Free and unlimited withdrawals are permitted, however, if the account falls below the minimum balance of £25,000, a variable rate of 0.05 percent AER will be applied until the account returns to the minimum balance.
Placing fourth is Sainsbury’s Bank’s Defined Access Saver (Issue 37) with an AER of 2.87 percent.
The account can be opened with just £1 and interest is paid on the anniversary at a tiered rate depending on the balance. A 1.05 percent rate is applied to balances up to £999, while 2.87 percent is applied to figures between £1,000 and £500,000. A 0.9 percent rate is applied to any balance over this.
If more than three withdrawals are made in a 12-month period, the interest rate will reduce to 0.8 percent until the 12-month period has ended.
Zopa bank’s Smart Saver places fifth with an AER of 2.86 percent and offers slightly more flexibility to account holders.
There is no minimum deposit requirement and interest can be paid away or compounded, and savers can open an account using the Zopa app. Withdrawals are permitted without any penalties and up to £85,000 can be invested.
Ranking sixth is Coventry BS’ Limited Access Saver (Online) (7) with an AER of 2.85 percent.
This account can be opened with a minimum of £1 and up to £250,000 can be invested. Interest is calculated daily and paid annually on the anniversary of the date the account opened or monthly, at the end of the last day of each month.
However, being a limited access account, account holders are only allowed to withdraw money up to six times a year without having to pay a charge. From the seventh withdrawal onwards (which can include closure), a charge equivalent to 50 days’ interest will be applied based on the amount being withdrawn.
Paragon Bank’s Triple Access Account (Issue 11) places seventh with an AER of 2.85 percent.
The account can be opened with £1, interest is paid on the anniversary, and up to three withdrawals are permitted without facing a penalty. If four or more withdrawals take place, interest will drop to 0.75 percent until the day before the anniversary of the account holder’s opening deposit.
Al Rayan Bank’s Everyday Saver (Issue 3) places eighth with an AER of 2.81 percent.
A minimum of £5,000 must be deposited to open this account and interest is calculated and credited to the account on the last day of every month. People can make unlimited withdrawals free of charge, and up to £1million can be invested overall.
In ninth place is Monmouthshire BS’ Escalator Instant (Issue 3) with an AER of 2.8 percent.
