Table des matières
I’m sharing my take on the best short-term, risk-free, fee-free investments with instant or near-instant liquidity. Here are the top options for 2025, based on safety, flexibility, and yield – and I’ll tell you exactly which ones I’d choose!
What are the different safe, fee-free short-term investment options?
Regulated savings accounts
We immediately think of the Livret A, the LDDS (Livret de Développement Durable et Solidaire), or the LEP (Livret d’Épargne Populaire, which is means-tested) for placing your liquid assets.
Personally, I don’t see any upside to them: their returns are weak, even worthless once you factor in inflation (which erodes purchasing power), and the contribution limits are low. On top of that – and this is just my personal view – I have no interest in lending money to a government I consider mediocre and frankly despise. In truth, these savings accounts are just a form of short-term French government bonds designed for you to park your liquid assets (see my article on financial bonds).
Interest-bearing account or bank savings account
This unregulated product is offered at the discretion of private banks. The only catch is the French tax regime, which applies according to your income level (30% flat tax by default).
Summary Table: Short-Term Investment Options
| Criteria | Regulated Savings Account (Livret A, LDDS, LEP) | Unregulated Interest-Bearing Account / Bank Savings Account |
|---|---|---|
| Regulation | State-regulated (rate and cap set by the state) | Bank-offered (free rate, not guaranteed) |
| Rate (August 2025) | 1,7 % net | 2% gross (e.g., Trade Republic) |
| Cap / Limit | €22,950 | €50,000 |
| Taxation | Tax-exempt (no income tax or social contributions) | Subject to flat tax (30%) or progressive income tax scale |
| Safety / Guarantee | State-guaranteed | Guaranteed by the FGDR (up to €100,000) |
Given the nearly identical returns and my personal political convictions, I see only upsides to the interest-bearing account. I’ll share my preferred solution – but ultimately, the choice is yours!
My preferred safe, fee-free short-term investment
Placing your liquid assets in France is not a good idea. I stumbled upon an interview on YouTube that really caught my attention – Matthias Baccino, Trade Republic’s European Director, on Legend. Sure, he’s promoting his product, but his philosophy is excellent, and his platform is far better than French banks for parking your liquid assets while you wait for higher-yielding opportunities. Like investing in Tony Parker’s château, for instance.
Trade Republic for placing your liquid assets
To sum up the philosophy of this German bank: it’s all about giving everyone the opportunity to build long-term wealth through digital tools built right into your deposit account, along with banking values that stand in stark contrast to those of traditional French banks.
Advantages of Trade Republic
Interest-bearing current account
The main reason to deposit money there is that the current account earns interest at a rate pegged to the ECB (European Central Bank) rates. At the time of writing, the gross annualized rate is 3.75%, calculated daily and paid out monthly. You won’t find that in France. There is a €50,000 cap, of course, but on that amount you can earn roughly €150 per month in truly passive income. This is a gross figure, so it is subject to French taxation – but then again, everything is overtaxed in France, so depending on your tax bracket, it still makes sense.
Automatically investing your liquid assets in the stock market
On top of the interest-bearing current account, this bank also lets you automate your stock market investments. There’s just one requirement to use the automatic savings plan: you need to be able to set aside a little money each month. If you can, then you can invest in stocks, bonds, or index funds like S&P 500 ETFs – in a fully customizable and automated way (amounts, frequencies, durations, timing, and products). Once again, this is something you won’t find at French banks.
If you can save at least €50 a month, you get two extra features on top of your bank card. Easy when it comes to placing your liquid assets.
Saveback: 1% cashback on every card purchase you make.
Round-up: rounds each purchase up to the nearest euro and automatically invests the difference every month in the financial product you choose – say, a Canadian bank like Royal Bank of Canada, for instance.
Free bank for placing your liquid assets
Another advantage: all fees linked to your bank card and account maintenance are completely free if you go with a virtual credit card. Should you prefer a classic international VISA card, it will only set you back €5 for five years – that’s €1 a year.
Disadvantages of Trade Republic
No face-to-face customer service, no loan options, and no PEA (French tax-advantaged equity plan) available through this bank for now. Personally, I don’t need a loan anymore. I already have a PEA with another bank, and I haven’t actually seen a bank advisor in over ten years anyway.
Since this is a foreign bank, you’ll need to declare the account to the French tax authorities by ticking a box on your tax return. It’s not complicated, but you absolutely must remember to do it – the penalties for forgetting are steep.
The final drawback in my view relates to buying and selling stocks, and more specifically the spread. This is a « hidden » cost that adds to the otherwise very competitive €1 fee.
The spread is the difference between the bid price and the ask price of a security. If you were to buy and sell the exact same stock at the exact same time, you would incur a loss. That’s because when you buy, you generally pay the highest price (the ask), and when you sell, you receive the lowest price (the bid). This gap is relatively small for popular stocks and ETFs. Still, you should be mindful of trading hours to minimize these hidden costs as much as possible.
A beginner might not even realize it, but it’s important to know that all brokers offering aggressively low fees have the same issue. Just be aware of it, and always keep an eye on the buy and sell prices of your stocks.
Complete Video Guide to Trade Republic
The Advantages of the 2026 Referral Program
The referral program is a real win-win. When a friend signs up using your personal link, you get a bonus reward – and they get a welcome offer too, like a boosted interest rate. Just grab your link from the app, share it via WhatsApp, SMS, or email, and that’s it. (Don’t post it publicly online, though – those links don’t count.)
In 2026, Trade Republic ran a campaign where each successful referral gave you 3% gross interest on your cash for three months, and new clients also got that boosted rate.
One thing to keep in mind: your link only becomes available 7 days after you open your account. Your friend needs to use the same phone number they entered via your link, complete their account setup, and meet any requirements like a first deposit or a trade. You can refer up to forty people or earn up to €2,000 in bonuses.
All in all, it’s a simple, rewarding way to share a great banking product with people you know.
