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Marcus ups rates on savings accounts – how do they compare?
Marcus has increased the interest rate across its savings range, but how do the products compare?
The challenger bank has raised the rate on its easy access, fixed rate and cash ISA products.
The underlying rate on its Online Savings Account and Cash ISA has increased from 0.5% AER/gross (variable) to 0.6% AER/gross (variable).
However, new and existing customers can get an additional 12 month fixed-rate bonus of 0.1% on both accounts, taking the rate to 0.7%.
The uplift to 0.6% will be added automatically but existing customers will need to log in to their account and opt in to receive the extra 0.1%.
New customers will automatically have the 12-month bonus added to their account. It can be opened with a minimum £1 deposit.
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The interest rate on its 1 Year Fixed Rate Saver has also been increased to 0.6% AER/gross (fixed) for new customers.
How good are the rate rises?
The easy access savings rate “isn’t quite high enough to be top of market, but the ISA is”, according to data site Moneyfacts.
Finance expert, Rachel Springall, said: “The easy access market is undergoing a spate of competition with Virgin Money leading the way at 1% and Cynergy Bank increasing its rate to 0.8%, savers looking for a straightforward account may be delighted to see such positive changes.
“If savers have they cash with a high street bank and have yet to see any benefit from two base rate rises, they would be wise to reconsider their loyalty and switch.”
Springall added that the Marcus Cash ISA rate is joint market leading with SAGA.
“Savers looking to take advantage of their tax-free ISA allowance may well find the improved Cash ISA from Marcus by Goldman Sachs an appealing choice. The deal now pays an attractive 0.7% after a rate rise of 0.1% makes it a joint market-leading rate in its sector.
“This ISA may be an ideal option for those looking to either save little and often or invest their full ISA allowance, but applicants must have a UK mobile phone number to apply.”
Marcus, the retail banking arm of Goldman Sachs, launched in the UK in September 2018 with a market-leading 1.5% on its easy access account.
It remained a constant fixture in the best buy tables, attracting hundreds and thousands of customers.
It was forced to temporarily shut its doors to new applicants in June 2020 in a bid to keep within regulatory limits after being inundated with deposits. It reopened in February 2021.