Low interest rates have long made saving in a bank account unattractive.

The threat of negative interest rates from more and more financial institutions is doing the rest.

Many people therefore prefer to keep their savings in the safe of the bank or in their own four walls, be it under the floorboards, the clothes in the closet or in their own small safe.

In fact, a representative Postbank survey shows that more and more Germans keep cash at home.

On average, almost every third person (31 percent) does this; ten years ago this was still the case for almost every fifth person (21 percent).

Kerstin Papon

Editor in Business.

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Are low interest rates on investments or custody fees discouraging consumers from depositing money in the bank?

Postbank's Frank Kuczera doesn't think so.

As a rule, these reserves are relatively manageable amounts.

Because the majority of savers do not store their old-age provision under the mattress, but would rather have a nest egg nearby just in case.

During the Corona crisis, however, this emergency reserve certainly gained in importance.

According to the survey conducted by the pollster Yougov, an average of 58 percent of Germans have less than 600 euros in cash on hand at home.

22 percent of those surveyed stated that the amounts involved were higher.

For 15 percent it is 1000 euros or more, in 2017 this was still said by 7 percent of those surveyed.

If cash is stolen at home, the household contents insurance is only liable up to a contractually agreed limit – as a rule, this is 2,000 euros, says the Postbank expert.

At the bank, on the other hand, the money is not only protected against theft, but also secured by the statutory deposit insurance and often also by voluntary security solutions.