In the second half of 2023, interest rates skyrocketed, and with them, so did deposit rates.
While banks were offering a paltry 15-16% per annum, FINUSLUGI was luring customers with a whopping 18.5-18.8% on deposits. At the time of writing this review, the offers were:
April 2024It would be a shame to miss out on such an opportunity and not open a deposit through the FINUSLUGI platform.I discovered FINUSLUGI around a year ago.
Initially, I was skeptical about the platform because the interest rate on deposits is indeed higher than what other banks offer. After getting to know the structure, I decided to try opening a deposit there, and it's great that they also offer insurance up to 1.4 million.
I'm also a fan of the Moscow Exchange.
FINUSLUGI is a financial platform created by the Moscow Exchange at the initiative of the Central Bank of Russia to make banking and insurance products available to the population regardless of their place of residence. The CBR included FINUSLUGI in the register of financial platform operators under No. 1.
HOW TO REGISTER ON FINUSLUGI
Registration here is a breeze, and using FINUSLUGI is intuitive.
Initially, you need to verify yourself through government services. It's much easier and faster because government services pass on all the information to the platform.
However, I'm not thrilled about this method because FINUSLUGI asks for permission to access all our documents.
They request a birth certificate for children, insurance policies, and even a SNILS, among other personal documents on two pages, which I don't think they need to know.
But what's weird is that they don't give access to all of Finuslug's documents.
All or nothing!
Next, I fill in my phone number and email address. But to get advanced features like opening a deposit, I need to upgrade to Advanced.
Specifically, I need to confirm my identity through Tinkoff ID or Alfa ID. So if you have accounts or cards with these banks, it'll go pretty smoothly.
Since this is a Moscow Exchange platform, I can also invest here: open brokerage accounts, buy bonds, funds, gold, currency, and other instruments.
I can even get car insurance and loans without visiting the bank. All this can be compared and chosen for the best deals.
Personally, I was only interested in opening high-interest deposit accounts.
HOW TO OPEN A DEPOSIT ON FINUSLUG
When I monitored the deposits of all my banks - MKB, VTB, Sber, Tinkoff, Ozon, and Alfa - they all had the same pros and cons, with the same interest rates.
But through Finuslug's platform, I can open deposits in some of these banks, but with higher interest rates.
So, it seems that the platform somehow collaborates with the banks - the deposits will be held with them, but the account will be opened through Finuslug's platform.
Fino Deposits on Fino Services in December 2023As you can see from the screenshot, at the end of the year, there was an opportunity to open a deposit of up to 18.8%.
I have no idea what this bank is - DomRF, so I opened a deposit in MCB.
A little later, the deposit was displayed in the MCB app itself.
IMPORTANT!
Such high interest rates are only offered to those who open a deposit through Fino Services for the first time!
It's convenient that there's an online deposit calculator here, and you can immediately see what the income will be.
Fino Deposit Calculator for 6 monthsJust enter the desired amount and term.
Fino Deposit Calculator for 3 monthsClick CONTINUE, and the conditions will be specified, then click SEND APPLICATION. The deposit is approved quickly. Then we top it up and it's ready!
Fino Coins
In the personal account, so-called Fino Coins are given for completing tasks. But honestly, this is a useless thing for me, as I have nowhere to spend them. Check out the gifts they give for these Fino Coins. These gifts are already flooding all the websites.
HOW TO OPEN A DEPOSIT WITH MAXIMUM PROFIT
Besides the increased interest rates on deposits, you can also take advantage of another bonus, such as sharing your personal promo code with a friend. Then we both get a one-time increased bonus, and friends also get it.
But there's a catch! You gotta read the fine print carefully!
I'm explaining!
For example, in December 2023, you couldn't open the account with the highest 18.8% interest rate using the promo code. The conditions clearly state that to get the referral bonus, you need to open accounts in banks with interest rates like 15% or lower (there's a list of eligible promo accounts mentioned).
Very sneaky, right?
I opened the account, following all the conditions, and here's what I got after 3 months:
Deposit: 300,010 rubles (I accidentally added a tenner).
Earnings: 15,389.83 rubles.
Let's calculate how much I earned in 3 months (01.2024 - 04.2024):
15,389.83 * 100% / 300,010 = 5.13%. That's the interest over 3 months.
To put it into perspective, let's convert it to annual interest: 5.13 * 4 months = 20.52%!
I ended up earning a bit over 20% per annum with this account! Plus, my friend got 2,000 rubles as a referral bonus.
WHY CAN'T I TOP UP OR TRANSFER MONEY TO FIN SERVICES?
I couldn't top up Fin services, meaning I couldn't transfer the money to my e-wallet. The banks showed an error message saying that Fin services rejected the transaction.
It turned out that the problem was that the transfer was not from my personal account, but from my husband's account. You can't transfer money from someone else's account! Also, you can't top up from a credit or virtual account.
I opened my account right before New Year's, and my money just got stuck there for two weeks because of the holidays.
And what about the limit on bank transfers?
Many banks have a limit of 100,000 per month for transfers through the System for Quick Payments.
Sberbank, on the other hand, has ridiculously lowed it to 50,000.
So, how do you transfer money without any fees?
Well, they've thought that one through!
Replenishing Finservices goes not as a transfer through SPB, but as payment through SPB.
That's why there are no fees.
FINAL VERDICT
✔️ super easy and straightforward registration process
✔️ got a savings calculator
✔️ high interest rates
✔️ referral codes for friends and a code from a friend
✔️ online access without having to visit the office
✔️ replenishing from other banks through SPB without any fees
❌ way too much personal info is requested
❌ can't see that you can't open a high-interest account to get the promo code
❌ one-time opportunity to open a high-interest account
Finservices is a chance to earn a bit more on your savings, at least a little more than in the banks themselves. You can also take out loans and get car insurance, open brokerage accounts.
But the platform has its downsides too.
The thing that really got my goat was giving access to a ton of documents. Too bad I didn't take a screenshot. Those who sign up and read carefully might be in for a surprise.