Why are savings rates on the rise?
Savings rates tend to move in tandem with the Bank of England base rate and, with speculation mounting that the Bank of England (BoE) is set to raise its base rate from its historic low of 0.1% earlier than initially planned, competition is beginning to heat up as providers vie to offer the best rates on the market. You can find out more about the BoE’s interest rate decisions in our regularly updated article “When will interest rates rise (or in fact be cut)? – Latest predictions”.
In recent weeks, there have been significant increases in savings rates across the board, with Investec pushing its online flexi saver from 0.45% to 0.58%, Skipton Building Society taking its easy access rate up to 0.6%, and Saffron Building Society surging into the lead with a 1.75% rate on its regular savings account. Most of these accounts had been sitting firmly between 0.4% to 0.5% for most of 2021 since falling from 1% last summer.
According to Moneyfacts, the average easy access savings account pays just 0.18% interest, with some of the largest high street banks currently offering a meagre 0.01%. Savers could get ahead of the market and make their money go much farther if they consider moving their funds into some of the higher-paying accounts, rather than relying on the convenience of a savings account from their current account provider. Shopping around could earn you more than 5 times more interest.
To help you choose, below we have listed the best regular, easy access and variable cash ISA accounts on the market so you can put your money where it will go farthest. You can also check out our savings best buy tables, updated weekly, for the very best deals on a range of savings and bond accounts.
The best regular savings accounts
Here are the 3 regular savings accounts currently paying the best interest rates. For a full list, see our regularly updated Regular Savings Account Best Buy table.
The best easy access savings accounts
Here are the 3 easy access savings accounts currently paying the best interest rates. For a full list, see our regularly updated Easy Access Best Buy table.
Cynergy Bank - Online Easy Access Account (Issue 14): 0.60%
The best variable rate cash ISAs
Here are the 3 variable rate cash ISAs currently paying the best interest rates. For a full list, see our regularly updated Variable Cash ISA Best Buy table.
Cynergy Bank - Online ISA (Issue 14): 0.54%