Investing in savings products? Learn how Savings Certificates work.

Savings Certificates: What are they and how to invest  

If you are looking to save by investing in savings products such as Savings Certificates, this moment of national economic instability may be ideal. This is because it is a low-risk solution.

A DECO PROteste explains on its website how to subscribe, consult and redeem these accounts with guaranteed capital: "All the money you invest in certificates will be safe, and savings are enriched with interest, which are indexed to the 3-month Euribor and capitalize every three months".  

How to create a savings account?

To create a Portuguese government savings bond account, it is not necessary to open a new bank account. "This is an account opened at the Treasury and Public Debt Management Agency (IGCP), the entity that manages Portugal's public debt, which is not a bank, and is specifically used for subscribing to Treasury securities, such as Savings Certificates and Treasury Certificates. The account can be opened in person, at CTT post offices, or online, at Banco BiG."

To do so, you will need to submit the following documents:  

• Model 701 filled out (request form at the counter);  
• Personal and fiscal identification document.
• Proof of address;
• Proof that you are the holder of a bank account;  
• Proof of profession or existence of an employer (if applicable).  

Note that only one account holder can exist per account. If more than one person wants to have a savings account, each person must have their own.  

Additionally, the account can also be opened for a minor, if the process is done by a legal representative, in a proven manner.  

"In these cases, the legal representative must also fill out two more forms (model 701-A and model 711). In addition, the child must also be the holder of the bank account whose IBAN is provided at the time of subscription to the savings account (the bank account may have other holders in addition to the child)," explains DECO.

I already opened the savings account, what now?

Now, you will have to subscribe to Savings Certificates on a unit basis, with each unit corresponding to an application unit of 1 euro. "Decide the amount to apply and subscribe to that amount of Savings Certificates. For example, if you want to apply 1,000 euros, you will have to subscribe to 1,000 participation units. Savings certificates can be subscribed at Banco BiG, CTT, Citizen Spaces, and on the State Aforro Net digital platform," clarifies the organization.  

"To subscribe to Certificates of Savings, you must apply at least 100 euros, and can subscribe a maximum of 50 thousand units, that is, a maximum of 50 thousand euros can be invested in Certificates of Savings. "For those who have Certificates of Savings from series E, the total number of units subscribed from the two series cannot exceed 250 thousand", it also says."

Can I check the balance of the application?

You can check the balance of the application by going to CTT, or in the Aforro Net system that allows you to monitor, from a distance, the growth of savings, as well as subscribe to new Certificate of Savings.

You can only withdraw the amount applied after three months, since only after this period the interest is capitalized and "fattens" the balance. "If you keep the certificates, it is this balance that starts to capitalize interest in the following three months. In other words, there is an automatic reinvestment. In practice, the balance grows every three months, until the moment you decide to withdraw the certificates. That's why it is said that the interest capitalizes, because they themselves start to yield interest as well", explains the process.

Learn more details about optimizing your savings with Savings Certificates here.

If you are looking for other financial solutions to achieve savings, in case you have loans and/or insurance, the credit intermediaries and insurance mediators of Poupança no Minuto work with you to find better conditions for your products! This way you can lower your monthly payments and start saving every month! Understand better by contacting an agent for an evaluation of your context: