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Best buys: Al Rayan Bank tops fixed-rate savings charts

Joanna Faith
Written By:
Joanna Faith
Posted:
Updated:
25/09/2018

Competition continues to heat up in the fixed-rate bond space with another challenger bank leaping to the top of the best buy tables.

Al Rayan Bank has increased the rates on its two and three-year bonds to 2.32% and 2.42% respectively if you roll over the interest, meaning both products are now market leaders.

They have jumped ahead of their nearest competitors Tandem Bank, which pays 2.25% on its two-year product, and Charter Savings Bank, which offers 2.41% on its three-year bond.

Challenger banks and building societies have dominated 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.

Al Rayan is a sharia-compliant bank so customers are not paid interest but instead are given an expected profit rate (EPR). According to the experts at Savings Champion, the bank has never failed to pay out its EPR.

Savings are covered by the the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which means if the bank goes bust you’d get up to £85,000 back or £170,000 for joint accounts. (For more, read our guide on sharia savings accounts).

Move fast

If these deals sound appealing, you’d be wise to move fast because they may not be around for long.

High demand for best buy accounts means banks have been pulling top rates within a matter of days.

Wyelands Bank’s market-leading one-year bond was available for just six days in August, while Furness Building Society’s top two-year offering was withdrawn after just three days.

Tie up longer

If you’re prepared to tie your money up for longer, Masthaven pays 2.53% on its four-year bond or Charter Savings Bank offers 2.7% for its five-year account.