Banking apps with savings pots

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

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Rachel Wait

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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.

Banking apps that offer savings pots

Monzo Current Account

Monzo Current Account

9.3 Excellent
Minimum opening balance£0
Account fees£0
Interest (AER)0% AER
Go to site Read review

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.

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

Starling Current Account

Starling Current Account

9.8 Excellent
Account fees£0
Interest (AER)0% AER
See dealRead review

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.

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

Revolut Standard

Revolut Standard

8.9 Great
Minimum opening balance£0
Account fees£0
Interest (AER)0% AER
See dealRead review

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

7.9 Great
Account fees£0
Interest (AER)0% AER
Go to site

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.

NatWest Select Account

NatWest Select Account

9 Excellent
Minimum opening balance£0.01
Account fees£0
Interest (AER)0% AER
See dealRead review
£200 switch reward.

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.

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

8.4 Great
Account fees£0
Interest (AER)0% AER
See dealRead review
£200 switch reward.

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.

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

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.

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.

Our “Best for” picks highlight top options in specific categories based on our independent evaluation (see our full methodology), while “Promoted” tags indicate sponsored placements. Selected products may not suit everyone. We track selected market offers, which may not cover every product. Products are listed in no particular order unless specified, and inclusion or ordering may be influenced by popularity or commercial agreements. Most comparison table data is provided by Defaqto or sourced directly from providers. Always evaluate your own circumstances and consider independent advice before making major financial decisions.
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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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