Cash
Monthly fee: €0
No sub-accounts
No girocard
Debit without monthly fee, one-time fee of €5
No credit card
Free card payments in foreign currencies
Free international ATM withdrawals in euros
Free ATM withdrawals in foreign currency
Trade Republic Cash Review 2026: The Wealth-Building Current Account?
👍 Ideal if you want:
- Build wealth from day one: Earn 2.25% ECB-linked interest on your cash and invest 1% Saveback alongside everyday spending.
- Cover everyday banking for free: Receive your own IBAN and manage salary payments, transfers, direct debits, and card purchases without a monthly fee.
- Pay and withdraw worldwide: Make foreign-currency payments without bank fees and withdraw €100 or more worldwide for free.
- Bank in a language you understand: Use the app, web platform, and customer support in eight languages.
- Open your account before arriving: Apply from a supported European country without a German Anmeldung or SCHUFA credit history.
Our Verdict & Community Rating of Trade Republic Cash
To give you an honest assessment, we evaluated Trade Republic Cash using official information and customer feedback. In particular, as we have been using Trade Republic for several years now, we drew on our extensive experience with its onboarding, app, savings, investing, and everyday banking features.
🟢 What We Love about Cash?
- Everyday banking becomes everyday wealth building: Trade Republic passes on the ECB rate of currently 2.25% on all current account deposits and invests 1% Saveback from your card spending into a personal savings plan. This is an unusually powerful combination for a free current account or rewards credit card, although Saveback requires you to set up at least €50 in monthly savings-plan contributions.
- It is genuinely free and covers the essentials: There is no monthly fee or minimum incoming-payment requirement. You receive your own IBAN, a free German virtual Visa debit card, and everything needed for salary payments, transfers, direct debits, and everyday purchases.
- The worldwide card and cash conditions are excellent: Trade Republic charges no additional foreign-currency fee for card payments or withdrawals. ATM withdrawals of at least €100 are unlimited and free, making the account suitable for both international travel and regular cash use.
- The digital experience delivers: Our application took only a few minutes and was completed entirely in the app. Navigation is fast, information updates in real time, and physical cards can be ordered with a few taps.
- Newcomers can start before moving to Germany: Applicants living in supported European countries can open the account digitally without a German Anmeldung or existing SCHUFA history. You may still provide proof of your current eligible residence.
Screenshot from our Trade Republic app: We find the Cash overview very clean and easy to use
🔴 Where Cash Falls Short
- The app is built around investing, not budgeting: The portfolio takes center stage, while the Cash account, spending analytics, and budgeting tools remain comparatively basic. There are no sub-accounts, and occasional investment prompts reinforce where Trade Republic’s priorities lie.
- Traditional banking flexibility is limited: There is no girocard, genuine credit card, overdraft, joint account, cash-deposit service or branch support. Depending on your needs, you may therefore want to combine Cash with another bank or credit-card provider.
- Cash protection requires closer attention: Trade Republic may automatically allocate funds between partner banks and liquidity funds, and this allocation can change. You do not need to manage it yourself, but the protection structure is less straightforward than keeping all cash with one conventional bank.
- Small withdrawals require different habits: Trade Republic charges €1 for withdrawals below €100. If you currently withdraw small sums frequently, plan fewer, larger withdrawals instead—or budget ahead when a short trip makes €100 in foreign cash excessive.
🗣️What the Community Says
👥 Customer Satisfaction
Based on average ratings on Trustpilot and BankingCheck
📱 User Experience
Based on average ratings on App Store and Google Play Store
General Consensus Online
Most available customer feedback concerns Trade Republic as an investment platform rather than Cash as a current account. Users frequently praise the simple app, easy onboarding, and wealth-building features, while recurring criticism focuses on support and the handling of exceptional account problems. Trade Republic has since introduced 24/7 phone and live-chat support, but there is not yet enough independent evidence to determine how fully this has resolved earlier concerns.
⚠️ How Is Your Cash Protected?
For everyday use, the allocation happens invisibly: you deposit, spend, and withdraw money as usual, while Trade Republic assigns the cash automatically. You do not need to select a partner bank or liquidity fund, although you can view the current allocation in the app and Trade Republic may change it over time.
Money held with partner banks is covered by the relevant statutory deposit-guarantee scheme up to €100,000 per customer and bank. Money allocated to liquidity funds is held as segregated fund assets rather than as a bank deposit and is therefore not covered by statutory deposit insurance.
Trade Republic web terminal: The browser view is just to analyze performance but not to perform transactions
How to Open a Cash Account with Trade Republic?
