Tyche Bank — ContoTe
Tyche Bank S.p.A.
tax and stamp duty take 26%
Data verified on last change 3,50% → 3,95% the sources
Worth it if you lock at least €10,000 and leave it to maturity: the bank-paid stamp duty turns 3.95% at 60 months into 2.923% net.
Avoid it if you might need the money before maturity: no early release is allowed, while the bank can terminate at will on two months' notice.
ContoTe is Tyche Bank's only retail product. The gross rate reaches 3.95% at 60 months, but what matters is that stamp duty is paid by the Bank: 0.2 points a year that stay with the customer, turning that 3.95% into 2.923% net, against the 2.723% the same rate would give with the duty charged. Even the unrestricted balance, at 0.75%, stays positive (0.555% net). The price is twofold: entry is €10,000 per term, and the contract is asymmetric — the customer can never break the lock, while the bank may terminate at will without giving a reason, on two months' notice.
Data & conditions
| Max gross rate | 3.95% |
|---|---|
| Max net rate | 2.923% — tax and stamp duty take 26% |
| Account type | Fixed term |
| Available terms | 6m · 12m · 18m · 24m · 36m · 48m · 60m — up to 3.95% gross |
| Early withdrawal | No |
| What early withdrawal costs | No early withdrawal: the information sheet states that «locked sums cannot be released, in whole or in part, before their maturity». The bank, by contrast, may terminate the contract at any time without giving a reason, on two months' notice. |
| Interest compounding | Quarterly |
| Interest paid upfront | No |
| Stamp duty | Paid by the bank |
| Deposit amount | €10,000 – €1,000,000 |
| Deposit guarantee | EU guarantee €100,000 |
| Requires a linked current account | No |
| Joint account | Yes |
| Supported countries | EEA · 1+ countries |
| Regulator | Banca d'Italia |
| Segment | B2C |
| Funding / solidity | Recently established Bologna-based bank, present in retail only through the ContoTe deposit account |
| MiCA / License status | Licenza bancaria (Albo Banche n. 5740 · ABI 03426) Italian banking licence (Bank of Italy) |
Strengths
- Stamp duty is paid by the Bank: 3.95% gross at 60 months is worth 2.923% net, against the 2.723% the same gross rate would give with the duty charged to the customer.
- Even the unrestricted balance pays positively: 0.75% gross, 0.555% net.
- Zero cost structure: opening, closing, deposits, withdrawals, statements, paper communications and account fee are all free.
- Interest is settled quarterly in arrears even on long terms, so the return arrives along the way and not only at maturity.
- No notable sovereignty advantage documented.
Weaknesses
- Asymmetric termination: the customer cannot release funds even partially before maturity, while the Bank may terminate «at any time, without giving a reason», on two months' notice. Anyone locking in for 60 months accepts a commitment only one side is bound by.
- €10,000 entry per term, in multiples of €1,000.
- A small, recently established bank with a single retail product: counterparty risk deserves more weight than with a diversified issuer, even though deposit guarantee cover is the same up to €100,000.
- Deposits and withdrawals are permitted only to and from a single Predefined Account, and no more than one may be linked to each ContoTe.
- Custodial: the platform holds your funds and can freeze or lose them.
- Full KYC required: verified identity, zero pseudonymity.
- Subject to regulation (Italian banking licence (Bank of Italy)): reporting to authorities and freezes on order.
Verdict
Score 3.8/5, solid profile. In its favour: stamp duty is paid by the Bank: 3.95% gross at 60 months is worth 2.923% net, against the 2.723% the same gross rate would give with the duty charged to the customer. The trade-off to weigh: asymmetric termination: the customer cannot release funds even partially before maturity, while the Bank may terminate «at any time, without giving a reason», on two months' notice. Anyone locking in for 60 months accepts a commitment only one side is bound by.
On the Sovereignty lens the score is 0.4/5 (weak): the strength is censorship resistance (1.5/5), while fund control (0.0/5) is the weak link.
Promp's editorial rating based on real fees and net annual cost. Promp reviews third-party products independently.
"Sovereignty" rating: score computed on privacy/anonymity (30%), fund control (20%), censorship resistance (20%), trustless/auditability (20%) and costs (10%). Same data, different weights.
Reputation
What happened to people who used Tyche Bank — ContoTe, and what users say. External signals: they do not feed the promp.it rating.
