The New Top Easy Access Savings Discussion Area

SnowMan

It has just been announced that Bank Base Rate has been reduced by 0.25% to 4.25%
https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy-summary-and-minutes/2025/may-2025
At its meeting ending on 7 May 2025, the MPC voted by a majority of 5–4 to reduce Bank Rate by 0.25 percentage points, to 4.25%. Two members preferred to reduce Bank Rate by 0.5 percentage points, to 4%. Two members preferred to maintain Bank Rate at 4.5%.
Next decision Thursday 19th June 2025

chris_the_bee

nottsphil said:

janusdesign said:

nottsphil said:

ircE said:

True EA accounts are easy access savings accounts which can be opened (and the headline interest rate earned) from £1 and allow for unlimited deposits and withdrawals. This excludes accounts that are limited to smaller balances, accounts with fees, and accounts only available via savings platforms. Instant True EA accounts are those True EA accounts which advertise immediate deposit and withdrawal times 24/7. Highlighted entries show changes since last time: blue for new entries to the respective table, and red for rate reductions.

cahoot and Hampshire Trust Bank return to the scorecard with their latest offerings. Newcastle BS makes a somewhat unusual debut with an account that matures in 6 months - just in time for Christmas.

A note on Chip/Chase: their battle continues more than what is shown on the scorecard, which only goes by what I see on moneyfacts for my selected filters. Chip is offering a 4.76% account with limited access to new customers, and Chase is offering selected existing customers a boosted rate of 4.80%. DYOR etc.

For those who care neither for Chip nor Chase, Chetwood provides the leading account for True EA accounts, and cahoot takes the lead for those who would like instant access.

The MPC announces its next decision next Thursday, 8th May.

My instant access money is earning 4.75% AER  but it doesn't qualify for the list as it contravenes two of the criteria, the reason I am looking for a second one. At the time you compiled it however, the Saffron Building Society was offering it's E-Saver at 4.5%, so was its exclusions solely because of its £10 minimum balance? 

it will be because of that - personally, I think those criteria are silly (no offence to irce) - but I guess if you want to have criteria, you have to draw the line somewhere... I wouldn't have chose there, but hey ho... the only use for me is to see which ones are considered "instant".

Does anyone know of any other accounts that would make this list but for a petty minimum balance requirement?

• Cahoot @ 5% is an option if you want to throw in a maximum of £3,000 - it only requires £1 to open, but would fail the above list because it has a "smaller balance".
• existing, and eligible, Chase users might be able to open a 4.8% boosted account for 6 months.
• Vida Savings (never used) is at 4.63% with a £10 opening... fails because it's not £1 to open.
• Kent Reliance is 4.5% if you have £1,000 to open it with (you might need to define what you think is a "petty" balance!) - you can drop the balance down to £1, but would then only receive a nominal interest rate.

Thanks, I'll go through these

Cahoot 5% - I already have one 
Chase - requires current account.
Vida - a gem whose petty minimum has denied it a                    place! (Seriously, does @ircE think anybody would              actually find that onerous? These aren't                            children's accounts!)
Kent Reliance - you can't pay into it after 14 days, or at                              least that's what I thought as I read                                    this email (fuming!) so I didn't bother                                 reading any further. Looking at it                                         again though, it completely                                                    contradicts itself from the next                                            sentence! So, which is correct?

(OK, so I don't know how to do bullet points on Android ☺️)

Kent Reliance
However, the 4th paragraph above does state:-
Please note: Additional deposits can be made to notice and easy access accounts at any time.

nottsphil

chris_the_bee said:

nottsphil said:

janusdesign said:

nottsphil said:

ircE said:

True EA accounts are easy access savings accounts which can be opened (and the headline interest rate earned) from £1 and allow for unlimited deposits and withdrawals. This excludes accounts that are limited to smaller balances, accounts with fees, and accounts only available via savings platforms. Instant True EA accounts are those True EA accounts which advertise immediate deposit and withdrawal times 24/7. Highlighted entries show changes since last time: blue for new entries to the respective table, and red for rate reductions.

cahoot and Hampshire Trust Bank return to the scorecard with their latest offerings. Newcastle BS makes a somewhat unusual debut with an account that matures in 6 months - just in time for Christmas.