Opening a Trade Republic account is entirely digital. We completed the full application in the app in only a few minutes, without paperwork or a branch visit—the kind of streamlined onboarding we expect from a modern Fintech. There are no distinctive account models; all applicants always open both a free Cash account and a brokerage account.
The physical card is optional. The Classic card costs a fair one-time €5, while the €50 Mirror card is primarily a design upgrade. Saveback must be activated separately and requires at least €50 in qualifying monthly savings-plan contributions.
👣 Opening Steps:
- Step 1: Digital sign-up (5-10 min) – Follow this link to register in the app or on the website with your mobile number. Select your supported country of residence and provide the requested contact, personal, tax and regulatory information.
- Step 2: Instant ID verification (2-5 min): Complete the identification offered in your application with a valid ID card, residence permit or passport. If an accepted document already shows your current address, it can also serve as proof of residence. If it does not—for example, when using a passport without an address—Trade Republic usually requests a separate document at the end of the application, such as a recent registration certificate or qualifying tax declaration.
- Step 3: Complete Cash setup and activate Saveback (approx. 5-10 min) Once approved, your account is setup immediately. Access your IBAN and Cash functions, fund the account and activate Saveback if wanted. Select an existing savings plan or create one, and contribute at least €50 per month to remain eligible for Saveback. The virtual card is free. You can order the €5 Classic card or €50 Mirror card directly in the app and confirm the delivery address.
- Step 4: Receive your physical card (3-7 working days) – Trade Republic says it ships the card for your Cash account within one day of ordering. Contact in-app support if it has not arrived after 10 days.
Cash Account Benefits & Fees
Maintenance fee
No monthly fee
Bonus
No sign-up bonus
girocard
No girocard
Debit card
Debit without monthly fee, one-time fee of €5
- You can choose between a virtual card (free), a classic card (one-time payment of €5), and a metal "Mirror" card (one-time payment of €50)
No supplementary debit card
Credit card
No credit card
Cashback & rewards
Cashback for card transactions
- 1% cashback for debit card transactions: Get 1% of your eligible card purchases (excl. withdrawals, lottery, etc.) back into a savings plan of your choice. Paid by Trade Republic on up to €1,500 in monthly card spending (equalling €15 cashback). To participate in "Saveback", you must set up at least one automated savings plans (e.g., ETFs, shares, bonds, crypto) and invest at least €50 monthly through it.
Benefits & discounts
No additional perks
Insurance
No insurance coverage
International payments
Free card payments in foreign currencies
- Debit card: Payments in foreign currencies free of charge
Domestic withdrawals
Free ATM withdrawals in Germany
- Debit card: Free ATM withdrawals in Germany; No free withdrawals at retailers: Unlimited free cash withdrawals in Germany, starting at €100. Withdrawals under €100 incur a €1 fee.
Withdrawals Eurozone
Free international ATM withdrawals in euros
- Debit card: Free withdrawals in euros abroad: Unlimited free cash withdrawals in Euros, starting at €100. Withdrawals under €100 incur a €1 fee.
Withdrawals worldwide
Free ATM withdrawals in foreign currency
- Debit card: Free withdrawals abroad in foreign currency: Unlimited free cash withdrawals worldwide, starting at €100. Withdrawals under €100 incur a €1 fee.
Cash deposits
No cash deposit service
Sub-accounts
No sub-accounts
SEPA transactions
Unlimited transactions included
Interest
2.25% annual percentage yield on current account balance
Savings account
Overdraft interest
No overdraft facility
Other account benefits
- Brokerage: Integrated investment account
Who is the Cash Account for?
User groups
Employees
Freelancers/self-employed (for private use)
Students
Apprentices/trainees
Pensioners
Unemployed
No minors under 18
Account holders
Single account option
No joint account option
Residence requirements
Residence in Europe
- You can get a Trade Republic account with a residence in Germany, Austria, France (including French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, Réunion, and Saint-Martin), Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Finland, Ireland, Greece, Portugal, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Poland, and Slovakia.
Identity verification
VideoIdent
Photo identification
- If video identification fails, there is an option for photo identification as a fallback.
Online Banking & Customer Service for Cash Users
In our experience, the multilingual app is fast, intuitive, and rich in real-time information, although investing remains more prominent than everyday banking. The web app is a tool for tracking your portfolio and cannot be used to perform transactions. Trade Republic now provides 24/7 phone and live chat support.
Online banking
Web interface in German, English, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish
iOS app in German, English, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish
Android app in German, English, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish
Mobile payment
Apple Pay
Google Pay
Samsung Pay
Garmin Pay
Fitbit Pay
No Wero
Physical branches
No branches in Germany
Customer support
Telephone hotline in German, English, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Finnish
Chat support in German, English, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Finnish
No e-mail/contact form
No in-person service at a branch
Security methods
appTAN
Deposit insurance
€100,000 per client and institution
- Funds are protected by the national deposit insurance scheme of Europe in accordance with EU regulation.
