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Zopa launches fixed-term savings accounts

Proper FSCS-protected savings accounts, middle-of-the-road interest rates

https://www.zopa.com/savings-accounts


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Comments

  • Given you can get 1.16% from NS&I easy access, is their any point to these?
  • Given you can get 1.16% from NS&I easy access, is their any point to these?
    Agreed. If they each had 0.5% more, they'd be tempting. As it is, they're redundant. 
  • ColdIron
    ColdIron Posts: 9,642 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 25 August 2020 am31 6:55AM
    Well, they are fixed term so if, or realistically when, NS&I reduce their rates you will have secured a rate that won't change for a known period
  • ColdIron said:
    Well, they are fixed term so if, or realistically when, NS&I reduce their rates you will have secured a rate that won't change for a known period
    You can get 1.26% for 18 months fixed term through Hargreaves Lansdown's Active Savings at the moment, so that's better than what Zopa is offering.
  • ColdIron
    ColdIron Posts: 9,642 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Shankers said:
    ColdIron said:
    Well, they are fixed term so if, or realistically when, NS&I reduce their rates you will have secured a rate that won't change for a known period
    You can get 1.26% for 18 months fixed term through Hargreaves Lansdown's Active Savings at the moment, so that's better than what Zopa is offering.
    But surely they are also are redundant as they fall well short of your 0.5% criteria :) However the point remains that there is a point to these fixed rate savings accounts when judged against the the original criticism: "Given you can get 1.16% from NS&I easy access". Clearly colsten was not claiming that they were table topping rates, she said they were middle-of-the-road. MSE is an information sharing site and what may not be useful to some may be of interest to others, that's why I thanked the OP
  • ColdIron said:
    Shankers said:
    ColdIron said:
    Well, they are fixed term so if, or realistically when, NS&I reduce their rates you will have secured a rate that won't change for a known period
    You can get 1.26% for 18 months fixed term through Hargreaves Lansdown's Active Savings at the moment, so that's better than what Zopa is offering.
    But surely they are also are redundant as they fall well short of your 0.5% criteria :) However the point remains that there is a point to these fixed rate savings accounts when judged against the the original criticism: "Given you can get 1.16% from NS&I easy access". Clearly colsten was not claiming that they were table topping rates, she said they were middle-of-the-road. MSE is an information sharing site and what may not be useful to some may be of interest to others, that's why I thanked the OP
    For me, these Zopa products are redundant because they don't add anything better to the market. I've got both the NS&I easy access because it's a good rate (for these times) and easy access, and the 1.26% fixed rate from HL for 18 months because I want to protect some of my cash against rates falling further. I wouldn't want to fix for 2 years + in case rates improve (like they were doing prior to Covid) and because I need some of my cash in July/August 2022. As Zopa doesn't add a better rate to the 1-to-2 year product markets, it's redundant because it adds products which are already (marginally) worse than what is available. To take a punt on a new savings provider I would have wanted something substantially better (the '0.5% criteria'). 
  • colsten
    colsten Posts: 17,597 Forumite
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    Just to be sure: I didn't post this to suggest these Zopa products are desirable, or the best. They're not - that's why I said they're middle of the road. 

    I just thought it was interesting to see Zopa branching out into FSCS-protected savings, thus changing their business model for sourcing the money they are lending out.
  • EdGasketTheSecond
    EdGasketTheSecond Posts: 2,558 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Third Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    edited 25 August 2020 am31 10:41AM
    Who'd want to fix rates at less than inflation anyway? You are paying someone to use your money.
  • Will be interesting to see if being formerly an exclusively P2P platform will help or hamper them.  Those who used them for P2P might be expected to be looking for top rates and those who haven't used them may be more wary of the name, despite the FSCS cover. 
  • kaMelo
    kaMelo Posts: 2,740 Forumite
    Fifth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Who'd want to fix rates at less than inflation anyway? You are paying someone to use your money.
    Which of Zopa's offerings are less than the official inflation rate?
    (As opposed to your finger in the air offerings of inflation rate)
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