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Banks pull top paying savings accounts after just 3 days

Joanna Faith
Written By:
Joanna Faith
Posted:
Updated:
29/08/2018

Savers looking to take advantage of best buy rates from smaller providers need to act fast as some deals are being pulled after just three days.

Challenger banks and building societies have been dominating the best buy tables for months, with many passing on the Bank of England’s full base rate rise to customers – unlike their bigger high street competitors.

But high demand means these rates are not hanging around for long.

On Tuesday, Bank of Cyprus UK withdrew its online easy access deal paying 1.41%, the highest rate of the year so far, a mere six days after launch.

And when Wyelands Bank unveiled its one-year bond paying 2.15% the day after the base rate rise – the highest rate since December 2015 – it was available for just six days.

The shortest deal, however, was from Furness Building Society. The day after the base rate rise, it hiked the rate on its two-year bond from 2% to 2.24% but pulled the deal just three days later.

Why are these deals being pulled?

Smaller providers pull their deals because they don’t want or need to be overwhelmed with cash.

“As a saver you’re giving your money to a provider to lend to borrowers,” explains Anna Bowes, director of savings site, Savings Champion.

“Each provider will have different requirements for how much they need to raise and smaller and newer providers have less requirement for your money.

“If there’s huge demand, products will be available for only a short time.”

‘Blink and you could miss out’

Fortunately, the majority of savers are in a position to move quickly when a good rate is launched, with 80% of cash savings held in easy access accounts.

But if you delay applying by even a couple of days, it could be too late.

“If you spot an account you’re interested in then don’t hang around, especially if you have money languishing in a poor paying account and have been waiting for better rates to come along,” says Bowes.

“Hanging around too long means you will be losing out on valuable interest in the meantime. Blink and you could miss out.”

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