French fixed-term deposit accounts (compte à terme, CAT) are back in bank windows. After two ECB rate hikes since June, some offers now advertise up to 4% gross, enough to tempt savers who are tired of a French tax-free, government-regulated savings account (Livret A) paying 1.70%. On the other side, crowdlending touts double-digit rates. On paper, the contest looks decided before it starts. Except that these two investments play completely different roles: one protects your capital, the other puts it to work by exposing it to risk. Let's compare them point by point (net return, risk, liquidity, taxation) using figures from fall 2026, so you can see which one suits your money… or how to make them work side by side.
Term Deposit or Crowdlending: Which Should You Choose for Your Savings in France in 2026?
This article was originally written in French by Jordan Houi for readers residing in France. The savings products, tax rules, and figures it describes apply in France; other countries have different rules.
Two ways to lend your money
What these two investments have in common is often overlooked: in both cases, you are lending.
The real difference comes down to a single question. To whom?
The CAT: a loan to your bank
A CAT (also called a term deposit) works very simply. You deposit a sum in one go, you choose a term between one month and five years, and the bank commits to a rate set at the time you open the account. This rate can be fixed for the entire term or stepped, meaning it increases in stages.
The catch? Your money is locked up until maturity.
The minimum deposit varies from bank to bank, often between €1,000 and €10,000. Interest is usually paid in one lump sum at maturity. And your borrower is the bank itself, with its entire balance sheet behind its promise to repay you.
Crowdlending: a direct loan to businesses
With crowdlending (or participatory lending), a platform connects savers with businesses looking for financing. You are no longer lending to a bank that redistributes the money as it sees fit: you finance identified loans, project by project.
At Maclear, for example, the borrowers are European SMEs whose loans are backed by assets (equipment, vehicles, inventory, real estate). Each loan typically runs from 4 to 16 months, you can start investing with as little as €50, and the borrower repays on a set schedule, with interest paid every month.
So your debtor is no longer a bank, but a specific company.
This change of debtor explains everything else in this article. A bank repaying a deposit relies on its entire balance sheet and on a legal guarantee. An SME repays with the cash its business generates.
The two promises do not carry the same weight, and that is precisely why they are not paid at the same price.
CAT vs. crowdlending: how much do they pay?
How much does a CAT pay?
According to the latest statistics from the Banque de France, new household term deposits paid an average of 2.38% gross in August 2026 for terms under two years, and 2.90% gross for longer terms.
The trend should continue. The ECB raised its deposit rate again on September 10, to 2.5%, and several online banks are now advertising CATs close to 4% gross. Be careful, though: these headline offers are often promotional, reserved for new customers, capped in amount or limited to short terms.
Be wary of the number in large print. A step-up CAT advertised at "up to 3.5%" sometimes starts much lower and only reaches that rate in the final year.
To compare two offers on the same basis, only the TRAAB (taux de rendement annuel actuariel brut, the gross annual actuarial yield) counts, and it must appear in the contract.
How much does crowdlending pay?
On the European market, crowdlending rates commonly range from 5 to 12% gross depending on the project profile. At Maclear, loans are published with fixed rates of 14 to 16% gross per year, set during the analysis of each borrower and unchanged for the entire term of the loan.
A 14% rate is what the borrower commits to pay. Not what you are guaranteed to receive!
A late payment, a restructuring or a default reduces that return, sometimes sharply. In the calculations below, we deliberately reason in gross terms before defaults: it is the only figure known in advance, but it remains a ceiling, not a promise.
Comparison after tax and inflation
Comparing gross rates makes little sense. Interest from a CAT, like interest from crowdlending, is subject to the PFU flat tax, which rose from 30 to 31.4% on January 1, 2026 with the increase in French social charges on investment income (prélèvements sociaux). The Livret A, by contrast, remains fully tax-exempt.
Here is what €10,000 invested for twelve months yields, with year-over-year inflation of 3.1% (Insee figure for September 2026):
| Investment | Annual rate | Gross interest | Interest after PFU | Net return | Inflation-adjusted net return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Livret A | 1.70% net | 170 € | 170 € | 1,70 % | about -1.4% |
| CAT at the average rate (under 2 years) | 2.38% gross | 238 € | 163 € | 1,63 % | about -1.5% |
| Well-negotiated CAT | 3.50% gross | 350 € | 240 € | 2,40 % | about -0.7% |
| Maclear crowdlending (low end of the range) | 14% gross | 1 400 € | 960 € | 9,60 % | about +6.5% before defaults |
For crowdlending, the calculation assumes the capital stays invested for the whole year : since loans are repaid gradually, this means reinvesting the money as it comes back.
Two lessons stand out.
The first one often comes as a surprise: at the average market rate, a CAT earns less than the Livret A once tax is paid. To beat 1.70% net, a CAT must offer at least 2.48% gross. Below that, you lock up your money to earn less than a savings account you can access at any time… Illogical, isn't it?
The second is more uncomfortable. With inflation at 3.1%, no capital-guaranteed investment preserves your purchasing power today. Crowdlending is the only one showing a positive real return in this table, but that figure is calculated before defaults: it still has to be earned, loan after loan.