A note on Chip/Chase: their battle continues more than what is shown on the scorecard, which only goes by what I see on moneyfacts for my selected filters. Chip is offering a 4.76% account with limited access to new customers, and Chase is offering selected existing customers a boosted rate of 4.80%. DYOR etc.

For those who care neither for Chip nor Chase, Chetwood provides the leading account for True EA accounts, and cahoot takes the lead for those who would like instant access.

The MPC announces its next decision next Thursday, 8th May.

My instant access money is earning 4.75% AER  but it doesn't qualify for the list as it contravenes two of the criteria, the reason I am looking for a second one. At the time you compiled it however, the Saffron Building Society was offering it's E-Saver at 4.5%, so was its exclusions solely because of its £10 minimum balance? 

it will be because of that - personally, I think those criteria are silly (no offence to irce) - but I guess if you want to have criteria, you have to draw the line somewhere... I wouldn't have chose there, but hey ho... the only use for me is to see which ones are considered "instant".

Does anyone know of any other accounts that would make this list but for a petty minimum balance requirement?

• Cahoot @ 5% is an option if you want to throw in a maximum of £3,000 - it only requires £1 to open, but would fail the above list because it has a "smaller balance".
• existing, and eligible, Chase users might be able to open a 4.8% boosted account for 6 months.
• Vida Savings (never used) is at 4.63% with a £10 opening... fails because it's not £1 to open.
• Kent Reliance is 4.5% if you have £1,000 to open it with (you might need to define what you think is a "petty" balance!) - you can drop the balance down to £1, but would then only receive a nominal interest rate.

Thanks, I'll go through these

Cahoot 5% - I already have one 
Chase - requires current account.
Vida - a gem whose petty minimum has denied it a                    place! (Seriously, does @ircE think anybody would              actually find that onerous? These aren't                            children's accounts!)
Kent Reliance - you can't pay into it after 14 days, or at                              least that's what I thought as I read                                    this email (fuming!) so I didn't bother                                 reading any further. Looking at it                                         again though, it completely                                                    contradicts itself from the next                                            sentence! So, which is correct?

(OK, so I don't know how to do bullet points on Android ☺️)

Kent Reliance
However, the 4th paragraph above does state:-
Please note: Additional deposits can be made to notice and easy access accounts at any time.

Obviously I know that.
The question was, "which is correct?"

chris_the_bee

nottsphil said:

chris_the_bee said:

nottsphil said:

janusdesign said:

nottsphil said:

ircE said:

True EA accounts are easy access savings accounts which can be opened (and the headline interest rate earned) from £1 and allow for unlimited deposits and withdrawals. This excludes accounts that are limited to smaller balances, accounts with fees, and accounts only available via savings platforms. Instant True EA accounts are those True EA accounts which advertise immediate deposit and withdrawal times 24/7. Highlighted entries show changes since last time: blue for new entries to the respective table, and red for rate reductions.

cahoot and Hampshire Trust Bank return to the scorecard with their latest offerings. Newcastle BS makes a somewhat unusual debut with an account that matures in 6 months - just in time for Christmas.

A note on Chip/Chase: their battle continues more than what is shown on the scorecard, which only goes by what I see on moneyfacts for my selected filters. Chip is offering a 4.76% account with limited access to new customers, and Chase is offering selected existing customers a boosted rate of 4.80%. DYOR etc.

For those who care neither for Chip nor Chase, Chetwood provides the leading account for True EA accounts, and cahoot takes the lead for those who would like instant access.

The MPC announces its next decision next Thursday, 8th May.

My instant access money is earning 4.75% AER  but it doesn't qualify for the list as it contravenes two of the criteria, the reason I am looking for a second one. At the time you compiled it however, the Saffron Building Society was offering it's E-Saver at 4.5%, so was its exclusions solely because of its £10 minimum balance? 

it will be because of that - personally, I think those criteria are silly (no offence to irce) - but I guess if you want to have criteria, you have to draw the line somewhere... I wouldn't have chose there, but hey ho... the only use for me is to see which ones are considered "instant".

