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Al Rayan Bank launches trio of market-leading savings accounts

Samantha Partington
Written By:
Samantha Partington
Posted:
Updated:
27/02/2023

Challenger bank Al Rayan has launched a trio of market-leading fixed term savings accounts.

Savers locking their cash away for one year can earn 4.31%, those choosing a two-year term can lock into a fix of 4.47% and on its three-year fixed term account, savers can earn 4.57%.

The accounts are Sharia-compliant which means they pay an expected profit rate rather than interest. This is the level of profit paid by the bank to the saver.

The minimum opening balance for each of the accounts is £5,000. The accounts can be opened through digital banking (if you’re registered), online via the website or by phone. They can’t be opened in branch or by post.

Further, they can’t be managed by branch or phone. Al Rayan confirmed all accounts are managed digitally or by post.

Al Rayan’s rate rises are the latest in a flurry of savings rates increases.

Time to lock in?

But how do savers know if now is the right time to lock into fixed rate?

Anna Bowes, co-founder of consumer website Savings Champion said: “It’s tricky to know exactly when rates will stop increasing.

“In fact, until very recently we had seen fixed term rates falling from a high in September and October last year, as financial markets had previously over anticipated how high the base rate was expected to rise to.

“There has been a slight rise in gilt yields recently which has led to a few rate hikes in the best buy fixed term bond market. But experts are still anticipating that we are close to the peak of the interest rate rise cycle, so if you are planning to lock some cash away to earn higher rates, it could be wise to move quickly to bank a rate at this level.

“It’s worth bearing in mind that all the time you are waiting to see if fixes will rise further, you are missing out on earning better rates in the meantime.”

For more, check out the YourMoney.com guide to Sharia-compliant savings accounts.