This 2.48% threshold only applies to the portion of your savings that exceeds the Livret A ceiling, set at €22,950. As long as your account isn't full, it remains unbeatable on the combination of net return and access to your money.
For what comes next, we break down the options tier by tier in our guide Livret A full: where to put your money once you hit the ceiling.
Guaranteed capital versus capital at risk
Deposit insurance protects your CAT
A CAT is a bank deposit. As such, it is covered by the guarantee of the French Deposit Guarantee and Resolution Fund (Fonds de garantie des dépôts et de résolution, (FGDR): if your bank fails, you are compensated up to €100,000 per depositor and per institution, across all your accounts combined.
In practice, the capital in a CAT is therefore at no risk as long as you stay below that ceiling. The only real risk lies elsewhere: watching inflation eat away at a return locked in for several years.
In crowdlending, the risk of default is real
Crowdlending is not a deposit. No deposit guarantee applies, and if a company stops repaying, you can lose part or all of the amount you lent.
Serious platforms stack several layers of protection. The first is selection: Maclear says it turns down up to 90% of the funding requests it receives. Next come collateral, the borrower's assets that can be seized and sold in the event of default. Finally, Maclear funds a Provision Fund with 2% of every funded project, a shared reserve designed to absorb payment difficulties.
Except that none of these layers amounts to a guarantee. Collateral may sell for less than expected, and a pooled reserve has its limits.
To assess a project before putting money into it, we have prepared a complete method for you in our article on how to assess the risk of an investment.
Diversification remains your first line of protection, and the simplest. Spreading €5,000 across 50 loans of €100 rather than 5 loans of €1,000 changes everything: a single default then weighs 2% of your capital instead of 20%.
And what if you need your money before maturity?
It's the question nobody asks when signing up. And the one that hurts the most when you've overlooked it!
Early withdrawal from a CAT costs you your interest
Most CATs allow an early exit, but at a price. If you withdraw your money less than a month after opening, no interest is paid. After that, the bank applies a penalty set out in the contract: a reduced rate, a portion of the interest withheld, or even complete loss of the return. Some offers even prohibit any withdrawal before maturity, except in cases of force majeure.
Another detail worth knowing: the withdrawal is often all-or-nothing, which closes the account, and getting your funds back can take several weeks.
In short, you lose yield. Never capital.
In crowdlending, exiting goes through the secondary market
In crowdlending, there is no early withdrawal as such. The company has used the money it borrowed and will not repay early because you need it. The only way out is to sell your loan parts to another investor.
On the Maclear secondary market, you can list an eligible position for sale at par or at a discount of up to 50%, with a 2.5% fee paid by the seller. But a buyer still has to come along: the sale is never guaranteed.
Yet crowdlending has an advantage the CAT lacks. With loans lasting a few months and repaid monthly, part of your capital comes back to you continuously, without asking anyone for anything.
We explain this mechanism in our guide on the liquidity of an investment, and the legal comparison between the two types of lock-up in fixed-term deposit or loan claim.
Identical taxation, different reporting obligations
In substance, the two investments are treated the same way. Their interest is subject to the French flat tax on investment income (PFU) at 31.4% (12.8% income tax and 18.6% social charges), unless you opt for the progressive tax scale. This option is all-or-nothing: it then applies to all your investment income for the year.
The difference lies in the form.
With a CAT opened at a French bank, everything is automatic. The bank withholds the 31.4% at source in the year the interest is paid, and all you have to do is check the pre-filled amounts on your tax return. If your reference taxable income is modest (less than €25,000 for a single person, €50,000 for a couple), you can request an exemption from the 12.8% advance payment, provided you do so before November 30 for the following year.
With a foreign crowdlending platform such as Maclear, based in Switzerland, nothing is withheld at source. It is up to you to declare and pay the advance tax installment and the social charges using form 2778, within fifteen days following the month in which the interest is received. You must also report your foreign account on form 3916 every year.
So, more paperwork. But no extra tax cost.
You will find every box and form explained in detail in our guide to crowdlending taxation. And if a loan goes bad, the rules for deducting the loss vary depending on the type of investment and the platform: we have gathered them in our article on how to deduct a crowdlending loss from your taxes.
The PFU applies by default, but it is not always the best choice. If you do not owe income tax or fall in the 11% bracket, opting for the progressive income tax scale can lower your bill.
Run the numbers before you check the box: the option applies to all of your dividends, interest and capital gains for the year.
The comparison table
| Criterion | CAT | Crowdlending |
|---|---|---|
| Borrower | Your bank | A specific company, through the platform |
| Rate in 2026 | 2.38% gross on average (under 2 years), up to 4% in promotional offers | 14 to 16% gross at Maclear, before defaults |
| Term | From 1 month to 5 years | From 4 to 16 months per loan at Maclear |
| Minimum investment | Often from €1,000 to €10,000 | From €50 at Maclear |
| Interest payments | Most often at maturity | Monthly, according to the repayment schedule |
| Capital protection | FGDR guarantee up to €100,000 | No guarantee; collateral and Provision Fund |
| Early exit | Usually possible, with loss of interest | Resale on the secondary market, with no guaranteed buyer |
| Taxation | PFU of 31.4%, withheld by the bank | PFU of 31.4%, which you declare and pay yourself |
CAT or crowdlending: which should you choose for your situation?
