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MONEYFACTS ARCHIVE. This article was correct at the time of publication. It is now over 6 months old so the content may be out of date.
Savers who jumped onboard with Marcus by Goldman Sachs 12 months ago need to act now if they want to keep earning the best possible interest rate on their account.
Marcus by Goldman Sachs burst onto the easy access savings market a year ago, offering a chart-topping 1.50% that included a 0.10% bonus for the first 12 months. Consumers who invested are now facing the prospect of this interest rate dropping to 1.35% – however, there is an easy way to ensure that you will benefit from a higher rate.
Making sure that you regain your 0.10% bonus is easy. Log in to your Marcus account and select ‘View’ followed by ‘Review your savings’. Finally, click on ‘Renew your bonus’ and that’s it: you’ll again be enjoying an extra 0.10 % on top of the standard rate of 1.35%, resulting in an interest rate of 1.45%.
Marcus is a variable rate easy access savings account, so the interest rate you can earn can go down as well as up (as evidenced by its drop earlier this year from 1.50% to 1.45%). However, the bonus of 0.10% is fixed. Therefore, providing you renew your bonus, you can be sure that you’ll be earning an extra 0.10% on top of the whatever variable rate is being offered by Marcus.
While Marcus by Goldman Sachs 12 months ago was the flagship rate in the easy access market, it now sits alongside Cynergy Bank and Virgin Money with the top rate of 1.45%. However, Cynergy Bank’s Online Easy Access Account – Issue 25 comes with a higher fixed bonus of 0.70% compared to Marcus at 0.10%, while Virgin Money’s Double Take E-Saver Issue 12 and Man Utd Double Take E-Saver Issue 7 accounts do not include a bonus.
No-one at the time of writing is offering a higher rate with the benefit of no-notice withdrawals. Of course, you can benefit from a higher rate if you opt for more restricted access. Currently, a one-year fixed rate bond from the sharia-compliant Al Rayan Bank offers 2.07% in expected profit, while the Bank of London and the Middle East is only slightly behind the bank with a 12-month bond offering an expected profit rate of 2.00%. However, both products do not permit withdrawals or further additions after the initial deposit.
If you are thinking of moving your savings, Moneyfacts.co.uk’s comparison charts provide a whole of market view. Take a look now to see the top savings accounts and ISAs currently available.
Information is correct as of the date of publication (shown at the top of this article). Any products featured may be withdrawn by their provider or changed at any time.
