Best savings accounts today from easy access to ISAs paying interest up to 6.2% | Personal Finance | Finance

Following the 14 consecutive Base Rate hikes, high street banks and building societies have been increasing interest rates to offer savers better returns – and some are paying more than six percent.

There are a number of different savings accounts suitable for a variety of circumstances – from easy access to cash ISAS – and savings expert Lucinda O’Brien has pulled together some of the top rates on offer today.

Money.co.uk’s Ms O’Brien said: “Interest rates on savings accounts appear to be stalling, but there are still some providers offering around six percent for fixed-rate accounts.

“For example, Ford Money is offering 6.05 percent for its two-year fixed-rate bond, so this is worth exploring if you wish to lock your money away for this set period of time.”

Ms O’Brien added: “Unfortunately, it is not the case that the longer fixed-term, the higher the interest rate, but it’s worth weighing up if it’s better to lock in a competitive interest rate now if you think rates could be considerably lower in a few years. For example, you could benefit from 5.85 percent for five years with Tandem’s fixed saver.”

Here are the top rate easy access, fixed rate and cash ISA accounts on offer today.

Easy access savings accounts

Easy access accounts are typically more flexible, as these allow savers to make payments and withdrawals with minimal restrictions and with small opening deposit requirements.

Topping the leaderboard of easy access savings accounts offering the highest interest rate is Oxbury Bank’s Personal Easy Access Saver (Issue 1) with an Annual Equivalent Rate (AER) of 4.94 percent.

The account can be opened with a minimum deposit of £1,000 and interest can be paid monthly. Up to £500,000 can be invested and unlimited withdrawals are permitted.

Shawbrook Bank’s Easy Access (Issue 36) places just behind with an AER of 4.93 percent. The account can also be opened with a minimum deposit of £1,000 and interest is paid on the anniversary. Up to £85,000 can be invested and withdrawals can be made at any time without notice.

Cahoot, which is a division of Santander, is offering an AER of 4.9 percent on its Simple Saver account, and savers can get started with just £1. Interest can be paid annually or monthly, up to £2million can be invested, and withdrawals are also permitted at any time.

Fixed rate savings accounts

Fixed-rate accounts add another level of certainty to savings, as these accounts enable savers to lock in an interest rate for a set length of time.

NS&I’s Guaranteed Growth Bond (Issue 72) is currently topping the list for one year fixed savers with an AER of 6.2 percent and interest can be paid monthly or annually. The account can be opened with a minimum deposit of £500 and up to £1million can be invested overall. Withdrawals are not permitted until the end of the term.

Topping Ms O’Brien’s list for two year savers is Ford Money with an AER of 6.05 percent. The account can be opened with £500 and up to £2million can be invested. Interest is paid on the anniversary and withdrawals are not permitted.

For longer-term savers, Tandem Bank is topping the list for five-year bonds with an AER of 5.85 percent. The account can be opened with just £1 and up to £2.5million can be invested. Interest is paid annually and withdrawals, similar to the other accounts, are not allowed until the term ends.

Cash ISAs

Cash ISAs enable savers’ money to grow without having to pay tax on the interest above the Personal Savings Allowance (PSA). However, some ISAs can come with a few more restrictions, like penalty charges for early access or transfers.

For those who need instant access to their cash ISA, Shawbrook Bank’s Easy Access Cash ISA (Issue 25) tops the list with an AER of 4.43 percent. The account can be opened with a minimum deposit of £1,000 and withdrawals can be made at any time.

For those looking for a fixed rate, Shawbrook Bank, Charter Savings Bank and Zopa are topping the lists for one, two and three-year accounts.

Shawbrook’s one-year fixed ISA offers an AER of 5.78 percent, while Charter Savings and Zopa offer AERs of 5.57 percent anf 5.56 percent respectively.