Best instant access savings atm?

Phirefly

Hello, I'm MSE regular but new to this board. I've read the relevant stickies, and ran a search but still unsure.

I've just become self employed and am looking for an instant access savings a/c. I've an initial deposit of £1k, will probably be depositing about 1K a month. I've maxed out my ISA for this year and was about to open an Icesave account until I saw they're dropping their rate this week. I need to be able to link it to my current and business accounts.

Whats my best bet for maximum returns please?

Apologies if this is a very irritating thread. I'm a veteran on the property board and I physically wince with pain whenever theres a really ignorant, obvious question asked... sorry if thats me now!

BenL

Is this account for business money or personal money?

From when I look around business savings/deposit accounts have lower interest rates than personal accounts.

I'm not self-employed or anything so don't really know but can you shift money from business to personal accounts and back again? Tax and all that?

sallysaver

Hi,
I think the 'star' account in Martin's email the other day mentioned the West Bromwich paying 6.55% on an instant access account. I'm off to double check now. Sally

sallysaver

Hi,
Yes the info I have just given you is correct. Account can only be operated by phone or branch, BUT you can fill the application form in online. By the way it is paying 6.55% and Martin has made it very clear THIS RATE HAS NOT DROPPED YET! - Sally

Phirefly

Its money saved from my self-employment earnings to be used for both re-investing in the business and I'll be also withdrawing for personal use. Fundamentally, its a place to stick my tax and student loan payments until HMRC come calling and any monies I earn over and above what I need to live off and run the business day-to-day. There is very little capital outlay in my business.

Thanks Sally, the West Bromwich account came out best for me on moneysupermarket too.

notis7

I am not that keen on leaving my money with small building societies....I know they offer better rates but I would rather have the comfort of having my money with a bigger traditional saver than ending up queueing for my money in case they go belly up. I have a guaranteed saver with the halifax. They have a guarantee to match the bank of england rate and are the best rate on the high street on an account with a card and branch access....you can't go wrong with that

Meltdown_2

Northern Rock were a relatively big bank - one of the largest outside the "big five".
It is more a question of how they are financially structured rather than simply their size which would determine whether they go belly up. Though I suppose we can expect that the biggies are more likely to be kept afloat by Gordon and his colleagues.

Liz_the_Whizz

notis7 wrote: »

I am not that keen on leaving my money with small building societies....I know they offer better rates but I would rather have the comfort of having my money with a bigger traditional saver than ending up queueing for my money in case they go belly up. I have a guaranteed saver with the halifax. They have a guarantee to match the bank of england rate and are the best rate on the high street on an account with a card and branch access....you can't go wrong with that

Are you sure? From the website, the guarantee is that the rate on the Guaranteed Saver will be no lower than 0.5% BELOW bank base rate till 2013 - not much of a promise, so you need to keep an eye on it just in case.

And at 5.25% gross, that is way way adrift of the top interest paying easy access accounts.

But where it could really go wrong is that the net interest after tax is only 4.2% - dangerously near the RPI inflation rate of 4%, which many people feel is understating rising costs at present. So the risk of erosion to your capital is very real.

A high price to pay for branch access?