Your cookie choices

We use necessary cookies to make this site work. With your permission, analytics cookies help us understand usage and marketing cookies support advertising.

You can reject non-essential cookies and still use the site. Change your choices anytime in Cookie settings.

Cookie settingsCookie policy

ActivoBank review

Updated September 28, 2026 · SumCue Editorial Team · Facts checked September 26, 2026

We earn a commission when you sign up through links on this site. Partner status can affect where a brand appears in our rankings. Partners with a live offer in your country come first, then every other brand by score.

Our verdict

ActivoBank suits Portuguese savers who want a fee free account with paid interest on deposits and a debit card that works abroad. Its monthly fee is €0 and the credit card annual fee is €0, so day to day banking costs nothing to hold, and the savings balance starts at €1.

Key facts

Best for
Portuguese households wanting paid interest with no monthly or annual account charge.
Monthly fee
€0↗
Card type
Debit↗
Legal entity
Banco ActivoBank, S.A.↗
Headquarters
Portugal↗
Founded
1994↗
Support channels
Phone↗
Features
Virtual card, Travel
Official website
activobank.pt

Loans

APR
17.9%↗
Loan amount
€1,000 to €75,000↗
Term
18 to 84 months↗
Arrangement fee
2.5% of the amount financed, maximum 500 EUR↗
Funding time
Money credited within the hour if approved, up to 25,000 EUR↗
Representative example
Personal loan of 10,000 EUR over 84 months: payment 160.08 EUR per month, total cost 13,622.72 EUR, TAEG 9.8% and TAN 8.500% including interest and stamp duty↗
Rate type
Variable↗
Lender type
Direct lender↗
Free early repayment
Yes↗
Origination fee (%)
2.5%↗
Loan types
Personal↗
Use cases
Home-improvement↗
Pricing model
No annual fee

Savings

Headline rate
2.5%↗
Minimum deposit
€1↗
Deposit protection
EU DGS up to EUR 100,000↗
Access terms
No term: money can be taken out or added at any time; interest calculated daily and paid monthly; maximum remunerated daily balance 20,000 EUR with Plano AB Premium, 5,000 EUR with Plano AB Plus↗
Account kind
Easy access↗

Personal insurance

Premium from
€9.52↗
Insurance types
Health, Dental, Home, Auto, Gadget, Travel, Pet, Life↗
Provider type
Broker↗
Excess from
€50↗
Cover limit
Life YOLO!: death capital from EUR 10,000, no maximum with Vital Events; max EUR 200,000 for dependency and serious illness covers↗
Claims channels
App, Phone, Email, Online customer area, Bank branch↗
Age range
Life YOLO!: renewal until actuarial age 80 for death cover, 67 for other covers↗

Credit cards

Annual fee
€0↗
Rewards type
None↗
Card kind
Credit↗

Mortgages

Initial rate
3.45%↗
APRC
4.3%↗
Fixed period
2 years↗
Maximum loan to value
90%↗
Product fee
€748.80↗
Purpose
Purchase, Remortgage, First-time-buyer↗

Facts checked September 26, 2026, 16 sources

Apps and profiles

Get the app
App Store
Elsewhere
WikidataLinkedInX

Pros and cons

Pros

  • A fee free account, with a monthly fee of €0 and an annual fee of €0 on the credit card
  • Interest on savings runs at 2.5% on a variable rate, and interest is calculated daily and paid monthly
  • Deposits sit under the EU deposit guarantee scheme, EU DGS up to EUR 100,000
  • The debit card carries virtual card and travel, so a virtual card and a travel card cover online and foreign use

Cons

  • Borrowing costs sit at an APR of 17.9% on the credit card, and the personal loan origination fee is 2.5% of the amount financed, maximum 500 EUR
  • Support runs on phone only
  • The credit card pays no rewards, since the rewards type is none
ActivoBank

Ready to try ActivoBank?

Scored 9.0 / 10 by SumCue.

See alternatives

Who it suits

  • Portuguese residents who want paid interest on a savings balance without a monthly charge
  • Savers who want the deposit guarantee scheme: EU DGS up to EUR 100,000
  • Borrowers for home improvement, since the stated use case is home improvement

Who should look elsewhere

  • Those who want a rewards credit card, since the rewards type is none
  • People wanting chat or email support, as support runs on phone only
  • Borrowers seeking cheap credit, since the credit card APR is 17.9%

How ActivoBank compares

Where ActivoBank is available

Available
Portugal

Countries from the brand (Source, checked September 29, 2026)

Frequently asked questions

How much does an ActivoBank account cost to run?+

The monthly fee on the account is €0, and the annual fee on the credit card is €0. The account is listed with a no annual fee model, so there is no charge for holding it day to day.

What interest do I earn on savings?+

The savings headline rate is 2.5% and the rate type is variable, so the return moves with the base rate. Interest is calculated daily and paid monthly, and money can be taken out or added at any time.

How much do I need to open the savings account?+

The minimum deposit is €1, which is a low entry point compared with the site median of €0.88. A maximum remunerated daily balance applies, higher on the Plano AB Premium plan than on Plano AB Plus.

Is my money protected?+

Deposits are covered by the EU deposit guarantee scheme, recorded as EU DGS up to EUR 100,000. That protection applies to eligible deposits with a licensed bank in the EU, and the legal entity is Banco ActivoBank, S.A..

What can I do with the debit card?+

The card type is debit and its features are virtual card and travel, giving a virtual card for online use and a card for travel. It works as an everyday euro card alongside the savings account.

Does ActivoBank lend money?+

It is a direct lender offering personal loans of €1,000 to €75,000, with terms of 18 to 84. Money credited within the hour if approved, up to 25,000 EUR and free early repayment is available, with an origination fee of 2.5% of the amount financed, maximum 500 EUR.

What does a mortgage cost?+

The initial rate is 3.45% for a fixed period of 2 years, with an APRC of 4.3%. Maximum loan to value is 90% and a product fee of €748.80 applies.

What insurance can I get through the bank?+

The bank acts as a broker for insurance covering health, dental and home. Premiums on the life plan start at €9.52 and the gadget excess starts at €50.

How do I get help?+

Contact runs through phone, so phone is the listed channel. Claims can be raised through app, phone and email, which includes the app, phone, email, the online customer area and a bank branch.

Sources

And 1 more source page.

Compiled from 16 source pages, checked September 26, 2026. We did not open an account.

Not confirmed yet: Currency conversion fee, Free ATM withdrawals, Protection.

ActivoBank

ActivoBank

Portuguese households wanting paid interest with no monthly or annual account charge.

9.0/10See alternatives