With record low interest rates, savers have really suffered over the last few years, especially following the government’s launch of the Funding for Lending Scheme in July 2012.
Even though the scheme has now been re-focused to business lending, it has allowed Banks and Building Societies to recapitalise; the effects of this have been disastrous for savers.
Desire from providers to pull in new savers has all but disappeared and competition has dried up in the market. The chart below highlights how this has affected best buy rates.
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However, the savvy savers among you may know of a little trick to get the best returns on the market - spread your money between the top paying current accounts and you could maximise your returns, without switching your current bank account.
High interest current accounts have become the beacon of light for savers as standard savings account rates have plummeted to record lows, leaving many savers languishing in poor paying accounts.
Obviously, high interest current accounts are just savings accounts with a different name, that are quick and easy to open online and pay more than 2 or 3 times the interest of easy access accounts.
If you’re willing to use all of the tools in your armoury you can earn up to 5% and still have access to your cash.
Getting the best returns depends on how much you have in savings; you can use the table below to see which accounts are best for you. Click on any of the provider names to find out more.
|
Provider |
AER |
Accounts |
Deposit Per |
Do I Need to Switch My Current Account? |
|
Nationwide BS |
5%* |
1 |
£2,500 |
No, just deposit and immediately withdraw £1,000 per month.** |
|
TSB (Plus account not launching until 30/03/2014) |
5% |
2 |
£2,000 |
No, just deposit and immediately withdraw £500 per month.** |
|
Clydesdale Bank |
4%* |
2 |
£3,000 |
No, just deposit and immediately withdraw £1,000 per month.** |
|
Santander |
3% |
2*** |
£20,000 |
No, just deposit and immediately withdraw £500 per month, and setup 2 Direct Debits.** |
|
TSB Bank |
3% |
3 |
£5,000 |
No, just deposit and immediately withdraw £1,000 per month.** |
|
Bank of Scotland |
3% |
3 |
£5,000 |
No, just deposit and immediately withdraw £1,000 per month.** |
|
Lloyds |
3% |
3 |
£5,000 |
No, just deposit and immediately withdraw £1,000 per month.** |
|
Overall Rate |
3.19% |
16 Accounts |
Maximum Balance £97,500 |
|
*The Nationwide account includes a bonus of 3.89% for 12 months. The Clydesdale account includes a bonus of 1.95% paid until 31/05/2015. To ensure you are aware of rate changes to these and your other accounts you can use our free market leading Rate Tracker© service.
**Setting up standing orders is an easy way to ensure you deposit and withdraw the qualifying amounts each month. These can be usually set up in under a minute online or in branch. The monthly deposit must be from a different account provider.
***The second account must be a joint account.
Using the table above you could open a total of 16 accounts and get an overall rate of 3.19% AER on deposits totalling of £97,500.
If you have over £100,000 and want to know how to get the very best returns please feel free to call on 0800 321 3581 or find out how with our free guide to the 7 Pitfalls for Larger Savers and How to Avoid Them.
The rates above are without exception the best easy access rates in the whole UK savings market. For rates on high interest current accounts and other accounts please see our best buy tables or have them regularly delivered direct to your inbox for free.
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