6 Bank accounts that earn over 10%

6 bank accounts that earn over 10% interest

In these countries, savings accounts beat the stock market

Photo: Shutterstock

Photo: Bloomberg

Photo: AFP/Getty Images

Photo: JohnKwan / Shutterstock.com

1 of 8

Email

By Jonnelle Marte

Savings account yields in other countries can trounce those in the U.S., but savers abroad aren’t necessarily better off.

Interest rates are so low on American savings accounts that putting money in the bank seems only slightly smarter than putting it under a mattress.

With the average savings account yielding 0.08% and the typical one-year certificate of deposit paying 0.24%, according to Bankrate.com, the old-fashioned approach holds little appeal. But in other countries, rates are as much as 100 times higher than in the U.S. — returns that would thrill stock market investors.

Unfortunately, such rates are made possible in part by skyrocketing inflation, financial instability, central bank actions and currency fluctuations. And many of these yields are off limits to Americans, since some banks will only make accounts available to residents or people doing business in those countries.

Savers have to look at the “whole picture,” says Greg McBride, senior financial analyst for Bankrate.com. “Earning 10% when inflation is 9% is no better than earning 2% when inflation is 1%.” Here is a look at the top saving rates from around the world.

— By Jonnelle Marte