How to switch your easy-access savings.
Someone earning materially less than the higher-rate end of the easy-accessEasy-access savingsCash savings you can withdraw any time without notice or penalty. Rates are usually variable. Trades flexibility for slightly lower rates than fixed-term equivalents. market on cash savings. What follows is illustrative — the sequence a typical switch goes through, and the parts the receiving provider handles for you.
The typical sequence.
- 01
Open the new account online. Most providers take around 10 minutes.
- 02
Move the balance across via online banking (Faster PaymentsFaster PaymentsThe standard UK bank-to-bank transfer service. Instant or near-instant, free for the user, supported by every major UK current account. — instant).
- 03
Close or empty the old account once the new balance has cleared.
Gotchas.
- !FSCSFinancial Services Compensation SchemeUK government-backed protection if a firm fails. Cash deposits at an authorised bank or building society are covered up to £120,000 per person, per banking group (raised from £85,000 on 1 December 2025). Investments at an authorised platform are covered up to £85,000 — a separate scheme. NS&I sits outside FSCS with 100% HM Treasury backing. deposit cover is £120k per banking group (raised from £85k on 1 Dec 2025). Above that, splitting across providers keeps the cover intact.
- !Some headline rates are introductory bonus ratesBonus / introductory rateA short-term boost on top of the standard savings rate (typically 12 months for new customers). When the bonus expires the rate drops to the standard one — always check what it drops to.. The post-bonus standard rate is the one to compare against.
- !Trading 212 doesn’t charge a platform feePlatform feeWhat an investment platform (Vanguard, HL, AJ Bell, Trading 212, etc.) charges for holding your investments. Quoted as a % of balance or a flat £/year. Sits on top of the fund's own fees (the OCF). but earns from a small FX spread (~0.15%) and securities lending. Doesn’t affect cash savings rates, but worth knowing if the same provider is also used for an S&S ISA.
Who Feefee compares.
- Chase UK (current account)2.25% AERAnnual Equivalent RateA standardised way to express savings interest, accounting for compounding. Lets you compare rates fairly across providers.
Current account pays 0% — Chase stopped paying current-account interest on 5 August 2024. 2% cashback on debit-card spending in selected categories (groceries, restaurants and similar), capped at £20/month. Saver pot pays 2.25% AER standard, with a 4.50% AER boost for the first 12 months on new sign-ups. The 4.50% headline is a promo — comparison should lead with the 2.25% standard rate.
- Trading 2123.60% AERAnnual Equivalent RateA standardised way to express savings interest, accounting for compounding. Lets you compare rates fairly across providers.
Free S&S ISA — no platform, dealing or custody fee. Pays 3.8% on uninvested GBP cash (via QMMF — Qualifying Money Market Fund, NOT FSCS-protected as cash). Cash ISA standard 3.60% AER (BoE base − 0.15%); 12-month new-customer promo at 4.51% drops to standard after. SIPP now generally available and free of platform, custody and dealing fees (Trading 212 operates the pension itself since its Feb 2026 FCA authorisation — no operator/trustee fee); 0.15% FX applies on non-GBP trades. "Free" is funded by four less-visible levers: (1) 0.15% FX fee + an undisclosed FX spread on every non-GBP trade, (2) securities-lending revenue (~50/50 split with you, opt-out in settings), (3) net interest margin on uninvested QMMF cash (you get the QMMF yield; Trading 212 keeps the spread between underlying and what's passed on), and (4) CFD bid/ask spreads + overnight financing on the CFD side of the business — which is where most of Trading 212's £277m+ 2025 revenue actually came from. UK best-execution rules block a discretionary mark-up on Invest/ISA share trades, but execution quality is a real, hard-to-audit lever. Trading 212 publicly states no PFOF.
- Chip3.20% AERAnnual Equivalent RateA standardised way to express savings interest, accounting for compounding. Lets you compare rates fairly across providers.
App-only, smooth UX, FSCS protected. Smart Cash ISA (successor product — the original Chip Cash ISA is closed to new customers): 3.75% AER standard, tracking BoE base − 0.06% gross, provided via Chip Financial (Investments) Ltd. New customers can get 4.55% incl. the 12-month 0.80% boost. Easy-access 3.20% standard.
