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This week’s top cash ISAs including Virgin’s 3% easy-access account

Rebecca Goodman
Written By:
Rebecca Goodman
Posted:
Updated:
03/01/2023

If you’re looking for a new cash ISA, interest rates of up to 4.75% are available, depending on how long you’re willing to stash your cash.

As prices are rising, savers are looking for every opportunity to create some extra money to fight the cost-of-living crisis.

One easy way to boost your bank balance is to make sure any savings you have are earning the highest interest rate possible.

Following the Bank of England’s interest rate hikes, to 3.5% in the latest decision, many providers have increased the rate of interest they pay on savings accounts.

While increasing the base rate has been bad news for borrowers, pushing up the costs of debt payments and mortgages, it’s been a boon for savers with accounts at their highest rates for 15 years.

Here we look at some of the best rates around this week for cash ISAs, according to Moneyfacts.

This week’s best instant-access cash ISAs

The market-leading easy-access account is the Virgin Money Easy Access Cash ISA Exclusive Issue 2 which pays 3% interest, compounded annually. There’s no minimum deposit, and you can apply online or in a branch. It is only available to new customers or those who have had a Virgin Money, Clydesdale Bank, Yorkshire Bank or B current account since 4 December 2019.

Other top cash ISAs as picked by Moneyfacts include:

  1. Harpenden BS Triple Access Cash ISA: This is a new account paying 2.60% AER. It has a minimum opening deposit of £1 and compounds and pays interest yearly. A lower rate of interest will be paid if more than three withdrawals are made in a calendar year. The ISA can only be opened in branch or via the post, but managed online once it’s open.
  2. Earl Shilton BS Instant Access Cash ISA: This ISA pays 2.55% and has a minimum opening deposit of £10. Interest is compounded and paid yearly and it can only be opened and managed in a branch and via the post.

This week’s best fixed-rate cash ISAs

The top spot this week for fixed-rate cash ISAs goes to Barclays Bank. Its 1-Year Flexible Cash ISA – Issue 36 pays 4.00% AER and you can open it with £1. Interest can be paid away monthly or compounded annually and paid on maturity. It allows three withdrawals of up to 10% of the balance over the term. A further withdrawal is also allowed but would result in closure and a 90-day loss of interest.

In the second, third and fourth spots as picked by Moneyfacts is State Bank of India. Each account pays 4.65% and a minimum deposit of £5,000 is required to open one of these accounts.

If you do need to access your cash, a 30-day notice period applies, after which your account will close and you’ll be subject to a loss of interest penalty. Accounts closed before the first anniversary won’t receive any interest, while accounts closed after this point will be subject to a 1% loss of interest.

Interest is paid on maturity, with the rate compounded annually. To apply, you’ll need to open a new current or savings account with the bank.

This week’s best notice cash ISAs

The top spot for a notice cash ISA goes to Aldermore with its 30-day notice account chart with an AER of 2.80%.

It has a minimum opening deposit of £1,000 with interest paid away or compounded monthly or on anniversary.

Any withdrawals are subject to a 30-day notice period, or funds can be accessed earlier subject to a 30-day loss of interest. The ISA can only be opened and managed online.