Current account: why it is advisable to empty it by the end of January ?

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You are probably aware that on February 1st, the Livret A rate will drop from 3% to 2.4% net. This is a significant drop for the 60 million holders of this investment, but the remuneration remains advantageous in the face of inflation of 1.3% in December 2024, according to INSEE.

The Livret A is far from being the worst investment. In fact, the current account (which is also an investment!) does even worse since it does not remunerate you anything on your money. According to figures from the Banque de France, more than 500 billion euros are thus lying dormant in accounts that are not generating any income.

While some fintechs are currently trying to capitalize on this aberration, such as Trade Republic, which pays 3% on funds placed in current accounts (up to €50,000) with a monthly payment, the vast majority of banks are making no effort. They see this money as a free gift: they can place it at the risk-free rate with the ECB, and they don't need to pay the interest back to customers!

Why empty it by the end of January ?

Every day you leave your money in the current account, you lose money – particularly due to inflation. Of course, it is not a question of putting everything into shares or speculative products: you just need to put as much money as possible into capital-guaranteed and liquid products to maximize your return – without doing anything.

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For example, you can already fill your Livret A (which has a ceiling of 22,950 euros) or your LDDS (12,000 euros) which pay a return net of taxes and social contributions and which is higher than inflation. Above all, you have the possibility to withdraw your money from these investments at any time if you need it in everyday life.

Today, Livret A savings accounts are rarely filled: only 5 million of these savings accounts are filled, while there are nearly 60 million in France! There is therefore no reason to leave these 500 billion of fresh money in the current accounts of the French, even though it is not remunerated.

But then, why should you reduce your current account balances as much as possible by the end of the month, in favor of the Livret A for example ? A complex mechanism governs the remuneration of this regulated savings booklet: the fortnightly rule. Interest is calculated twice a month, with one important feature: A payment made on February 1 will not be paid until February 16, resulting in a potential loss of two weeks of interest.

Savers therefore have every interest in making their payments before the end of January to maximize their return. If you do it in February, you will not have the interest between February 1 and 16.

Savers who want to boost their yield for this year 2025 therefore have a narrow window of opportunity to act and earn a few more euros by putting their money in the Livret A, rather than in the current account. By transferring their cash before the end of January, they ensure that they maximize their return and protect the purchasing power of their savings in an unstable economic context.

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