There’s been a shake-up among the banks offering top rates for savers this week, as Zopa dominates the charts for easy access accounts and fixed rate bonds.
As has been the trend recently, there are plenty of deals for more than 5% for customers, but the 5.25% offered by Paragon Bank last week has not quite been matched at the top of the table today.
Easy access ISAs
Based on Moneyfacts data, Zopa rose to the top with 5.08% AER on its Smart ISA deal, while fans of smaller deposit deals will enjoy the fact it can be opened with £1, it’s only available to those who have a Smart Saver account with the bank.
Also offering savers more than 5% is Cynergy Bank with 5.07% AER on its Online ISA (Issue 43), which can be opened with just £1 in the account. It has no withdrawal limits and accepts transfers in from other cash ISAs, but this can only happen when the account is up and running.
Virgin Money takes third spot with its Defined Access Cash E- ISA Issue 22 which is priced at just below the top two offers, with a rate of 5.06% AER. However, that rate goes down after more than three withdrawals are made on the account which can only be managed and opened online.
Fixed rate bonds
UBL UK is the best one-year deal this week, boasting a 5.70% AER on a minimum deposit of £2,000 once the account matures. The account can be opened either online, by post, in branch, or on the app but can later be managed on the phone when the account is open.
As well as topping the easy access account deals, Zopa is one of the leaders for many fixed ISAs too. On its Smart ISA accounts, it pays 5.61% AER, 5.51% AER and 5.05% AER across its two, three and five year fixes respectively.
For larger deposits, there is the Close Brothers Savings deal with a five-year fixed rate of 5.05% AER which requires £10,000 to open. It pays yearly interest after opening online but can managed by post or over the phone. In terms of earlier access, this is only applicable once the account is closed, subject to 365 days’ loss of interest.
Notice ISA accounts
Completing the top-rated savings deals this week are Aldermore, Stafford Railway Building Society and West Brom Building Society.
Aldermere’s 30 Day Notice Cash ISA Issue 12 deal pays 4.50% AER and requires a minimum of £1,000 as a deposit – early access is allowed but this comes with 30 days’ interest being lost.
The mutual Stafford Railway BS is paying 5.25% AER and a lower minimum deposit of £1000. However, early access is not permitted and cannot be managed online either.
West Brom BS offers 5.25% AER in a market-leading rate on either a monthly or yearly basis and contains the lowest deposit among the top-three offers, with £1 required needed to open the account. Early access of the cash comes with a 60 day loss of interest though.
