Banking apps with savings pots

Want to get better at budgeting? Find out how a savings pot could help.

Thanks to the rise of challenger banks, an increasing number of banking apps now offer ‘savings pots’ to help you to get into the savings habit. These pots can be ideal for saving for particular goals and help you set aside money to pay bills and other expenses.

How do savings pots work?

Savings pots typically sit alongside a current account (sometimes a savings account) with that particular provider.

In many cases you can open more than one savings pot and can give your savings pots separate names so you can distinguish between them. You can then set aside money for different goals. For example, you might have one savings pot for holiday savings, another for building a house deposit, and another for emergency funds.

This helps you to have a clearer idea of what you’re saving for and how soon you’ll reach your goal.

Many of these banking apps also offer spending insights to make it easier for you to work out how much you can set aside each month.

Banking apps that offer savings pots

Monzo Free Account

Monzo Free Account

Finder Score 4.6★★★★★

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Minimum opening balance£0
Account fees£0
Interest (AER)0% AER

Open an account with Monzo and you'll be able to open multiple savings pots that are kept separate from your main account balance. You can choose a different name and image for each of your savings pots and you'll also earn interest on the money you're saving. You can even lock a savings pot to stop you from dipping into it for a set period of time.

Monzo uses data to work out your monthly essential spending, which makes it easier for you to know how much you can afford to set aside - you can set up automatic transfers to make your life even easier. Plus, thanks to the Monzo Roundups feature, whenever you spend more than £1, this is rounded up to the nearest pound and the difference transferred to your savings pot. Your savings are protected up to £85,000 under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

Representative example: If you use an arranged overdraft of £1,200, you'll be charged interest at 39% EAR variable.

Starling Current Account - Age 18 and over

Starling Current Account - Age 18 and over

Finder Score 4.7★★★★★

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Minimum opening balance£0
Account fees£0
Interest (AER)3.25% AER

If you bank with Starling, you can choose to open separate savings pots, called Spaces. These Spaces sit alongside your bank account, so you can easily transfer cash into it as and when you're able to. You can name your different Spaces and select a suitable image for each of your savings goals.

Starling also offers a Round Ups feature which rounds up your spending to the nearest £1 and transfers the difference to your chosen Space. At the moment, you can earn interest on your Starling Spaces and current account balance up to £5,000. However, this will change from 10 February 2025, when the interest rate will be removed. Money held with Starling is protected up to £85,000 under the FSCS.

Representative example: If you use an arranged overdraft of £1,200, you'll be charged interest at 15% EAR variable.

Revolut Standard Account

Revolut Standard Account

Finder Score 4.3★★★★★

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Minimum opening balance£0
Account fees£0
Interest (AER)0% AER
Get a £20 welcome bonus when you spend your first £20 (T&Cs apply).

Revolut's savings pots are called 'Pockets'. They are linked to your main Revolut account and you can select a name and image for each Pocket to match your savings goal. You'll be able to set up one-time or recurring transfers into your Pockets from your main account - these can even be in different currencies. What's more, you have the option of setting up Group Pockets that can help you to save with friends and family for a common goal, such as a holiday.

Like many of its competitors, Revolut also offers a round-ups feature that lets you transfer the spare change from your spending into your chosen Pocket. Plus, you can easily track and monitor your spending in the app so you know how much to save each month.

Chase Current Account

Chase Current Account

Finder Score 4.0★★★★★

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Minimum opening balance£0
Account fees£0
Interest (AER)0% AER
Receive 1% cashback on everyday purchases capped at £15.

Chase doesn't offer separate savings pots as such, but you can open up to 20 separate current accounts at a time and use these for different purposes - whether you want to use one for direct debits for bill payments, another for holiday cash, and a third for everyday spending. The downside is you won't earn interest on these accounts.

