I’d been meaning to open a new easy access account for a while and the new Marcus offering from Goldman Sachs was the deal that finally made me take action.

The obvious reason to open the account was the headline-grabbing 1.5% interest rate, the highest easy access rate since March 2016.

The rate includes a bonus of 0.15% which means it falls to 1.35% after 12 months, but even that’s pretty good seeing as my old account paid 0.25% and some are paying as little as 0.15%.

But it wasn’t just the rate that impressed me.

The sign-up process was quick and easy and the user experience was slick.

It took less than 20 minutes to open my account on my mobile. There weren’t any long and cumbersome application forms and all I needed to enter was my personal information (including my salary, which I know from reports has annoyed some people but didn’t bother me) and details of my linked bank account – this is the only account you can use to transfer money to and from your Marcus account.

The website is easy to navigate and I was quickly able find my Marcus sort code and account number to start transferring funds.

But the thing that surprised and impressed me most was the customer service I got when I inadvertently set off a red flag during my application.

I set up my Marcus account in my married name, but my linked bank account is in my maiden name, which the Marcus system obviously didn’t like.

I immediately got an email saying the £50 I had transferred had been returned to my bank account and that Marcus needed me to send them a bank statement. I hadn’t thought about the married/maiden name issue so called their customer service number to make sure the email was legitimate and to find out why they needed a statement.

I quickly got through to a representative – none of the press 1 for this, press 2 for that nonsense – who did have to put me on hold twice to find out from her supervisor why they’d requested my statement, but eventually was able to explain to me that the name discrepancy had prompted a security alert.

This all happened on a Thursday. I sent my bank statement off on the Monday. Two days later I had a call from a very friendly man from Marcus who told me I was cleared to start transferring money, which was a nice touch. An email would have been fine.

I transferred my money and my dashboard updated pretty much straightaway.

Overall, I’d say this was the best customer experience I’ve had in a long time from a provider.

But be warned: there’s nothing fancy about the website so if you’re looking for added extras you might be disappointed. However, if you want a clear and easy-to-use product, and a top-paying rate, Marcus might be a good home for your money.

Joanna Faith is editor of YourMoney.com