Martin Lewis has urged all bank account holders to consider switching due to the changing easy-access rates in different parts of the Britain. The renowned broadcaster for BBC Sounds and ITV underscored the significance of getting the best possible bank account rate.
Posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, the money-saving expert said: “The top easy-access savings now beat fixes. Check what yours pay, you can still get 5 percent.”
He shed light on the current financial landscape in his weekly newsletter, saying: “What’s happening to savings is a mirror of mortgages, except here higher rates are good, lower bad. The rate you can fix at has dropped, as they’re based on longer-term interest-rate predictions, while the top paying variable (easy-access) rates haven’t, as they’re based on the UK base rate, which the Bank of England held last week.”
“So while normally you tend to get better rewarded for locking money away in a fix, right now you don’t. The market consensus is the UK base rate will be cut in November, so easy-access rates are likely to drop 0.25 percentage points then, but that’d still leave the best of them on par with current fixes, so it’s looking good, especially if you want access to your cash.
“Though the benefit of fixing is long-term rate surety, so if you want to ensure a certain rate, and not risk big future drops, fixing and fixing longer does that (and as fixed rates may creep down a touch over the coming months, sooner is likely safer). For everyone though, the key rule is there are HUGE variances between the best and the bog-standard rates in each category, so check what you earn, and ditch and switch if you can.”
The MSE guide showcases the leading options available as Chip at 5 percent, Oxbury yielding 4.87 percent, followed closely by OakNorth Bank with 4.82 percent, and Monument offering rates at 4.81 percent, reports Cambridgeshire Live. Chip offers flexibility with no minimum deposit and the ease of opening via an app, Oxbury presents an online option requiring a substantial deposit starting from £25,000 up to £500,000.
For those interested in OakNorth, there’s a threshold of £20,000 to start, while Monument entails a starting point of £25,000.
“There are far more options in top savings, including top big-name savings, plus higher rates if you have (or open) the right current account,” added by Mr Lewis.