Savings: the bank lends a hand

The Dutch expression een appeltje voor de dorst – literally, “an apple for thirst” – has been around since at least the 18th century. The English equivalent, “saving for a rainy day,” was first recorded over 450 years ago, adapted from an even older Italian source. Clearly, the idea of setting something aside for hard times is ancient. Thousands of years ago, people began storing food to survive winters or emergencies. Over time, they also started saving other valuable items: tools, jewellery, and eventually – money.

Since the invention of coinage around 2,700 years ago, people have been saving money – and often hiding it in the ground. Keeping the location secret was crucial. But sometimes, the owner forgot where they buried it or died without passing on the secret. That’s why archaeologists still uncover coin hoards in the Netherlands, some dating back over two thousand years. Until about 150 years ago, burying your savings was often the safest way to protect your wealth, but then everything changed in the 19th century.

In the 19th century, the Industrial Revolution transformed the Dutch economy – but not for everyone. the gap between rich and poor widened, and many workers lived in poor conditions. Alcoholism was rampant. Workers often spent their wages in pubs – sometimes even receiving their pay there. In 1874, a committee from the Maatschappij tot Nut van 't Algemeen (Society for Public Welfare) reported a shocking statistic: there was one liquor shop for every 83 people, but only one savings bank for every 18,000. Factoring in opening hours, workers had 5,000 times more opportunity to spend than to save. To change this, the Rijkspostspaarbank (Post Office Savings Bank) was founded in 1881. It allowed people to deposit and withdraw money at any post office – convenient and accessible. For the first time, saving money at a bank became common practice.

The Rijkspostspaarbank didn’t just offer accounts – it actively promoted saving. In both the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies (where a Post Office Savings Bank was founded in 1898), slogans like “The secret of success: saving in days of prosperity” and “Save now to benefit later!” appeared on savings boxes that were made to look like books.

These boxes had slots for coins and notes, but the bank kept the key. This prevented savers from dipping into their funds too soon. When full, the box was taken to the post office, opened by an official, and the contents credited to the saver’s account. Identification was simple: account holders used numbered tokens – especially helpful for those who could not read or write.

The Post Office Savings Bank was a great success. Between 1900 and 1950, Dutch households began saving more. Incomes rose, and so did the number of savings accounts. By 1931, the Post Office Savings Bank held 2.2 million accounts. At the same time, private savings banks – especially 'nutsspaarbanken’ founded by the Society for Public Welfare – also grew in popularity. One of the largest was the Nutsspaarbank van 's-Gravenhage (The Hague), founded in 1818. Like the Post Office Savings Bank, these institutions encouraged saving through advertising and savings boxes. Some even used savings vans that drove through neighbourhoods!

In the 19th century, savings banks were rooted in a moral mission: to teach thrift and self-reliance. Dutch slogans like “learned young, done old” reflected this philosophy. But by the mid-20th century, this view began to shift. As prosperity grew, people had more disposable income – and more personal savings goals. Banks adapted, becoming more service-oriented and targeting younger savers. The way people were paid also changed. Weekly cash wages gave way to monthly salaries deposited directly into bank accounts. Still, some preferred to withdraw their pay and keep it at home – an apple for thirst, no longer buried in the ground, but tucked into a mattress or sock.