Interest rates on cash have started to climb after a recent dip – good news for savers amid ISA season. Here are the best buys right now.
Leaving your money languishing in a low-paying savings or current account means you could be missing out on valuable interest. With the cost-of-living crisis raging on and inflation continuing to dampen your spending power, it’s more important than ever to make every penny count.
Savings interest rates had been rising off the back of 14 consecutive Bank of England base rate hikes before the bank paused its rate-hiking cycle, leaving it to stand at 5.25%.
Savers witnessed interest rate declines on cash products in recent weeks, but best-buy rates have started to climb, according to data from Savings Champion.
Anna Bowes, co-founder of Savings Champion, says: “There are still some economic data that continues to indicate that the base rate could remain static for a little while longer. In particular, services inflation, which appears to be sticking stubbornly at 5%, in the main caused by ongoing wage gains. So, it’s keeping a little competition alive for now, but how long will this continue?”
She adds that as savers come to expect in the midst of the ISA season, there have been some good improvements, in particular the one-, two- and three-year fixed rate ISAs.
“There’s also a new market leading ISA from Chip, which is an app-based provider that uses Clear Bank behind the scenes – a fully regulated bank that is part of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). This is the first ISA from Chip, expanding its stable of products.
“In the one-year cash ISA table, all the top rates have increased to over 5% with the best product currently available with Virgin Money. The Virgin Money 1-Year Fixed Rate Cash ISA Exclusive (Issue 11) pays 5.25% AER, has a maturity date of 31/03/25 and, as the name suggests, you do need to have a current account with Virgin Money which was opened on or after 4 December 2019, or you originally opened your current account with Clydesdale Bank, Yorkshire Bank or B.
“But you can also open a current account now in order to be eligible for the ISA. You don’t need to transfer your existing current account over too, and there is no need to make any regular payments into the current account, but it does need to have an active balance, so you’ll need to put in at least £1. So, a few things to be aware of and a few hoops to jump through,” she says.
Bowes adds that, over two-years and three-years, the top rates have also all increased, “although longer-term rates still lag behind shorter-term and there’s been no change at the top for the five-year ISAs”.
She says: “There are still a few weeks until the end of the ISA season, so hopefully we’ll see these rates holding fast or, even better, continuing to rise.”
Below, Savings Champion lists all the top-paying accounts, from easy-access savings to fixed rate bonds, notice accounts to ISAs:
EASY-ACCESS ACCOUNTS
5.16% Paragon Double Access Account (Issue 6) – minimum deposit £1,000. Apply and access online. You can make two penalty-free withdrawals per year. From the third withdrawal, the rate will drop to 1.50% AER for the remainder of the year.
5.12% Beehive Money Limited Issue Easy Access (Issue 4) – minimum deposit £1,000. Apply online and access online and by mobile banking app. Rate includes a 2.47% bonus until 31/03/2025.
5.12% Close Brothers Easy Access Account (Issue 2) – minimum deposit £10,000. Apply and access online. Rate drops to 1% AER should your balance fall below £10,000.
5.11% Virgin Money Defined Access eSaver – minimum deposit £1. Apply and access online. You can make three penalty-free withdrawals per year. From the fourth withdrawal, the rate will drop to 2% AER for the remainder of the year.
5.11% Monument Easy Access Savings – minimum deposit £25,000. Apply and access via mobile banking (app).
NOTICE ACCOUNTS
5.35% BLME 90 Day Notice Account (Issue 5) – minimum deposit £10,000. Apply and access online. Withdrawals are subject to 90 days’ notice only; no earlier access is allowed. In order to comply with Sharia Law, the rates listed are an expected profit rate.
5.30% StreamBank 90 Day Notice Account Account (Issue 4) – minimum deposit £1,000. Apply and access online. Withdrawals are subject to 90 days’ notice only; no earlier access is allowed.
5.27% Monument 60 Day Notice Account – minimum deposit £25,000. Apply online. Access online, by post or by telephone. Withdrawals are subject to 60 days’ notice only; no earlier access is allowed.
5.25% The West Brom 60 Day Notice Account – minimum deposit £1. Apply and access online. Withdrawals are subject to 60 days’ notice only; no earlier access is allowed.
5.25% Investec 90-Day Notice Saver – minimum deposit £5,000. Apply and access online. Withdrawals are subject to 90 days’ notice only; no earlier access is allowed.
ONE-YEAR FIXED TERM BONDS
5.28% SmartSave 1 Year Fixed Rate Saver – minimum deposit £10,000. Apply online. No access within the term.
5.27% MBNA 1 Year Fixed Rate Saver – minimum deposit £1,000. Apply online. No access within the term.
5.25% Atom Bank 1 Year Fixed Saver – minimum deposit £50. Apply via mobile banking (app). No access within the term.
TWO-YEAR FIXED TERM BONDS
5% Hampshire Trust Bank 2 Year Bond (Issue 85) – minimum deposit £1. Apply online. No access within the term.
5% Atom Bank 2 Year Fixed Saver – minimum deposit £50. Apply via mobile banking (app). No access within the term.
5% Hodge Bank 2 Year Fixed Rate Bond (Online Only) – minimum deposit £1,000 5.00%. Apply online. No access within the term.
THREE-YEAR FIXED TERM BONDS
4.65% Hampshire Trust Bank 3 Year Bond (Issue 64) – minimum deposit £1. Apply online. No access within the term.
4.64% SmartSave 3 Year Fixed Rate Saver – minimum deposit £10,000. Apply online. No access within the term.
4.63% Shawbrook Bank 3 Year Fixed Rate Bond (Issue 68) – minimum deposit £1,000. Apply online. No access within the term.