How does Cash Compare to Other Trade Republic Accounts?
💭 Your Trade Republic Alternatives at a Glance
To help you decide if the Cash account is truly your best option, here is a quick breakdown of what the other plans have to offer:
Best Alternatives to Trade Republic Cash
Trade Republic Cash excels at free digital banking and everyday wealth-building, but another account may suit you better if you need branch service, cash deposits, advanced budgeting tools, a girocard, or a genuine credit card.
🪙 C24 Bank SMART: Premium Features for Free
Unconditionally free account with a cutting-edge German banking app including complementary cash withdrawals, physical and digital banking cards, cashback program, as well as individual and shared sub-accounts. comdirect differentiates itself from other online banks through a full web banking interface and 24/7 phone, chat, and e-mail support.
0.75% interest on the account balance
Cashback program and interest earnings
, free girocard, free debit card
Free card payments worldwide
Free cash withdrawals worldwide
75-euro account switching bonus. New customers are eligible for a 75-euro account switching bonus under the following conditions: opening a C24 Smart, Plus, or Max account. Automatic closure of the old account via the digital CHECK24 account transfer within the first 90 days after submitting the application. Completion of a period of 14 days after the CHECK24 account transfer has been successfully completed. Further information is available on the provider’s website.
🪙 Santander BestGiro: Full-Service Banking Without the Monthly Fee
Traditional retail banking with the conditions of an online bank: An unconditionally free checking account with complimentary debit card, optional credit card, cash deposits and withdrawals. Santander provides a branch network and a mobile app in English.
0.2% interest on the account balance for 1 year
Multi-language app
Interest on account balance
, free girocard, free debit card, free credit card
Free card payments worldwide
Free cash withdrawals worldwide
Terms and conditions for the 250-euro bonus: Open a checking account (BestGiro) online via the Santander website by August 31, 2026. New customers: Must not have had a checking account with Santander in the past 24 months. Complete the account transfer service within 3 months of opening the account, ensuring that at least 4 payment partners are notified of the new bank details (direct debits such as rent, electricity, cell phone bills, or internet service, as well as incoming payments such as your salary). For more information, visit the provider’s website.
🪙 Tomorrow Now: Free Sustainable Banking
Get a virtual and physical Visa Debit for free that protect the climate with each card payment. Besides one complimentary cash withdrawal per month, you can organize your funds in 2 sub-accounts. Tomorrow Bank puts a special focus on sustainability. It provides a full German and English application as well as customer support. Accounts can be opened from Germany, Austria, Italy, or Spain.
Tomorrow
Now
Multi-language app and customer support
Account opening with a residence outside of Germany
, free debit card
Free cash withdrawals in the Eurozone
Monthly fee:
From €0
Account is free for anyone under 21 or with a monthly income of €500
🪙 N26 Standard: Easy Entry Into German Banking
Free digital account with global card payments at no fees and complimentary cash withdrawals across Europe. Thanks to a state-of-the-art app available across Europe, featuring 5 languages and investment options, N26 is the ultimate expat favorite.
Multi-language app and customer support
Account opening with a residence outside of Germany
, optional debit card
Free card payments worldwide
Free cash withdrawals in the Eurozone
Conclusion: Is Trade Republic Cash a Good Bank Account for Expats?
Yes—Trade Republic Cash is one of the strongest free current accounts for expats in Germany who want to start building wealth in Germany from day one. It handles essential everyday tasks without a monthly fee and combines them with ECB-linked interest, a 1% invested Saveback, and direct access to Trade Republic savings plans and investments.
The multilingual app, quick digital onboarding, applications from supported European countries, and the absence of a SCHUFA credit check make it especially accessible to newcomers. Worldwide card payments also have no Trade Republic foreign-currency fee, while ATM withdrawals from €100 are unlimited and free.
The trade-off is that banking remains secondary to investing. There is no girocard, genuine credit card, overdraft, cash-deposit service, joint account or branch support, and the budgeting tools are basic.
Choose Cash as your main account if these gaps do not matter—or as a powerful second account if you want to maximize interest, Saveback, and investing alongside another banking relationship.
If you are still hesitating whether Trade Republic Cash is the right choice for you, check our alternatives above.
About the Author
Disclaimer: This blog and providing support are our passion and hobby. However, we do not intend to provide financial advice. All investments involve risks of loss. This post is non-binding, for informational purposes only, and does not represent a complete market overview. We do not take responsibility for the accuracy and up-to-dateness of the data (§18 ZKG).
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