Many savers face the same dilemma: when am I going to need the money I'm putting aside? Should I lock it away in a fixed rate bond or keep it to hand in an easy access savings account? Not everyone knows that there's a middle ground between the two. If you can't make up your mind, notice savings accounts could be a good compromise.
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) guarantees that it will step in to compensate the first £120,000 you have saved with a UK-authorised bank, building society or credit union in the event that the business goes bust.
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Notice savings accounts are a blend between fixed-rate accounts and easy access accounts. They allow you to withdraw your money whenever you need it, as long as you give adequate notice to your bank. The notice required will depend on your account’s terms and conditions.
As access to the account is possible but only under certain conditions, the interest rates offered by notice accounts normally stand somewhere between those for easy access accounts and fixed rate bonds.
Notice savings accounts are not so different from easy access savings accounts, but you must make sure you know the terms and conditions inside out before applying, because the notice period makes things a tad more complicated:
Notice savings accounts are weird little creatures. They aren’t hugely popular because if you need your savings to deal with an emergency, 30 days tend to be too long a wait anyway. People often prefer keeping emergency funds in an easy access savings account or in a current account and extra savings in a fixed rate bond, where they can earn more interest.
However, notice savings accounts can become handy if you already have a home for your emergency funds, but are unsure of your medium-to-long-term plans. For example, if you think you may need to pay the deposit for a house or buy a new car in the next 12 months. These kinds of decisions take time anyway (but not a full year!), so notice accounts are a good option.
Finally, they are also a good idea if you think you may want to make extra deposits into your account: fixed rate bonds don’t allow it after the first week or so from account opening.
Our best notice savings accounts are the highest interest rates available. To get the latest rates, we use Defaqto data, which covers nearly the full market of savings products and is checked and updated daily. We don’t include accounts from private banks.
All the notice savings accounts in our list have savings protection – for most, this is the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). Other schemes include that of NS&I, which is 100% backed by HM Treasury, and the Gibraltar Deposit Guarantee Scheme.
There aren’t loads of notice savings accounts available on the market, but here’s a basic list of features to check out when comparing options:
Most notice savings accounts are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which protects your savings up to £120,000 per account. Make sure you double check that is the case with the account you’re considering.
| Rates up to | 4.26% AER |
|---|---|
| Number of accounts | 294 |
| Notice account periods available | days - 195 days |
| Minimum investment | £0 |
| Maximum investment | £5,000,000 |
| Opening options | Branch, website, mobile app, post, telephone |
Notice accounts are not to be sniffed at, and there are some competitive rates available. Given the changes we’ve seen in the Bank of England base rate over the last few years, a notice account could be a sensible option if you don’t want to lock your money away for too long, but you also want more interest than you’ll get with an easy-access account. Just make sure you’ve got between 3 and 6 months of your regular income saved in an easy-access account you can get your hands on, if you need to.”
Ultimately, notice savings account are useful as places to keep money that you don’t need immediately or for emergencies. They can be a good short-term solution while you consider any other goals for your money once other needs have been met, like an emergency savings fund.
Notice savings accounts offer more you more flexibility in when you can make deposits when compared to a fixed rate bond. But if you have longer-term savings goals for purchases you wish to make between one and five years from now, then other types of savings accounts are likely to be more suitable for you.
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