Following the base rate rise last week, which saw the Bank of England increase it to 0.75%, savers may be hoping their bank passes on the full amount, giving them some more interest. However, with 65% of easy access accounts still paying less than base rate, they may want to think again.
Base rate turmoil
"As many providers continue to keep their cards close to their chests, savers may assume that they will benefit from last week's Bank of England base rate rise within the next few weeks by default, but as we have seen before, this is not guaranteed," Rachel Springall, finance expert at Moneyfacts.co.uk, said. Indeed, the last base rate rise in November 2017 saw most providers take a month before passing on the 0.25% increase, with not all accounts seeing this improvement.
At the same time, most of the big brands did pass on the full rise when it came to the standard variable mortgage rates, giving homeowners a potential double whammy of no increased savings interest but a rise in mortgage repayments. Whether this pattern will repeat itself now remains to be seen, but savers may not want to depend on their current provider to get the best rate.
Easy access considerations
This is especially the case for those who have an easy access account with one of the bigger brands, as the high street's top rates are a lot less impressive than the overall top rates. This is illustrated in the tables below, which compare the current top-paying easy access deals to the high street's latest offering.
Best Buy easy access deals
| Provider |
Account |
Gross rate at £10k |
| Coventry BS |
Limited Access Saver |
1.40% |
| Birmingham Midshires |
BM Internet Saver |
1.35% |
| Tesco Bank |
Internet Saver |
1.34% |
| Bank of Cyprus UK |
Online Easy Access Account - Issue 15 |
1.34% |
| Paragon Bank |
Limited Edition Easy Access (Issue 6) |
1.31% |
| Shawbrook Bank |
Easy Access - Issue 12 |
1.30% |
| Virgin Money |
Double Take E-Saver Issue 6 |
1.30% |
| Sainsbury's Bank |
Defined Access Saver - Issue 5 |
1.30% |
| Virgin Money |
Man Utd Double Take E-Saver Issue 1 |
1.30% |
| RCI Bank UK |
Freedom Savings Account |
1.30% |
Source: Moneyfacts.co.uk
High street bank easy access account selection
| Provider |
Account |
Gross rate at £10k |
| Bank of Scotland |
Access Saver |
0.20% |
| Barclays Bank |
Everyday Saver |
0.20% |
| Halifax |
Everyday Saver |
0.20% |
| HSBC |
Online Bonus Saver (no withdrawals) |
0.45% |
| Lloyds Bank |
Easy Saver (new customers) |
0.20% |
| NatWest |
Instant Saver Account |
0.10% |
| RBS |
Instant Saver Account |
0.20% |
| Santander |
Everyday Saver |
0.25% |
| TSB |
Easy Saver |
0.40% |
Source: Moneyfacts.co.uk
"At the start of 2018, the top 10 easy access rates returned 1.24%, but today the top 10 return 1.32% on average," explained Rachel. "In contrast, the market average sits at just 0.53%. With this in mind, savers will clearly earn much more interest by switching to one of the Best Buys than leaving their cash languishing in a poor easy access account, as their convenience or loyalty costs."
What next?
With this in mind, why not have a look at the easy access Best Buy charts – divided for your convenience into those that come with a bonus and those that do without. Regardless of where you currently bank, recent positive activity among challenger brands means you may very well find a better rate for your emergency pot.
