Whether jewellery, important documents or even cash: Anyone who owns valuables wants them to be kept safe. The safe deposit box is required for these cases. At the Berliner Sparkasse, the lockers have been used to just over 90 percent for years, explains a spokeswoman. There are already waiting lists elsewhere.
Custody fees – often referred to as negative interest – which more and more banks are already charging for amounts of 5,000 euros or more, can mean that renting a safe deposit box is cheaper in individual cases than leaving the money in the account. But the high occupancy rate isn’t just due to rising demand. Banks and savings banks simply offer fewer and fewer bank branches. According to the Deutsche Bundesbank, the number of bank branches in Germany has fallen from almost 40,300 to 24,100 over the past ten years. This not only eliminates the need for on-site advice, there are also fewer lockers to rent.
Private providers take over the business model of banks
The Berliner Volksbank even wants to completely withdraw from the “safety deposit box” business model. The bank announced this in the middle of last year. The reason given by Andreas Schönfeld, Head of Sales Management at Berliner Volksbank, was the increased risk of robbery and the associated high risks for employees. Instead of having its own lockers, the Berliner Volksbank is now cooperating with the private locker provider Trisor from Berlin.
Trisor is just one of several alternative providers that are adopting the business model of banks. With Asservato, another locker provider came onto the market just last year. Whether it’s a bank or a private provider, there are a few things to consider when renting a safe deposit box. An overview.
Check availability: Banks often only rent out their lockers to existing customers who also have a current account in the house. For example, at the Berliner Sparkasse. Direct banks such as ING or DKB have no or very few branches and therefore no lockers of their own. Customers therefore have to look around for alternative providers or house banks.
Lockers at banks and savings banks cheaper
Make a price comparison: The first thing to do here is to do a price comparison. Because the rental amount differs significantly – not only depending on the size of the compartment. According to a current evaluation by Stiftung Warentest, EMS value storage charges the most for a seven-liter compartment at 416 euros per year, with the price falling the longer the rental period. At Trisor, the rent costs 217 euros a year, but here the sample compartment is smaller and the insurance cover is lower. On the other hand, the Mittelbrandenburgische Sparkasse in Potsdam is one of the cheapest providers in the test with a rent of 50 euros per year. However, no insurance cover is included and there is no indication of the size of the compartment. The tariffs are therefore only comparable to a limited extent, but it can be seen that private providers are consistently significantly more expensive.
Consumers have to calculate whether a safe deposit box is ultimately cheaper than paying negative interest. At 25,000 euros and 0.5 percent custody fee per year, the total would be 125 euros. Renting a locker is usually even more expensive, but there are also providers where renting a locker can be cheaper. From a purely mathematical point of view, it only makes sense for larger sums.
Cash not always insured
Adjust insurance coverage: However, it is not always advisable to store cash in a safe deposit box. Some insurance companies exclude protection for this or only insure up to a certain amount. But what if, despite high security precautions, a burglary is successful or valuables are destroyed by fire damage? As a rule, standard insurance is already included in the rent, but this does not always promise sufficient protection. Consumers should ask their home insurance company whether locker protection is also included, advises Stiftung Warentest. Otherwise, the protection can be increased at the bank or the provider for an additional charge.
In the event of damage, however, it is not that easy to prove the amount lost. Basically, what is in the locker is a secret. “In the event of damage, as a customer you have to be able to prove which items were in the locker with what values,” says Julian Treidler, Managing Director of Trisor. Proof of purchase, photos of the contents of the locker and, in the case of manageable sums of cash, the respective serial numbers of the bills can also help.
Request service: If a customer always has a personal contact with the classic bank, this is not necessarily the case with the new providers. In the start-ups, everything is designed for automation. Customers gain access to the vault with a chip card, PIN and fingerprint, and a robot brings the requested locker. Renting is also completely digital with the new providers – and is therefore usually faster. “But we also offer personal support on site, if desired,” says Treidler from Trisor. A reception is manned during the day and a security guard is present around the clock. This can also be a decision-making criterion for a provider: while customers are bound to opening hours at the bank, access is possible around the clock with most private providers.