21 October 2025, LONDON –

85% of “easy access” savings accounts come with a catch, and high street banks are more likely than challenger banks to have strings attached, despite having a much lower average interest rate of 2.04% compared to 3.54%.

This is according to new research by personal finance comparison site Finder, where experts analysed the terms and conditions of 85 easy access savings accounts across 33 providers.

The average number of restrictions for a high street bank is 1.9, compared to 1.3 for other providers. 9 in 10 (90%) of the easy access savings accounts at high street banks have at least 1 condition, compared to 8 in 10 (80%) accounts at challenger banks and providers.

High street banks are also far more likely to have 2 or more restrictions attached to their easy access savings products. Almost two-thirds (63%) of accounts at high street banks have multiple conditions attached, compared to just a third (32%) of accounts with other providers.

High street banks want you to open a current account before accessing their best deals

The most common requirement with savings accounts at the big banks was opening an additional account before accessing a savings deal, applying to more than half (54%) of these products.

The second most common condition for high street banks was a bonus period or switching to a different account after 12 months, seen with 46% of accounts. This is also the most common restriction at the non-high street providers, applying to 36% of their accounts.

Another common condition at both high street and non-high street providers was a rate drop once you make a certain number of withdrawals. This applied to 29% of high street accounts and 20% of other accounts.

Tiered interest rates – where a different rate applies to each bracket of savings – are also common at high street banks, seen with 39% of accounts in the analysis. Interestingly, these were not seen at all with challenger providers.

Meanwhile, a minimum balance was the second most common stipulation at non-high street providers. A minimum balance was not a requirement at any of the high street banks analysed.

A higher number of terms and conditions means a higher interest rate

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the average easy access rate increases with the number of conditions. Accounts with 4 stipulations have an average interest rate of 3.69%, compared to 3.26% for 3 conditions and 2.5% for 2 conditions. Interestingly, though, the average rates on accounts with 0 or 1 conditions are not much different to 2 conditions – with 2.5% for none and 2.9% for 1.

Commenting on the findings, Kate Steere, money expert at Finder, said:

“The fact that 85% of so-called easy access deals are restricted is simply ridiculous, when all savers want is a decent return on a pot that they can get to when they need it. You might forgive market-leading deals for making customers jump through hoops to get the top rate, but having strings attached is a far too common occurrence for lower interest accounts as well.”

“This is especially true of the high street banks, where some customers will have trusted their money for decades, but which actually offer lower average rates and more confusing terms. If customers don’t read the small print in full, they might end up getting significantly less interest than they signed up for with the headline deal. For example, if they make a withdrawal or forget to switch after 12 months.

“There are some exceptions to this onslaught of extra restrictions. Trading 212, for example, has a flexible cash ISA with a rate of 3.85% AER and no other requirements. The only requirement for the Spring Easy Saver, with a rate of 4.11% AER, is to deposit £10. Similarly, with RCI Bank, you can deposit £100 or more to get a rate of 4% AER – no extra strings attached. If these providers are able to offer inflation-beating rates without complex terms and conditions, why can’t all accounts?”

Methodology:

Finder analysed the terms and conditions of 85 easy access personal savings accounts and ISAs across 33 providers to find the current interest rate (AER) and the number of extra terms and conditions.

This excluded children’s accounts, monthly or regular savers, fixed-term accounts, business accounts and any accounts you couldn’t open directly.

Where tiered interest rates applied, the lowest bracket interest rate was taken. Where a bonus period applied, the boosted bonus rate was taken, with the ‘condition’ being that this would change after a set period.

High street banks included: Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds Bank, Nationwide, Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander, The Co-op Bank, TSB and Virgin Money. We note that Nationwide is a building society but typically treated on the same level as the other banks listed so is included for analysis.