Incidents & regulatory actions
Past incidents, resolvedDocumented and closed events. They stay on file: an operator’s past is data, not a verdict.
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Regulatory action Severe ✓ resolved
Special administration of the bank (then Banca di Credito Peloritano), April 2020 - February 2022
Special administration ordered by Sicilian Region measure no. 456 of 16/04/2020. It ended on 28/02/2022, when the shareholders' meeting reappointed the corporate bodies and the bank returned to ordinary management. The new bodies took office on 01/03/2022 (Bank of Italy notice). In 2024 the bank merged with Tyche and took the name Tyche Bank.
↗ source -
Regulatory action Moderate ✓ resolved
Bank of Italy: two €100,000 fines for weaknesses in credit-process controls and anti-money-laundering controls
With measures no. 123 and no. 124 of 09/03/2021 the Bank of Italy fined the bank, then Banca di Credito Peloritano and under special administration, €200,000 in total. No. 123 (art. 144 Consolidated Banking Act, €100,000) concerns weaknesses in organisation and internal controls over the credit process. No. 124 (art. 62 Legislative Decree 231/2007, €100,000) concerns weaknesses in anti-money-laundering organisation and controls, including customer due diligence. The measures state that the bank, then under special administration, did not take part in the proceedings.
↗ source
verified on
Public reviews
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App Store ↗
4.5/5
322 reviews
'Tyche Bank' app (id 1514194148, publisher TYCHE BANK SPA): according to contote.it it is also the app used to manage ContoTe, which has no app of its own. Ratings come from all of the bank's customers, including BCP current-account holders in Sicily. Exact figures from the lookup API.
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Google Play ↗
4.0/5
69 reviews
'Tyche Bank' app (it.bcpme.mobile, author Tyche Bank S.p.A.): it is the same retail app that contote.it names for ContoTe. The count in the structured data (69) matches the visible label.
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Trustpilot ↗
2.7/5
7 reviews
sample too small for the average
Very small sample: 7 reviews, only one in the last 12 months. Complaints about account-opening delays, a dated app, poorly trained support and a transfer advertised as free but charged €1.
Weighted average across 2 public review platforms (391 reviews in total), weighted by volume. This is not our rating: it is those platforms’ average.
FAQ
Why does Tyche's 3.95% pay more than another bank's 3.95%?
Because here stamp duty is paid by the bank. The duty is 0.2% of the balance each year and is subtracted in percentage points from the return. On a deposit where the customer pays it, 3.95% gross gives 3.95 × 0.74 − 0.2 = 2.723% net. On ContoTe, where the information sheet states «Stamp Duty: Paid by the Bank», only the 26% withholding remains: 3.95 × 0.74 = 2.923%. Two tenths of a point apart at an identical advertised rate.
Can I withdraw early?
No, under no circumstances. The 29 September 2026 information sheet states that locked sums cannot be released, in whole or in part, before maturity. There is no withdrawal rate and no penalty: the operation simply is not provided for.
Can the bank really close my account whenever it wants?
The information sheet provides that the Bank may terminate the Contract at any time, without giving a reason, by registered letter or certified email; termination takes effect after two months. It is contractually asymmetric against the absolute ban on early release imposed on the customer, and deserves weight especially over long horizons.
How much do I need to start?
The minimum amount per term is €10,000, in multiples of €1,000, and the maximum that can be locked is €1m. The minimum account balance, by contrast, is zero: the account can stay open with no active terms, earning 0.75% gross.
How safe is money at a small bank?
Tyche Bank belongs to the Italian Interbank Deposit Protection Fund, guaranteeing up to €100,000 per depositor exactly as at any other Italian bank. Above that threshold there is no protection, and counterparty risk weighs more heavily on a recently established institution with a single retail product: anyone above €100,000 should spread it across banks.
Sources
- Official service page Data verified on Nov 4, 2026
- img.gruppomol.it Importi · Svincolo Data verified on Nov 4, 2026
Update history
- tasso_lordo_max_pct 3,50% → 3,95% New information sheet Ed. 29/09/2026: rates up on every term, 60 months from 3.50% to 3.95%, 48 months from 3.40% to 3.90%, 12 months from 2.60% to 3.50%, 6 months from 2.30% to 3.20%.