There is no absolute winner. Above all, there is one question to ask yourself before choosing: what will this money be used for, and when?
If you have a dated expense, favor the CAT
A down payment on a home purchase in eighteen months, renovations planned for the spring, a car to replace next year: when the date you will need the money is known and the amount is non-negotiable, the CAT checks every box. You match the maturity to your project, the capital is guaranteed, the rate is known.
Simple, right?
Just one precaution: : negotiate or compare offers to beat the 2.48% gross threshold. Below that, an instant-access savings account does just as well. For a broader overview of the options for this kind of time horizon, our guide to the best short-term investment reviews savings accounts, CATs and money market funds.
If you are aiming for a regular income and accept the risk, open a crowdlending allocation
Crowdlending is suited to a different situation. Your emergency savings are in place, you have a sum you will not need in the short term, and you are looking for a return well above inflation, paid every month.
In that case, a crowdlending allocation can have its place, provided it remains just an allocation: a sum you can accept seeing reduced, spread across many loans. If regular income is what interests you most, we also compare this approach with real estate investment trusts in SCPI or crowdlending.
CAT AND crowdlending?
In fact, pitting the two investments against each other does not make much sense. They serve different time horizons, and most savers benefit from combining them.
Take Claire, who has €40,000 in savings. She keeps her Livret A full (€22,950) as an emergency reserve. She puts €12,000 into a twelve-month CAT to pay for her kitchen renovation next fall. And she spreads €5,000 across about fifty crowdlending loans, a sum she does not need and is willing to put at risk in exchange for monthly interest.
Every euro has a role. That is what it is all about! (Illustrative example; adapt it to your own situation.)
Key takeaways
A CAT and crowdlending are both loans, but not to the same borrower. The first offers you capital guaranteed by the FGDR, a rate known in advance, and the option to exit early at the cost of your interest. The second exposes you to the default risk of specific companies, in exchange for much higher gross rates and interest paid every month.
In 2026, the taxation is identical (PFU at 31.4%), but inflation changes the picture: a CAT at the average rate earns less than the Livret A after tax, and no guaranteed investment protects purchasing power today.
So the right choice depends less on the advertised rate than on what your money is for. A known date and an amount you can't compromise on: a CAT. Money you can set aside for a long time and a risk you accept: a diversified crowdlending allocation.
FAQ
Is crowdlending riskier than a CAT?
Yes. A CAT is a bank deposit guaranteed by the FGDR up to €100,000 per depositor per bank. Crowdlending is a loan to a company, with no deposit guarantee: if the borrower defaults, you can lose all or part of the amount lent, despite the collateral and reserves put in place by the platform.
Can you lose money with a CAT?
No, not your capital, as long as your deposit stays below the €100,000 ceiling guaranteed by the FGDR. However, an early withdrawal can cost you all or part of the interest, and inflation higher than your net return reduces your purchasing power.
Does a CAT earn more than the Livret A in 2026?
Not always. With a Livret A at 1.70% net and a PFU of 31.4%, a CAT needs to offer at least 2.48% gross to do better. At the average rate recorded by the Banque de France in August 2026 (2.38% gross for terms under two years), it earns slightly less.
What is the minimum amount needed to get started?
CATs often require an initial deposit of €1,000 to €10,000, depending on the bank. In crowdlending, the minimum tickets are much smaller: at Maclear, you can invest from €50, which makes it easier to diversify across many loans.
Is interest paid every month?
For crowdlending, generally yes: interest follows each borrower's repayment schedule, which is often monthly. For a CAT, interest is most often paid in a single lump sum at maturity, sometimes annually for longer terms.
Do you need to declare a crowdlending account opened abroad?
Yes. If you are a French tax resident and you invest through a foreign platform such as Maclear, you must declare this account every year on Form 3916. The interest you receive must also be declared on Form 2778 and on your annual income tax return.
CAT or crowdlending? A CAT secures a sum of money when you know the date you will need it. Crowdlending puts to work savings that you can afford to expose to risk, in exchange for a return that guaranteed investments can no longer deliver in the face of inflation. And you: how much of your savings really needs to be guaranteed?
About Maclear
Maclear AG is a Swiss peer-to-peer (P2P) lending and crowdlending platform, headquartered in Switzerland. The company acts as a financial intermediary in the non-banking sector and is a member of PolyReg SRO, in accordance with Swiss financial regulations, particularly regarding AML, KYC, and GDPR. Maclear provides individual and qualified investors access to carefully selected business loan opportunities, with integrated risk assessment, a Provision Fund, and a Secondary Market for liquidity.
The content of this article is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute investment, financial, tax, or legal advice. Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending and crowdlending investments carry a risk of partial or total loss of capital. Past performance does not predict future results. Liquidity on a secondary market is not guaranteed. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult qualified advisors before making any financial decisions. The availability of products and services may be restricted in certain jurisdictions.