Need high interest current a/c with chequebook

SarahEmmm_2

I already have a personal current account, but need a new account for a building project, to keep things separate.

I had a look at the recommendations, but mostly they don't seem to have a chequebook, which will be a must (I don't have time to put payments across to my personal account, do the paperwork needed to keep things straight, etc).

A large sum of money will be going into the account initially, so I want to maximise the interest on it as far as possible.

Any suggestions?

grumbler

SarahEmmm wrote:

...high interest current a/c with chequebook ...(I don't have time to put payments across to my personal account, do the paperwork needed to keep things straight, etc)....want to maximise the interest on it as far as possible.

Don't you want too much? :think: I doubt that you will find something better than Cahoot with 3%.
What papework?
The best thing is to open current account with good linked online account. You can instanly transfer money between these accounts. Example: Nationwide flex account + e-savings account.

lipidicman

Remember that most current accounts that pay decent interest have a limit on the balance on which they pay interest (eg the first £2k)

The best bet is the linked saver as Grumbler suggests - eg the A&L current and online saver. You shouldnt have a problem getting a chequebook.

grumbler

lipidicman wrote:

...the A&L current and online saver. ...

Yes, but A&L online saver has £25K limit. I think that 'A large sum of money' is more than £25K.

jjames_3

Surely the time taken to transfer cash to/from say an ING Direct savings account to a current account is no more than transferring within the same bank?

grumbler

jjames wrote:

Surely the time taken to transfer cash to/from say an ING Direct savings account to a current account is no more than transferring within the same bank?

Interbank transfers always take longer than transfer within the same bank. Both me and lipidicman meant online account and current acoount with the same bank. Nationwide e-savings account pays the same 5% as ING, A&L online saver pays even more - 5.35%.

lipidicman

grumbler wrote:

Yes, but A&L online saver has £25K limit. I think that 'A large sum of money' is more than £25K.

Since the OP was talking about putting it in a current account this hadn't occurred to me. But yes, if the 'large sum' is more than £25k then the A&L saver would not be suitable.

Hobo_2

Along the same lines https://www.if.com ,saver acc 4.75% curr 2.75% linked features, overnight sweeper to a limit set by you to avoid curr overdraw

klondyke

cahoot 4.25% AER with chequebook
cahoot 4.35% AER without chequebook

Both up to £249,999, above which interest rate is 3%.

£250 interest free overdraft

cahoot savings a/c 5.1% up to £249,999. Over that (you should be so lucky!), only 4.05% over total balance.




Instant transfer available between accounts.

p3gg

klondyke wrote:

cahoot 4.25% AER with chequebook
cahoot 4.35% AER without chequebook

Both up to £249,999, above which interest rate is 3%.

£250 interest free overdraft

cahoot savings a/c 5.1% up to £249,999. Over that (you should be so lucky!), only 4.05% over total balance.

Instant transfer available between accounts.

Yep, cahoot's your one (well, two), I would say. Importantly, the transfers between the two accounts are literally instant, 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year, online or by phone. By contrast, I seem to remember reading in other threads that money transferred between the A&L online saver and current account doesn't always appear instantly as available funds in the destination account (apologies if I've got that a bit wrong, not time to search for the thread now).

Darryl

SarahEmmm wrote:

I already have a personal current account, but need a new account for a building project, to keep things separate.

I had a look at the recommendations, but mostly they don't seem to have a chequebook, which will be a must (I don't have time to put payments across to my personal account, do the paperwork needed to keep things straight, etc).

A large sum of money will be going into the account initially, so I want to maximise the interest on it as far as possible.

Any suggestions?

I've found that most builders and trades accept payment via bank transfer (BACS), just a much as they do cheques and cash (although the latter is always preferred). Some even accept PayPal, etc. I just make sure I insist on a receipt.

Why go to the hassle of setting up a new account? You could just ask them for their bank details so you can transfer the payments to them this way? Dead easy if you already bank online.

HTH

Darryl.