Does anyone know of any other accounts that would make this list but for a petty minimum balance requirement?

• Cahoot @ 5% is an option if you want to throw in a maximum of £3,000 - it only requires £1 to open, but would fail the above list because it has a "smaller balance".
• existing, and eligible, Chase users might be able to open a 4.8% boosted account for 6 months.
• Vida Savings (never used) is at 4.63% with a £10 opening... fails because it's not £1 to open.
• Kent Reliance is 4.5% if you have £1,000 to open it with (you might need to define what you think is a "petty" balance!) - you can drop the balance down to £1, but would then only receive a nominal interest rate.

Thanks, I'll go through these

Cahoot 5% - I already have one 
Chase - requires current account.
Vida - a gem whose petty minimum has denied it a                    place! (Seriously, does @ircE think anybody would              actually find that onerous? These aren't                            children's accounts!)
Kent Reliance - you can't pay into it after 14 days, or at                              least that's what I thought as I read                                    this email (fuming!) so I didn't bother                                 reading any further. Looking at it                                         again though, it completely                                                    contradicts itself from the next                                            sentence! So, which is correct?

(OK, so I don't know how to do bullet points on Android ☺️)

Kent Reliance
However, the 4th paragraph above does state:-
Please note: Additional deposits can be made to notice and easy access accounts at any time.

Obviously I know that.
The question was, "which is correct?"

Kent Reliance
If you have a notice or easy access account, then paragraph 4 applies and is correct. However, if you have any other type of account, then paragraph 3 applies and is correct.

Sherbertfizz

Anyone had issues with Oaknorth Bank?  I have tried several times today to close my 95 day notice account following a rate cut from 4.62 to 4.37.  Each time, I receive a message saying that my withdrawal didn't go through, without any explanation.  Have tried calling but can't get through. 

Sherbertfizz

Sherbertfizz said:

Anyone had issues with Oaknorth Bank?  I have tried several times today to close my 95 day notice account following a rate cut from 4.62 to 4.37.  Each time, I receive a message saying that my withdrawal didn't go through, without any explanation.  Have tried calling but can't get through. 

Update:  Finally got through to Oaknorth - there is a glitch in their system but they have agreed to raise the withdrawal manually. 

MichaelAP

Sherbertfizz said:

Anyone had issues with Oaknorth Bank?  I have tried several times today to close my 95 day notice account following a rate cut from 4.62 to 4.37.  Each time, I receive a message saying that my withdrawal didn't go through, without any explanation.  Have tried calling but can't get through. 

Not seeing a rate cut on my 95 day notice account. It’s still at 4.64% at the moment. This one’s on Issue 4.

ToastLady

Chase, quick off the mark as suspected.

https://www.chase.co.uk/gb/en/
Our saver interest rate is changing

Because the Bank of England has recently reduced its base rate, the standard Chase saver variable rate will change from 3.00% AER (2.96% gross) to 2.75% AER (2.72% gross), effective from 15 May 2025. 

So for those of us who got recent boost to 4.8% will be 4.55% from 15th May.

nottsphil

MichaelAP said:

Sherbertfizz said:

Anyone had issues with Oaknorth Bank?  I have tried several times today to close my 95 day notice account following a rate cut from 4.62 to 4.37.  Each time, I receive a message saying that my withdrawal didn't go through, without any explanation.  Have tried calling but can't get through. 

Not seeing a rate cut on my 95 day notice account. It’s still at 4.64% at the moment. This one’s on Issue 4.

This thread's not for notice accounts.

slinger2

MichaelAP said:

Sherbertfizz said:

Anyone had issues with Oaknorth Bank?  I have tried several times today to close my 95 day notice account following a rate cut from 4.62 to 4.37.  Each time, I receive a message saying that my withdrawal didn't go through, without any explanation.  Have tried calling but can't get through. 

Not seeing a rate cut on my 95 day notice account. It’s still at 4.64% at the moment. This one’s on Issue 4.

I assume that these are "95 day notice base rate tracker" accounts. The clue's in the name. Shouldn't come as any surprise that the saving rates are down 0.25%.