheme covers it to €100,000. The flexible cash fund is a money market fund managed by Fidelity: an investment, not a deposit.

The €100,000 limit applies to all your deposits at N26 together, not to each account. The fund’s return changes daily, and N26 states that it carries a risk of capital loss. What you can open depends on where you live: in October 2026 the N26 Instant Savings page did not list Italy. An earlier version of this article described Instant Savings as a money market fund; it is a savings account.

How does saving work at Revolut?

Revolut also has two products. Instant Access Savings is a deposit at Revolut Bank UAB, a Lithuanian bank: Revolut sets the rate, which is variable and depends on your plan, and Lithuania’s deposit insurance scheme covers it to €100,000. Flexible Cash Funds are money market funds managed by Fidelity: an investment, not a deposit.

Interest on the savings account is calculated and paid daily, and Revolut can change the rate. The funds come in euros and in other currencies: a fund in dollars adds an exchange-rate risk if you think in euros. Their fees depend on your plan, and no deposit guarantee scheme covers them. Not every product is offered in every EU market.

How does saving work at unflat?

unflat lends your savings in a DeFi lending market. The money you add is held in USDC, a dollar stablecoin. What you move to Savings goes to Morpho lending vaults run by third-party curators, today Steakhouse Financial and Gauntlet. The lending market sets the rate, not unflat, and no deposit guarantee scheme covers it.

Morpho is one of the largest DeFi lending markets. The collateral is worth more than the loan: if a loan gets too close to the value of its collateral, a liquidator repays it and takes the collateral (Morpho docs). The rate is variable: it rises when borrowers want more and falls when they want less. unflat Savings earned about 5% a year so far in 2026, variable: the average annual yield of Savings (USDC) without cover, from 1 January to September 2026. Past rates do not predict future ones.

The risks differ from a neobank’s: smart contract bugs, bad debt in a lending market, the curators’ choices, a USDC de-peg and the EUR/USD exchange rate, since savings are held in USDC. The wallet is non-custodial: only you can sign transactions. unflat offers optional on-chain cover from OpenCover · Nexus Mutual, off by default. It is discretionary, not insurance; a 4% deductible applies, it does not cover a USDC de-peg, and covered money earns a slightly lower rate. More in Where your money sits on unflat, and who can move it.

The four side by side

Aspect	Trade Republic	N26	Revolut	unflat
Product	Interest on cash	Instant Savings; flexible cash fund	Instant Access Savings; Flexible Cash Funds	Savings, lent in Morpho vaults
Who holds the money	Partner banks, in escrow accounts; money market funds for larger balances	N26 (account); Fidelity fund (fund)	Revolut Bank UAB (account); Fidelity funds (funds)	You: a non-custodial wallet only you control
Who sets the rate	Trade Republic, in line with the ECB deposit facility rate	N26, by plan	Revolut, by plan	The lending market, not unflat
Deposit guarantee	€100,000 per escrow account; none on the funds	€100,000, German scheme; none on the fund	€100,000, Lithuanian scheme; none on the funds	None; optional on-chain cover from OpenCover · Nexus Mutual (not insurance)
Lock-up	None	None	None	None
Currency	EUR	EUR	EUR; funds also in other currencies	USDC (EUR/USD exchange-rate risk)

Sources: Trade Republic, N26, Revolut, unflat, October 2026.

The table does not name a winner. Same euros, four different setups.

Which setup fits which part of your savings?

It depends on what the money is for. Day-to-day money stays in a current account. An emergency cushion, three to six months of spending, fits a deposit covered by a guarantee scheme. Money beyond that is where money market funds and DeFi lending come in, each with different risks.

Day-to-day money stays at your bank. Salary, bills, monthly spending: none of the products here replaces a current account.

The emergency cushion wants a deposit guarantee. Cash at Trade Republic, N26 Instant Savings where offered, Revolut’s savings account or a bank deposit account are consistent with that goal: covered to €100,000 per bank, at a rate the bank sets and can lower when the ECB cuts. That is the price of the guarantee.

Money beyond the cushion, over several years. Here the options open up. Money market funds (N26, Revolut, and Trade Republic for larger balances) follow short-term rates; no deposit guarantee, but the fund’s assets are kept apart from the manager’s.

unflat: a different choice

unflat is a different choice: a variable yield set by a lending market, different risks, non-custodial, on-chain transparency, no public guarantee. The question is not which one wins: it is how much of your savings you want in a different risk profile, and how much you keep on the traditional rail.

For the full comparison with a bank, read DeFi vs traditional banks. For Deblock, an app for euros and stablecoins, read unflat vs Deblock. To see where unflat comes from, read the story behind unflat.