🔔 Let’s hope the upward trend for 2018 continues - but you need to switch to take advantage

For those who regularly read our newsletter, it will come as no surprise to learn that 2017 was a much better year for savers than 2016. So, for those who monitor and move their money, they will have taken advantage of this and improved the interest they earn.

And for those who simply review annually, they will be pleased to see just how much better best buy rates are today than they were 12 months ago.

53% of rates on new savings accounts launched in 2017 were higher than the previous version, compared to just 8% in 2016.

And best buy rates increased across the board by as much as 49%.

What started as green shoots of hope at the beginning of last year, continued for the whole 12 months, with the challenger banks increasingly battling it out for the top spot in the best buy tables.

And rather than just fixed rate bonds, another competitive field was the easy access market and this competition has continued into 2018.

As we mentioned in our newsletter last week, AA kicked off the new year by launching back into the market, with a best buy easy access account which pipped the previous top of the table by just 0.02%.

The other best buy accounts, including the eminent RCI Freedom Account, are yet to respond at the time of writing.

However, while easy access best buy accounts have risen by up to 32% over the last year, shockingly over 22% of the rest of the easy access market is paying 0.10% or less, on a balance of £10,000.

These rates are dreadful and any saver who is sticking with a bank that is paying them so little should really vote with their feet. If you have £10,000 to deposit, you have a choice of getting £10 a year, or £132 a year – I know which most people would want.

A continued rate war in 2018 can only be good news for savers. However, we do appreciate that many savers will think that small moves in rates are not worth their while doing the paperwork – but we would strongly disagree! Any increase in savings interest in the current environment is worth chasing, especially if you are stuck in one of the worst paying accounts out there at just 0.05% (HSBC Flexible Saver!!) or even less.

Whatever happens in 2018, we will be there to provide you with all the information you need. We live and breathe savings, so whatever the news, we will be right there with our fingers on the pulse.

Whatever your savings needs are in 2018, get in touch and let us know, call us on 0800 321 3581 or send us an email – we’d love to hear from you.