Best savings rates 2024: banks that offer the best & worst deals


Updated on 20 August 2024 | 0 Comments

Studies find traditional names are paying lower interest rates than challenger banks.

Many traditional banks have still been paying savers meagre amounts of interest – despite warnings from MPs and regulators, according to research.

While popular high street names pay out less than 2% on instant access accounts, some challenger banks are offering almost 5%.

It means savers who don’t proactively review and switch accounts are being short-changed, according to Rachel Springall, spokesperson for Moneyfacts. 

“The convenience of leaving cash in an easy access account can mean missing out on higher interest rates elsewhere, so it is imperative savers ditch and switch to a better return,” she said.

Rate disparity during 2024

Prominent high street banks have been offering miserably low savings rates all year, according to research from Which?.

It found the disparity between their rates and those offered by challenger banks was the largest within instant access savings accounts. 

While major banks were averaging a mere 1.9% in January, newer rivals offered around 3.3%. Building societies, meanwhile, were averaging 2.9%.

By July 2024, major names such as Lloyds Bank, TSB and Barclays were all paying out less than 2%, while Cynergy Bank was offering 4.94%.

Which? also compared every provider's best instant access rate against one another every day between January and June. 

Over that period, most of the major banks ranked near the bottom: you can see the full breakdown of how they all fared in the table at the end of this article, including how long their top accounts were available for.

Leave closed easy-access accounts

The average closed easy access account rate has been lower than the live equivalent over the past two years, according to separate analysis by Moneyfacts.

That means savers who have moved their savings recently are enjoying more generous rates than loyal customers.

The research found the difference between the average closed rate and live rate on easy access accounts has widened from 0.08% in July 2022 to 0.31% in July 2024.

The average rate for an easy access account closed to new business is 2.82%, compared to the live easy access rate, which is 3.13%, pointed out Springall at Moneyfacts.

“Those with a balance of £10,000 could earn an additional £31 in interest over 12 months simply by switching, based on average rates, but they could be earning £500 a year if they have an account that pays 5%,” she added.

MP criticisms

The huge gap between providers exposed by the research comes despite criticism from MPs who wanted to know why rates were so much lower than the Bank of England’s base rate.

Last summer, Harriett Baldwin MP, Chair of the Treasury Committee, said: “With the Bank of England confirming the pass through of base rate increases to easy access savings accounts has been unusually weak, it’s clearer than ever that the nation’s biggest banks need to up their game and encourage saving.”

Baldwin also argued that the “measly easy access rates” on offer led MPs to conclude that loyal customers are being squeezed to bolster bank profit margins.

“We remain concerned that the loyalty penalty is especially prominent for elderly and vulnerable customers who may still rely on high street bank branches,” she added.

Ranked: instant access savings between January and June 

Provider Average rank between January & June Days account was available over that period 
Ulster Bank 1 19
Cynergy Bank 2.3 155
Close Brothers Savings 2.6 115
Charter Savings Bank 3.6 148
Kent Reliance 3.7 146
Leeds BS 5.2 155
Hampshire Trust Bank 6.9 120
Harpenden BS 8 155
Oxbury Bank 9.7 155
Wealthify 10.3 111
Saffron BS 11.3 155
Shawbrook Bank 11.3 155
Yorkshire Building Society 11.3 155
Secure Trust Bank 11.3 139
Tesco Bank 12.9 155
Post Office Money 13.7 155
QIB (UK) 14.4 31
RCI Bank UK 14.6 155
Marcus by Goldman Sachs 18.2 155
SAGA 18.2 155
UBL UK 19.4 155
Ford Money 20.3 155
Kroo Bank Ltd 20.6 155
Investec Bank plc 21.6 155
Family Building Society 23.1 155
Brown Shipley 23.5 155
LHV Bank 24.5 155
Tandem Bank 24.5 155
GB Bank 27.7 155
Aldermore 28.7 155
Teachers BS 28.7 155
cahoot 28.8 155
Furness BS 28.8 155
Plum 29.2 155
Sainsbury's Bank 30.8 155
Zopa 32 155
OakNorth Bank 34.5 155
Dudley BS 34.6 155
iFAST Global Bank 34.6 155
Atom Bank 36.4 155
Al Rayan Bank 37.4 155
Penrith BS 37.6 155
Bath BS 39 6
Marsden BS 39.7 155
Scottish BS 39.7 155
Skipton BS 41.7 155
National Savings & Investments 43.7 155
JN Bank 43.8 93
Monmouthshire BS 45.8 155
Principality BS 45.8 155
Ecology Building Society 47.7 155
Coventry BS 47.8 155
Newbury BS 48.8 155
The Stafford BS 49.5 95
Stafford Railway BS 50.3 60
Beverley BS 51.4 155
Triodos Bank 51.4 155
Newcastle BS 53.4 155
Cambridge BS 54.4 155
Tipton & Coseley BS 54.4 155
Beehive Money 55.7 129
Leek Building Society 56.4 155
Progressive BS 56.7 62
West Brom BS 57.4 155
Buckinghamshire BS 58.8 155
ICICI Bank UK 58.8 155
Paragon Bank 59.6 155
Danske Bank 60.9 155
Nottingham BS 60.9 155
Chorley Building Society 63.7 155
Hinckley & Rugby BS 64.7 155
Nationwide BS 65.7 155
AIB (NI) 67 116
Allied Irish Bank (GB) 67.3 155
Earl Shilton BS 67.5 155
Metro Bank 67.5 155
AIB 68.4 39
Darlington BS 69.3 155
Reliance Bank 70.3 155
Loughborough BS 72.1 155
Market Harborough BS 72.1 155
Virgin Money 72.1 155
AA 72.2 71
HSBC 76.1 155
M&S Bank 76.1 155
Hanley Economic BS 78.1 155
State Bank of India 78.1 155
smile 80.1 155
The Co-operative Bank 80.1 155
Bank of Ireland UK 80.7 155
Santander 82.1 155
Barclays Bank 84 155
Bank of Scotland 85.7 155
Halifax 85.7 155
Melton BS 85.7 155
TSB 85.7 155
Lloyds Bank 89.7 155
Union Bank of India (UK) Ltd 90.7 155
Punjab National Bank (International) Limited 91.7 155
Source: Which?

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