New Poppy Savings Bond launched: is it a good home for your savings?
You can keep your money safe and help a good cause all at the same time.
Coventry Building Society has launched this year's Poppy Savings Bond, offering a rate of 2.35% fixed for three years.
The selling point of the Poppy Bond, which is launched for a limited period each November, is that Coventry will make a donation to the Royal British Legion based on your deposit size. This year, 0.15% of your total balance will be donated, so if you put £2,000 into the Poppy Bond, Coventry will donate £3 on your behalf. Since 2008 Coventry Building Society has donated £12 million to the charity through the Poppy Savings Bond.
All you need is £1 to open the account, and it can be managed by phone, by post or online.
Be warned, the Poppy Bond probably won't be around for long; it was withdrawn after just 13 days last year, according to Moneyfacts.
How does it compare to the competition?
Let’s have a look at the top three-year bonds on the market right now:
|
Account |
Interest rate (AER) |
Minimum deposit |
Account access |
|
Al Rayan Bank |
2.73%* |
£1,000 |
Online, in-branch, post, online |
|
2.70% |
£1,000 |
Online |
|
|
Milestone Savings |
2.65% |
£10,000 |
Online |
|
Charter Savings Bank |
2.55% |
£1,000 |
Online |
|
Shawbrook Bank |
2.55% |
£5,000 |
Online, post |
|
National Counties Building Society |
2.51% |
£10,000 |
Online, in-branch, post, phone |
|
UBL |
2.50% |
£2,000 |
In-branch, post |
|
Bank of Cyprus UK |
2.46% |
£10,000 |
Online, in-branch, post, phone |
|
Hampshire Trust Bank |
2.45% |
£1,000 |
Post |
|
Close Brother Savings |
2.45% |
£10,000 |
Online, post |
*Expected profit rate
As you can see, there a host of rival savings bonds offer a higher interest rate. So while opening a Poppy Bond may count as a good deed, it will cost you a few pounds compared to opening an account with one of the providers above.
For more great savings rates, check out The best fixed-rate savings accounts.
Better off with a bank account
If you only have a small savings balance, you’d still get more interest out of a leading current account. For example, the Nationwide FlexDirect Account offers 5% interest on balances up to £2,500 for the first year, dropping to 1% thereafter. Similarly, the TSB Classic Plus Account gives you 5% on balances up to £2,000. What's more, that rate won't drop after 12 months.
Check out more top current accounts with loveMONEY
Make the most of your savings:
FSCS cover: which banks are connected?
Where to earn most interest on your cash
Comments
Be the first to comment
Do you want to comment on this article? You need to be signed in for this feature