However, you will earn 1% cashback on all your spending for the first year and be able to save in an easy access account that pays interest. Chase also offers a round-up feature where your spending is rounded to the nearest £1 and the change is transferred to a round-up account paying 5% interest. Your money is protected up to £85,000 by the FSCS.

NatWest Select Account

NatWest Select Account

Finder Score 4.3★★★★★

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Minimum opening balance£0.01
Account fees£0
Interest (AER)0% AER
Free 24/7 Emergency Cash Service to withdraw up to £250 for online and telephone banking customers or £60 if not.

If you have an easy access savings account with NatWest, you can set up a savings pot with the Savings Goal Tool in the NatWest app. This allows you to enter how much money you need to save and by when, and the tool tells you how much to save each month to reach that goal. You can easily track how close you are to reaching your goal in the app.

If you also hold a current account with NatWest, you can take advantage of the Round Ups tool which rounds up your debit card spending to the nearest pound and transfers the change into your savings account. Your money is protected up to £85,000 by the FSCS.

Representative example: If you use an arranged overdraft of £1,200, you'll be charged interest at 39.49% EAR variable.

Royal Bank of Scotland Select Account

Royal Bank of Scotland Select Account

Finder Score 4.2★★★★★

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Minimum opening balance£0.01
Account fees£0
Interest (AER)0% AER
Free 24/7 Emergency Cash Service to withdraw up to £250 for online and telephone banking customers or £60 if not.

Like NatWest, to use the RBS Savings Goal Tool, you'll need to have an instant access savings account with the bank. Decide what you're saving for and how much you want to save by when, then enter the details into the tool and it will tell you how much you need to save each month. You can only set up one savings goal.

If you also have a current account with RBS, you can use the Round Up tool to save faster. Every time you spend on your debit card, the transaction will be rounded up to the nearest pound and the difference transferred to your savings account. You can easily track your spending and how close you are to reaching your goal in the app. Your money is protected up to £85,000 by the FSCS.

Representative example: If you use an arranged overdraft of £1,200, you'll be charged interest at 39.49% EAR variable.

Zopa Current Account

Zopa Current Account

Interest (AER)2% AER

Zopa's bank account is still in beta phase, so it's only available by invitation. It comes with access to a regular saver that pays 7.5% AER (7.25% gross) for 12 months. You can earn 2% AER interest on balances held in the current account. It also pays 2% cashback on direct debits that are paid out of the account on the first £1,500 each year, so you could earn up to £30.

You can access Zopa's Smart Savings Hub without a Zopa current account, which lets you open other savings accounts and set up different savings pots to help you save faster. You can name your pots for different savings goals and open and manage each pot through the app. You'll also be able to choose from Boosted pots that pay a higher interest rate but require you to give notice before accessing your money, and Access pots that pay a lower interest rate but give you instant access. You can also take advantage of the auto-save feature so that your money is moved to your pots automatically. Funds are protected up to £85,000 under the FSCS.

Bottom line

Savings pots can be a great way to help you save for specific goals, such as a holiday or new car, but you can also use them to set aside money for essential bills and other expenses. Separating your money in this way can make it much easier to stay on top of your finances and take some of the stress away when it comes to managing big events such as Christmas or birthdays.

We show offers we can track - that's not every product on the market...yet. Unless we've said otherwise, products are in no particular order. The terms "best", "top", "cheap" (and variations of these) aren't ratings, though we always explain what's great about a product when we highlight it. This is subject to our terms of use. When you make major financial decisions, consider getting independent financial advice. Always consider your own circumstances when you compare products so you get what's right for you. Most of the data in Finder's comparison tables has the source: Moneyfacts Group PLC. In other cases, Finder has sourced data directly from providers.
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Rachel Wait is a freelance journalist and has been writing about personal finance for more than a decade, covering everything from insurance to mortgages. She has written for a range of personal finance websites and national newspapers, including The Observer, The Mail on Sunday, The Sun and the Evening Standard. Rachel is a keen baker in her spare time. See full bio

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