- Plum2.54% AERAnnual Equivalent RateA standardised way to express savings interest, accounting for compounding. Lets you compare rates fairly across providers.
Free Cash ISA tier: 2.54% standard (4.31% incl. 12-month bonus). Transfer-in promo rate 4.20% also boosted. S&S requires Plus subscription.
- Marcus by Goldman Sachs3.24% AERAnnual Equivalent RateA standardised way to express savings interest, accounting for compounding. Lets you compare rates fairly across providers.
Goldman-backed, no app required, web-only. 3.24% standard (3.75% incl. 12-month bonus).
- Santander (savings)2.00% AERAnnual Equivalent RateA standardised way to express savings interest, accounting for compounding. Lets you compare rates fairly across providers.
Easy Access ISA 2.00% AER (variable, 12-month issue). Easy Access Saver (Issue 31) 2.00% AER — also a 12-month issue, then converts to the lower-rate Everyday Saver.
- Lloyds Bank (savings)1.25% AERAnnual Equivalent RateA standardised way to express savings interest, accounting for compounding. Lets you compare rates fairly across providers.
Branch-network bank — Cash ISA Saver 0.75% AER (£1–£24,999, 0.90% £25k+). Easy Saver 1.10–1.40% tiered. Substantial gap to challenger rates. FSCS deposit cover (£120,000 per eligible person from 1 Dec 2025) is SHARED with Halifax, Bank of Scotland and BM Savings — all on the Lloyds Banking Group authorisation. Don't double up across these brands expecting separate cover.
- Halifax (savings)1.00% AERAnnual Equivalent RateA standardised way to express savings interest, accounting for compounding. Lets you compare rates fairly across providers.
Branch-network bank. ISA Saver Variable 1.05–1.20% tiered. Everyday Saver up to 1.00%. ISA Reward Bonus Saver 2.75% available as a higher tier. FSCS deposit cover (£120,000 per eligible person from 1 Dec 2025) SHARED with Lloyds / Bank of Scotland / BM Savings (same Lloyds Banking Group licence).
- Barclays (savings)1.00% AERAnnual Equivalent RateA standardised way to express savings interest, accounting for compounding. Lets you compare rates fairly across providers.
Branch-network bank — Instant Cash ISA and Everyday Saver both 1.00% AER from 11 March 2026.
- NatWest (savings)1.35% AERAnnual Equivalent RateA standardised way to express savings interest, accounting for compounding. Lets you compare rates fairly across providers.
Branch-network bank. Instant Access Cash ISA 1.15% (entry), 2.45% £25k+. Flexible Saver 1.35% mid-tier.
- HSBC UK (savings)1.05% AERAnnual Equivalent RateA standardised way to express savings interest, accounting for compounding. Lets you compare rates fairly across providers.
Loyalty Cash ISA 2.50% (Premier 3.00%). Online Bonus Saver 1.05% AER standard (3.35% incl. no-withdrawal bonus — lost in any month a withdrawal is made).
- Monzo (savings pot)2.75% AERAnnual Equivalent RateA standardised way to express savings interest, accounting for compounding. Lets you compare rates fairly across providers.
Free Instant Access pot 2.75% AER; Perks subscription unlocks 3.25%.
- Kroo2.65% AERAnnual Equivalent RateA standardised way to express savings interest, accounting for compounding. Lets you compare rates fairly across providers.
Challenger bank, BoE base − 1.10% tracker — currently 2.65% AER on the current account directly.
- Zopa Bank2.95% AERAnnual Equivalent RateA standardised way to express savings interest, accounting for compounding. Lets you compare rates fairly across providers.
App-only challenger bank. Cash ISA Access pots 3.25% AER standard; a 1-year Fixed Term ISA pays up to 4.50%. Easy-access Access pots 2.95% AER; notice pots pay 3.08–3.55%. Regular Saver promo 7.1% AER for 6 months, capped at £300/month deposit, and requires a Zopa Biscuit current account. Fixed-rate 1-year 4.55%. FSCS protected.
- Atom Bank2.00% AERAnnual Equivalent RateA standardised way to express savings interest, accounting for compounding. Lets you compare rates fairly across providers.
