What makes FestPlus the better fixed deposit

Since the start of the interest-rate turnaround in July 2022, more than 180 billion euros have flowed into time deposits in Germany. For three-year time deposits, the average currently stands at 2.79% interest per year (as of May 2026). In the current interest-rate environment, this makes time deposit accounts a sensible complement to overnight deposits, as you can secure an attractive interest rate over the long term.

However, time deposits also have their drawbacks, as access to the money is often impossible or very difficult during the term. At the same time, interest rates have continued to rise over the past months, which means that people who chose a time deposit, for example 12 months ago, would receive significantly more attractive interest rates if they were to open one today. As with overnight deposits, banks are also not known for passing on the highest possible interest rates on time deposits. 

That is why we developed FestPlus, a smart alternative to traditional time deposits that invests the money broadly across the bond market and therefore usually generates a higher yield profile. This is combined with greater flexibility, as you can access the money at any time. 

How does FestPlus work?

FestPlus is an alternative to classic bank-offered time deposits developed through the bond market. FestPlus has a fixed term until September 2027 and repays the invested capital in full at that time. In addition, you can look forward to interest distributions during the term, which are reinvested directly in FestPlus to make optimal use of the compounding effect. Currently, an annual return of 2.79% (as of May 2026) can be achieved, which after all costs is more than 0.4% above the average time deposit offer in Germany, while enabling payouts more flexibly.

The advantage over CashPlus, the overnight deposit 2.0: thanks to the fixed repayment, you gain planning certainty and can secure the current interest-rate level until September 2027, regardless of future interest-rate developments.

The objective of FestPlus is therefore for the money to remain invested until the end of the term, as this allows you to fully benefit from its return potential. However, if you do need the money earlier or if you consider other investment opportunities more attractive, you can unwind FestPlus in whole or in part at any time without cumbersome conditions. This increases financial flexibility many times over. 

How does FestPlus differ from classic time deposits?

With classic time deposits, the money is invested with a bank. The bank pays the corresponding interest.  FestPlus, by contrast, harnesses the return potential of the bond market and therefore scores with a higher average return and greater flexibility.

What risks and opportunities are there?

If you invest your money in FestPlus, you can expect to receive the current yield to maturity until the end of the term. As of today, this is 2.77% (April 2026), provided that no bond held within FestPlus defaults. In principle, this is considered extremely unlikely. At the same time, no single bond in FestPlus may account for more than 3% of the investment amount, which provides an additional safety mechanism. By comparison, if money is invested in a traditional bank time deposit offering and that bank encounters payment difficulties, only deposit protection up to 100.000€ applies. 

The investment can be sold early at any time before the end of the term, which increases flexibility. It can also be accessed at any time with the UnitPlus bank card. However, a changing interest-rate environment may give rise to interest-rate risk, in which, in an adverse case, a loss may occur during the term. This risk does not exist if you hold FestPlus until the end of the term in September 2027 and no bond has defaulted during the term (default risk). In the app, we point this out and provide you with the right decision-making support.

Summary

FestPlus is particularly suitable if you can do without the money until September 2027, want an attractive return and value the additional flexibility. At the same time, FestPlus can be combined very effectively with other investment strategies such as CashPlus directly in the app. 

Risk notice

This article is not to be understood as an investment recommendation. Nor does it constitute advice to buy or sell financial instruments. Capital market investments involve risks that can lead to a total loss. Historical performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.