World Savings Day 2025: These Gifts and Promotions Are Available at the Banks

World Savings Day is celebrated for the 100th time on October 31. Savings products remain the preferred investment in Austria. Even the low-interest phase from 2008 to 2022 did not change this. However, other forms of investment such as stocks, funds, ETFs, and crypto-assets are increasingly gaining importance.

World Savings Day Turns 100 in 2025

World Savings Day was established in October 1924 at the first international savings bank congress in Milan, where the World Savings and Retail Banking Institute (WSBI) was also founded. Twenty-nine countries, including Austria, participated. The goal was to promote financial awareness among the population and to encourage workers and the middle class to save. World Savings Day was celebrated for the first time on October 30, 1925.

In the 1950s, the Austrian savings culture received a boost through school and youth savings in 1949 and new savings clubs. The mascot "Sparefroh," originally from the German Savings Banks Publishing House, became popular in Austria and helped to revitalize World Savings Day. It was intended to introduce children to saving. Today, Erste Group uses "Sparefroh." Other banks followed with their own characters, such as "Sumsi" from the Raiffeisen banks in the 1960s. These characters were associated with traditional World Savings gifts, ranging from children's toys to keychains and corkscrews.

World Savings Day reached its peak in Austria in the 1970s and remained popular until the end of the 20th century. While the day has almost disappeared in other countries, it is still supported by banks in Austria. However, its significance has diminished in recent decades due to financial and coronavirus crises as well as the digitalization of banking. Banks celebrate the day with less effort, but the promotions extend over several days. Children still receive small gifts. In the Sparefroh House of the Alsergrund District Museum in Vienna, World Savings gifts have been on display since 1957.

Saving Popular Among Austrians

Austrians are traditionally strong savers. Savings products usually top surveys, but investments in stocks, funds, ETFs, and crypto-assets are gaining popularity. This is also facilitated by digital banks and trading apps. The savings rate at the end of 2024 is 11.7 percent, influenced by economic uncertainty. In the last 20 years, the rate has fluctuated between 6.9 percent and 15.3 percent. During the coronavirus pandemic, the savings rate increased significantly as lockdowns restricted consumption.

Gifts and Promotions at Banks on World Savings Day 2025

Even in 2025, there are again some gifts and promotions to be had at banks in Vienna and throughout Austria. Here is a brief overview:

Bank99: bank99 celebrates World Savings Day 2025 in all branches in Austria and offers attractive conditions and small gifts to both existing and new customers. Around World Savings Day, there are special conditions for opening a flexsparen99 savings account: New customers who open a flexsparen99 account between October 27 and November 3, 2025, will receive a fixed welcome interest rate of 2.25 percent p.a. for four months after signing the contract - this promotion can only be used once per person.

BAWAG: BAWAG celebrates the 100th World Savings Day from October 27-31 and has numerous offers in addition to gifts like a colorful stacking tower or a charging cable. The Safe & Cool children's account offers, for example, 2% interest p.a. and a 20 Euro starting bonus. The SparBox Fix exclusive offers up to 2.35% interest p.a. when concluded in the BAWAG branch, and for building savings, BAWAG offers a 100 Euro World Savings bonus. All information about World Savings Day at BAWAG can be found here.

Bank Austria: Instead of gifts, Bank Austria focuses on promotions for World Savings Day 2025. For example, anniversary interest rates are offered for money invested in Bank Austria for the first time (2 percent interest p.a. for 6 months) or an anniversary bonus of 100 Euro, which is raffled off for new online savings accounts opened between October 20 and November 10, 2025. For children under 14 years, there is 3.75 percent interest p.a. on the savings account with a term of 12 months. For teenagers aged 14 to 20 and students, there is 2 percent interest p.a. on the savings account and a 100 Euro bonus chance. All information about World Savings Day at Bank Austria can be found here.

BKS Bank: BKS Bank celebrates World Savings Day 2025 with a World Savings Week and offers 1.85 percent interest p.a. on the Mein Geld account for 18 months from October 20 to 31. All information can be found here.

DenizBank: For World Savings Day 2025, DenizBank offers gifts such as piggy banks, aluminum bottles, and coloring books, as well as an interest bonus of 0.2 percent p.a. on savings books opened from October 20 to 31. All information about World Savings Day at DenizBank can be found here.

Erste Bank: For World Savings Day, Erste Bank offers jam with a purpose in collaboration with Die Tafel Österreich in the flavors of strawberry-rhubarb, red fruits, and Williams Christ pear, as well as the Bioblo Sparefroh set as gifts. Additionally, there is a chance to win a 3-day family vacation at the organic farm Erbhof Hinterrain in the Salzburg region. There are also savings tips such as the generation depot, smart saving, or s building savings for World Savings Day. All information about Erste Bank World Savings Day can be found here.

Volksbank Wien: In the Volksbank Wien branches, all children and teenagers who visit on World Savings Day receive numerous exciting gifts. These include skipping ropes and cuddly toys from the Klara & Anton universe, as well as an entertaining booklet that introduces young visitors to the topics of community and sustainability in a playful way. Additionally, for World Savings Day 2025, there is a promotional interest rate of 2.07 percent p.a. when opening a capital savings account. This offer is valid until November 7 and can also be concluded online. All information about World Savings Day at Volksbank can be found here.

(Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.