FIVE-YEAR FIXED TERM BONDS
4.54% Hampshire Trust Bank 5 Year Bond (Issue 36) – minimum deposit £1. Apply online. No access within the term.
4.53% Shawbrook Bank 5 Year Fixed Rate Bond (Issue 48)– minimum deposit £1,000. Apply online. No access within the term.
4.53% Close Brothers 5 Year Fixed Rate Bond – minimum deposit £2,000. Apply online. No access within the term.
VARIABLE RATE CASH ISAS
5.10% Chip Cash ISA – minimum deposit £1. Apply and access via mobile app. Transfers in are not accepted currently. This is a flexible ISA. This savings account is powered by the provider’s partner, ClearBank Limited. ClearBank Limited is covered by the FSCS, so funds deposited are protected up to £85,000 subject to eligibility.
5.10% The West Brom WeBSave 60 Day Notice ISA Account (Issue 2) – minimum deposit £1. Apply and access online. You can make withdrawals by giving 60 days’ notice or you can withdraw earlier at a charge equivalent to 60 days’ loss of interest. Transfers in are allowed.
5.09% Moneybox Cash ISA – minimum deposit £500. Apply and access via mobile app. Up to three withdrawals can be made within a 12-month period from the date of opening the Cash ISA without affecting the interest rate. If four or more withdrawals are made, a lower rate of 0.75% will be applied for the remainder of the 12-month period. Rate includes a 0.85% bonus rate for the first 12 months. Cash ISA transfers in are accepted. Interest is accrued daily but paid on account open anniversary.
5.08% Zopa Easy Access ISA – minimum deposit £1. Apply and access via mobile app. Rate includes a 0.5% AER bonus that runs till the 6th April 2025. Transfers in are accepted from other providers. This is a flexible ISA.
5.06% Virgin Money Defined Access Cash E-ISA (Issue 25) – minimum deposit £1. Apply and access online. Maximum of three easy-access withdrawals allowed per calendar year. The rate will decrease to 2% or 1.98% monthly if four or more withdrawals are made per annum. Transfers in are allowed.
ONE-YEAR FIXED TERM CASH ISAS
5.25% Virgin Money 1 Year Fixed Rate Cash ISA Exclusive (Issue 11) – minimum deposit £1. Apply online or in branch. You need to have a current account with Virgin Money that was opened on or after 4 December 2019, or you originally opened your current account with Clydesdale Bank, Yorkshire Bank or B. The maturity date is 31/03/25. Full and partial withdrawals are permitted during the term, but you will be charged 60 days’ interest on the amount taken out.
5.03% OakNorth Bank 12 Month Fixed Rate Cash ISA – minimum deposit £1 5.03%. Apply online and mobile app. Withdrawals are allowed, subject to 90 days’ loss of interest. Transfers in are allowed.
5.03% Shawbrook Bank 1 Year Fixed Rate Cash ISA Bond (Issue 89) – minimum deposit £1,000. Apply online. Withdrawals are allowed, subject to 90 days’ loss of interest. Transfers in are allowed.
TWO-YEAR FIXED TERM CASH ISAS
4.75% Skipton BS 18 Month Fixed Rate Cash ISA (Issue 242) – minimum deposit £5,000. Apply in branch, online, post or telephone. Access on closure, subject to a 90-day interest penalty. Transfers in are allowed.
4.7% OakNorth Bank 24 Month Fixed Rate Cash ISA – minimum deposit £1. Apply online and mobile app. Withdrawals are allowed, subject to 180 days’ loss of interest. Transfers in are allowed.
4.7% UBL UK 2 Year Fixed Rate Cash ISA – minimum deposit £2,000. Apply in branch, online, by post or via mobile app. Access on closure or full transfer out only, subject to 180 days’ loss of interest. Transfers in accepted. Interest is paid on maturity, annually, quarterly or monthly. Interest must be paid to a nominated account; it cannot be added to the account unless it is paid on maturity.
THREE-YEAR FIXED TERM CASH ISAS
4.5% Aldermore 3 year Fixed Rate Cash ISA – minimum deposit £1,000. Apply online. Withdrawals are allowed, subject to 180 days’ loss of interest. Transfers in are allowed. This is a Flexible ISA. This is a portfolio ISA, so you can open more than one type of cash ISA with the provider (e.g. fixed and variable) in the same tax year.
4.4% Close Brothers 3 Year Fixed Rate Cash ISA – minimum deposit £10,000. Apply online. Withdrawals are allowed, subject to 270 days’ loss of interest. Transfers in are allowed.
4.39% UBL UK 3 Year Fixed Rate Cash ISA – minimum deposit £2,000. Apply in branch, online, by post or via mobile app. Access on closure or full transfer out only, subject to 270 days’ loss of interest. Transfers in accepted. Interest is paid on maturity, annually, quarterly or monthly. Interest must be paid to a nominated account, it cannot be added to the account unless it is paid on maturity.
FIVE-YEAR FIXED TERM CASH ISAS
4.16% UBL UK 5 Year Fixed Rate Cash ISA – minimum deposit £2,000. Apply in branch, online, by post or via mobile app. Access on closure or full transfer out only, subject to 365 days’ loss of interest. Transfers in accepted. Interest is paid on maturity, annually, quarterly or monthly. Interest must be paid to a nominated account, it cannot be added to the account unless it is paid on maturity.
4.15% Close Brothers 5 Year Fixed Rate Cash ISA – minimum deposit £10,000. Apply online. Withdrawals are allowed, subject to 365 days’ loss of interest. Transfers in are allowed.
4.05% United Trust Bank Cash ISA 5 Year Bond – minimum deposit £5,000. Apply online. Withdrawals are allowed, subject to 365 days’ loss of interest. Transfers in are allowed.
Related: Cash ISA returns beat investment growth for second year in a row
