Shawbrook Bank has jumped to the top of the independent This is Money best buy easy-access savings tables with a deal paying 0.67 per cent.
The account can be opened with a minimum deposit of £1,000 and allows savers to put in a maximum of £85,000, or £170,000 in the case of joint accounts – which is the cap of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme limit.
The next best deal is offered by Cynergy Bank, paying 0.66 per cent, although this will only last for the first year before the rate returns to 0.3 per cent.
The average easy access balance having grown by £1,450 since the pandemic began from £10,246 to £11,696
More than 60 per cent of Britain’s savings are stashed away in easy-access accounts, according to CACI data analysed by Paragon Bank, much of which is sitting with high street banks paying as little as 0.01 per cent.
With the average easy-access balance having grown by £1,450 since the pandemic began from £10,246 to £11,696, according to Paragon’s research, there is all the more reason for savers to proactively seek out the best rates.
Easy-access competition is not as fierce as fixed-rates and many of Britain’s biggest banks offer as little as 0.01 per cent.
Shawbrook’s rate rise may also be followed by other providers, according to James Blower, founder of the Savings Guru.
Blower said: ‘Shawbrook Bank looks after around £8billion of savings and therefore has the size to sustain at least two to three week’s at those rates.
‘Given this, I think it is likely that we will see other providers move above the 0.6 per cent rate that the chasing pack are sat at, in order to compete.
‘I don’t think it will trigger a rate war on easy-access, but it’s likely to spark some better deals and, while I don’t think anyone will go to 0.7 per cent, there’s a possibility that will happen.’
But while Shawbrook currently holds the crown for the best easy-access deal, savvy savers may be able to secure a better deal elsewhere – at least for the first year – whilst still retaining access to their cash.
Paragon Bank is currently offering a 0.5 per cent easy-access deal which can also be accessed through the savings platform, Raisin.
Raisin, in turn, is offering a £50 welcome bonus to any new customer who puts £10,000 or more into a savings account with one of its partner providers.
Although Paragon’s deal pays 0.5 per cent, the addition of the welcome bonus means that someone stashing away £10,000, could earn £100 in the first year – an effective return of 1 per cent – far superior to the Shawbrook’s deal.
Aldermore also has a nine month fixed account via Raisin paying 0.88 per cent which offers the same bonus, which also boosts the rate.