App-only digital challenger. Instant Saver Reward 2.00% AER withdrawal rate (3.49% reward rate in months with no withdrawal — the drop applies only to the monthly interest period in which you withdraw). Fixed Saver 1-year 4.55%, 2-year 4.68%. Cash ISA 4.25% AER (unlimited access, not flexible). FSCS deposit cover £120k (from 1 Dec 2025).
- Tandem Bank3.15% AERAnnual Equivalent RateA standardised way to express savings interest, accounting for compounding. Lets you compare rates fairly across providers.
Digital-first 'green' bank — savings money funds green mortgages and home-improvement loans. Instant Access 3.15% AER standard (3.40% incl. 12-month top-up, until 3 Sep 2026). Cash ISA 3.75% standard (4.00% incl. 12-month top-up). Fixed-rate 1-year 4.60%. FSCS deposit cover £120k (from 1 Dec 2025).
- Cynergy Bank2.15% AERAnnual Equivalent RateA standardised way to express savings interest, accounting for compounding. Lets you compare rates fairly across providers.
Online-only bank. Online Easy Access 2.15% AER standard (4.15% incl. 2.00% bonus for the first 12 months). Online ISA 4.15% AER. Fixed-rate 1-year 4.35% (min £1,000). FSCS deposit cover £120k (from 1 Dec 2025).
- OakNorth Bank3.50% AERAnnual Equivalent RateA standardised way to express savings interest, accounting for compounding. Lets you compare rates fairly across providers.
App-only challenger. Easy Access Tracker 3.50% (tracks Bank of England base rate minus 0.25 percentage points), Cash ISA 2.75%, Fixed 12-month 4.50% (24-month 4.55%). FSCS-protected.
- Charter Savings Bank4.21% AERAnnual Equivalent RateA standardised way to express savings interest, accounting for compounding. Lets you compare rates fairly across providers.
Online savings specialist (part of Charter Court). Consistently among the higher easy-access rates Feefee tracks. Easy Access 4.21%, Cash ISA 4.23%, Fixed 1-year 4.71%. FSCS-protected.
- Hampshire Trust Bank4.18% AERAnnual Equivalent RateA standardised way to express savings interest, accounting for compounding. Lets you compare rates fairly across providers.
Specialist savings bank (no current account). Easy Access 4.18%, Fixed 1-year 4.36%. Now also sells Cash ISAs (up to 4.55% AER headline — not yet tracked here). FSCS-protected.
- Aldermore Bank3.75% AERAnnual Equivalent RateA standardised way to express savings interest, accounting for compounding. Lets you compare rates fairly across providers.
Specialist savings & lending challenger. Double Access Saver 3.75% (drops to 1.50% from the third withdrawal until the account anniversary), Cash ISA 4.20%, Fixed-rate 1-year 4.44%. FSCS-protected.
- Coventry Building Society2.00% AERAnnual Equivalent RateA standardised way to express savings interest, accounting for compounding. Lets you compare rates fairly across providers.
Mainstream high-street building society. Easy Access Saver (8) 2.00% with unlimited access (the withdrawal-capped 5 Access Saver pays 3.50%), Easy Access ISA (12) 2.00% (the limited-access 4 Access ISA pays 4.25%), Regular Saver 4.00% (£500/month, 12-month term). The Triple Access Saver was withdrawn from sale. FSCS-protected.
- Nationwide2.30% AERAnnual Equivalent RateA standardised way to express savings interest, accounting for compounding. Lets you compare rates fairly across providers.
Largest UK building society. Members benefit from a 6.50% AER Flex Regular Saver (£200/mo, 12-month term). Triple Access ISA 3.30% (drops to 1.05% after a fourth withdrawal in the year). Flex Instant Saver 2.30% — requires a Nationwide current account. FSCS-protected.
- Moneybox2.40% AERAnnual Equivalent RateA standardised way to express savings interest, accounting for compounding. Lets you compare rates fairly across providers.
App-first, friendly UX. ISA/LISA 0.45% + £1/month (waived with £5k+ in Cash ISA/Simple Saver; first 3 months of the subscription free for new customers). SIPP: Moneybox Funds 0.15%/year capped at £150/yr; other funds 0.45% to £100k, 0.15% above, no subscription. Simple Saver 2.40% AER underlying (3.40% with the conditional reward). Expensive on small invested pots; cheaper on larger SIPPs.
- Other / not listed—
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